Writing prompt Grade 6 Social Studies & Civics
Rain Gardens or Bigger Pipes for Marrowfield?
A grade 6 argument writing prompt where students advise a fictional town council to fix flooding with rain gardens or bigger storm pipes, using claim and evidence.
Objectives
- Students will state a clear claim and support it with at least two reasons and evidence from the background.
- Students will compare a green infrastructure plan and a bigger-pipe plan to justify their choice.
Vocabulary
- Stormwater
- Stormwater is rain or melted snow that flows off roofs, streets, and parking lots. In most towns it goes into storm drains and flows to a stream without being treated, carrying whatever it picked up.
- Rain garden
- A rain garden is a shallow planted dip in the ground that catches rain running off a roof or driveway and lets it soak slowly into the soil. Its deep-rooted plants help clean the water.
- Green infrastructure
- Green infrastructure uses soil and plants, like rain gardens, green roofs, and street trees, to soak up rainwater where it falls instead of piping it away. It copies the way nature handles rain.
Also: runoff, claim
Teacher overview
Towns that flood after storms must decide how to fix the problem. This prompt gives students a real trade-off in a fictional town: build bigger storm pipes, or add rain gardens and green spaces. Each plan has clear benefits and clear drawbacks. Students write an argument to the town council recommending one plan, using only the background provided. The prompt fits a grade 6 claim-and-evidence argument, without a counterclaim.
Prompt
Background: When rain falls on a town, it has to go somewhere. On grass and soil, rain soaks into the ground. On hard surfaces, like streets, roofs, and parking lots, rain cannot soak in. It runs off fast. This runoff rushes into storm drains and pipes. In a big storm, those pipes can fill up and overflow. Then streets and yards flood.
The fictional town of Marrowfield floods a few times each year. The council wants to fix it. They are looking at two plans.
Plan A is to build bigger storm pipes. Larger pipes can carry more water away during a storm. This is a proven fix. But bigger pipes cost a lot to dig and install. They also send the rushing water straight to the creek, which can harm it.
Plan B is to add rain gardens and green spaces. A rain garden is a low, planted area that soaks up rain. Green spaces spread across town can catch rain where it falls. This slows the water down and cleans it. But rain gardens take up land and need care over time. In a very large storm, they may not hold all the water on their own.
Writing task: Marrowfield's council has asked students for advice. Write an argument that tells the council which plan to choose, Plan A or Plan B. State your claim clearly. Give at least two reasons. Support each reason with evidence from the background above. End with a strong conclusion.
Planning Organizer
Fill in each row before you write. Use the background to find your evidence.
| Part of your argument | Your notes |
|---|---|
| Claim (Plan A or Plan B?) | |
| Reason 1 | |
| Evidence for reason 1 (from the background) | |
| Reason 2 | |
| Evidence for reason 2 (from the background) | |
| Conclusion (restate your claim) |
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:
Marrowfield should choose Plan B and add rain gardens and green spaces. Rain gardens fix the flooding at its cause, and they help the creek at the same time.
My first reason is that rain gardens stop the problem where it starts. The background says the town floods because hard surfaces cannot soak up water. Rain gardens soak up rain where it falls. They slow the water down before it ever reaches the storm drains. Bigger pipes only move the rushing water faster after the problem has already begun.
My second reason is that rain gardens protect the creek. The background says bigger pipes send the rushing water straight to the creek, which can harm it. Rain gardens clean the water as it soaks into the ground. This keeps the creek healthier while it also cuts down on flooding.
For these reasons, Marrowfield should build rain gardens and green spaces. They soak up rain where it falls, and they protect the creek. Plan B solves two problems at once, so it is the better choice for the town.
Rubric:
| Criterion | Emerging | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claim | No clear plan is chosen | A plan is named but the position shifts | States one clear, steady claim for Plan A or Plan B | States a clear claim and previews the reasons |
| Reasons and evidence | Gives no reasons from the background | Gives one reason with little evidence | Gives two reasons, each backed by evidence from the background | Gives two or more strong reasons, each explained with specific evidence |
| Organization | Ideas are out of order | Some order, but reasons blur together | Clear order with a beginning, reasons, and a conclusion | Clear order with smooth links between reasons and a strong ending |
| Conventions | Many errors block meaning | Errors are noticeable but meaning is clear | Few errors; sentences read smoothly | Very few errors; varied, clear sentences |
Differentiation
Support
Give these students the claim sentence started for them ("Marrowfield should choose Plan ___ because ___") and a short list of the background facts, each written on its own line, so they can pick the evidence that fits each reason.
Extension
Ask students to add a short paragraph proposing a plan that uses both bigger pipes and rain gardens, and to explain when each part of that combined plan would matter most during a storm.
ELL supports
Pre-teach "runoff," "rain garden," "storm drain," and "claim" with a labeled picture of rain soaking into a garden versus rushing off a street. Provide sentence frames for each organizer row and allow notes in short phrases before drafting.