Writing prompt Kindergarten Science
A Sign for the Duck Pond at Ravensfield Park
A kindergarten draw-and-dictate prompt where students make a park sign telling visitors one way to keep a fictional duck pond clean, and why that action helps.
Objectives
- Students will name one action that keeps a pond clean for the animals in it.
- Students will draw and dictate a sign that states a rule and a reason.
- Students will explain how their rule helps the ducks or the water.
Vocabulary
Key words: pond, duck, sign, rule, reason, trash
Teacher overview
Ravensfield Park is a fictional town park with a duck pond, and this prompt puts students in the position of the person who has to tell visitors how to treat it. The writing task is small and concrete: one drawing, one rule, and one reason, produced through the combination of drawing, dictating, and writing that kindergarten informative writing calls for. Plan two sittings, one for the background and the drawing and one for the dictation and the sharing, and post the finished signs together so the class can see the range of solutions it produced.
The belief worth addressing directly is that tossing bread to ducks is a kindness, which many students and adults believe. Say plainly that bread fills ducks up without giving them what their bodies need, and that leftover bread sinks and rots in the water. Expect at least one student to report that a family member does this at a real pond, and treat that gently: the sign is a way to pass along something the class has learned, not a way to correct anyone by name.
Prompt
Read this part aloud to the class.
Ravensfield Park has a duck pond. People love to visit it. Many people bring bread. They toss it in the water for the ducks.
Bread is not good food for ducks. It fills them up. It does not give them what they need. Ducks need bugs, seeds, and plants. Old bread sinks. It rots in the pond. The water turns green and cloudy.
People drop other things too. A bag can blow into the pond. A straw can float there a long time. A duck may try to eat it.
The park wants a new sign. The sign will stand by the water. Your class will make the signs.
Here is your job. Make one sign for the duck pond. Draw one thing people should do. Then tell one sentence about your rule. Say what people should do. Then say why it helps the pond.
Planning Organizer
Fill in each box. Draw or write. You may tell a grown-up your words.
- Box 1. My topic. My sign is about the ___.
- Box 2. My rule. I will tell people to ___.
- Box 3. My reason. This helps because ___.
- Box 4. My picture. I will draw ___.
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Exemplar & Rubric
Exemplar response
Drawing: a hand holding a slice of bread over the water with a large X drawn across it, and beside it a duck eating a bug in the grass by the pond.
Dictated words: "My sign is about the duck pond. Do not throw bread in the water. Bread is not good food for ducks. Old bread rots and makes the water green. Ducks find bugs and seeds by the pond."
Rubric
| Criterion | Beginning | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naming the topic | The topic is not named in words or picture. | The picture shows the pond, but no words name it. | The words name the pond or the ducks as the topic. | The words name the topic and add where the sign will stand. |
| Telling the rule | No action is stated. | An action is drawn but not stated in words. | One clear action is stated, such as not throwing bread or putting trash in a can. | One clear action is stated and a second helpful action is added. |
| Giving the reason | No reason is offered. | The reason repeats the rule without new information. | The reason names a real effect on the ducks or the water. | The reason names an effect and connects it to what ducks actually eat or to how the water looks. |
| Drawing that matches the words | The drawing does not match the stated rule. | The drawing shows the pond but not the rule. | The drawing shows the rule clearly enough for a visitor to read it without the words. | The drawing shows both the rule and the reason, such as bread crossed out beside a duck eating a bug. |
Differentiation
Support
Give these students three picture cards to choose from, one showing bread being thrown, one showing a bag blowing into the water, and one showing trash going into a can, and let the chosen card become Box 4. Take their dictation one box at a time, reading each box's frame aloud right before they answer it.
Extension
Ask these students to make a second sign for a different problem at the pond and to say which of their two signs the park should post first, giving one reason for the choice. Have them add a line to the first sign telling visitors what ducks eat instead of bread.
ELL supports
Pre-teach pond, duck, bread, and trash with a picture of each, and let students point to the pictures while they plan. Accept a drawing plus two spoken words for Boxes 2 and 3, and provide the sentence frame "Do not put ___ in the pond" with the picture cards available beside it.
Extensions
Post the finished signs in a hallway with a heading that names the pond, and invite another class to walk past and say which rule they would follow. If a real pond, creek, or fountain sits near the school, ask the office whether the class signs can be displayed there for a week, which gives the writing a genuine audience beyond the classroom.