Quiz & test questions Grade 3 Social Studies & Civics
Pinderly Votes on a New Water Plant: A Grade 3 Quiz
A 22-point grade 3 civics quiz on how the fictional town of Pinderly studied, paid for, and voted on a new water plant, with three arithmetic items.
Objectives
- Students will name steps a town council takes to solve a public water problem.
- Students will explain why river water is cleaned before it reaches a home.
- Students will add and subtract three-digit numbers drawn from a town vote.
Vocabulary
Key words: council, public problem, water plant, vote
Teacher overview
This 30-minute quiz is worth 22 points and closes a unit on how a town decides to build and pay for a water plant. It mixes four multiple-choice items, two short-answer items, and three computation items, all set in the fictional town of Pinderly. A misconception worth naming before students begin is the common third-grade belief that the mayor alone decides what a town builds; items 3, 4, 8, and 9 ask instead about hearing the problem, studying two plans, holding a vote, and paying the bill together. A second misconception this quiz addresses directly is that river water reaches the tap already clean, which is why the scenario states that the water is cleaned at a plant first.
Assessment
Pinderly is a made-up town. Read about it, then answer the questions.
Pinderly takes its water from the Vaneford River. Pipes carry the river water to a water plant. The plant cleans the water. Then more pipes carry the clean water to homes, schools, and shops.
The old plant was small. It broke down four times in one year. On those days, families had to boil their water before they could drink it. That was a problem for the whole town, not just for one family.
People asked the town council for help. The council held a meeting so people could speak. The plant crew wrote a report about the old plant. The council then studied two plans. One plan was to patch the old plant. The other plan was to build a new one. Last of all, the town held a vote.
(2 points) Where does Pinderly get the water for its homes and schools?
- A) From rain barrels on each roof
- B) From the Vaneford River
- C) From bottles brought in by truck
- D) From a well under the school
(2 points) What happens to the river water before it reaches a home in Pinderly?
- A) It is cleaned at a water plant.
- B) It goes straight into the house pipes.
- C) It is frozen into blocks.
- D) It is stored in the school gym.
(2 points) A public problem is a problem that
- A) only one family has.
- B) many people in a town share.
- C) happens only in stories.
- D) has no answer at all.
(3 points) Name one thing the council did before the town voted.
(3 points) At the first town meeting, 128 people signed in. At the second town meeting, 245 people signed in. How many people signed in at the two meetings in all?
(3 points) The town counted 612 votes for a new plant and 388 votes for patching the old plant. How many more votes did the new plant get?
(3 points) The crew said the new plant will take 540 days to build. The crew has worked 275 days so far. How many days of work are left?
(2 points) Who pays for the new water plant in Pinderly?
- A) Only the mayor pays.
- B) The people of the town pay, through water bills and taxes.
- C) The river pays.
- D) No one has to pay.
(2 points) Explain why the council held a meeting before the town voted.
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Answer Key
Answer: B) From the Vaneford River. The first line of the story says the town takes its water from that river.
Answer: A) It is cleaned at a water plant. Pipes carry river water to the plant first, and only then does clean water go to homes.
Answer: B) many people in a town share. Boiling water on every breakdown day was a problem for the whole town, which is what makes it public.
Answer: Accept any one of these: held a meeting so people could speak, asked the plant crew for a report, or studied two plans.
Answer: 373 people. 128 + 245 = 373.
Answer: 224 votes. 612 - 388 = 224.
Answer: 265 days. 540 - 275 = 265.
Answer: B) The people of the town pay, through water bills and taxes. A town plant is paid for by the people it serves.
Answer: Accept any answer noting that a meeting lets people say what they need, gives the council facts before the choice, and lets everyone hear the two plans before voting.
Differentiation
Support
Read the scenario aloud twice before students begin, and give a copy with the four council steps underlined. For items 5, 6, and 7, provide the equation frames already set up (128 + 245 = ___, 612 - 388 = ___, 540 - 275 = ___) so students supply only the computation, and allow base-ten blocks.
Extension
Ask students to write two sentences arguing for the plan the town did not choose, patching the old plant, and to name one group in town that might have preferred it.
ELL supports
Pre-teach council, vote, and plant with a simple labeled picture of a meeting room, a ballot box, and a building with pipes. Allow items 4 and 9 to be answered with a sentence frame: "The council ____ so that people could ____."
Extensions
Invite students to find out who serves on their own town or city council and how a resident asks to speak at a meeting, then post the answer on a class chart beside the Pinderly steps.