Writing prompt Grade 7 Social Studies & Civics
Should Deering Fund a Water-Operator Apprenticeship?
A grade 7 argument writing prompt on whether a fictional town should pay to train new water-plant operators as older ones retire, with a counterclaim about cost.
Objectives
- Students will write an argument that states a claim, gives reasons with evidence, and addresses a counterclaim.
- Students will use workforce and career facts to support a position on a town spending decision.
Vocabulary
- Apprenticeship
- A way to learn a skilled job by working alongside experienced workers while getting paid. Water utilities use apprenticeships to train new operators and technicians.
Also: operator, license, counterclaim, workforce
Teacher overview
Someone has to run the machines and tests that keep a town's drinking water safe every hour of every day, and many of the operators who do that work are close to retirement. This prompt asks students to take a position on whether a town should spend money now to train the next generation of operators. The real tension is between a clear future need and the cost of paying for training today, which makes it a genuine argument with a fair counterclaim.
Prompt
Background: A water-treatment operator keeps a town's tap water safe by running the machines and the tests that check the water. To become an operator, a person needs a high school diploma, trains on the job, and then passes a state exam to earn a license. That is one path into water work, while others go to college for science or engineering.
Many operators are close to retiring. The EPA estimates that about one-third of water workers will be able to retire within the next 10 years. Young workers are few: in 2016, only about 10 percent of water workers were 24 or younger, compared with 12.5 percent of all U.S. workers. From 2025 to 2035, the country is expected to have about 10,000 openings each year for water and wastewater operators. The total number of operator jobs is expected to shrink by 6 percent, so all of those openings will come from replacing workers who retire or move to other kinds of work. The pay is good: in May 2025, operators earned a middle wage of about $60,020 a year.
Suppose the fictional town of Deering runs its own water plant, and several of its operators plan to retire soon. The town council may fund a paid apprenticeship in which Deering would pay young trainees while skilled operators teach them the job, and the trainees would also study for the state license. The program would cost money now, and some residents are not sure the town should spend it.
Writing task: Should Deering fund the apprenticeship? Write an argument essay. State a clear claim. Give at least two reasons backed by facts from the background. Name one counterclaim a resident might raise about cost. Then answer that counterclaim. End with a conclusion that restates your claim.
Planning Organizer
| Category | Your notes |
|---|---|
| Claim (should Deering fund the apprenticeship?) | |
| Reason 1 + evidence from the background | |
| Reason 2 + evidence from the background | |
| Counterclaim a resident might raise about cost | |
| Your answer to the counterclaim | |
| Concluding statement |
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:
Deering should fund the paid apprenticeship, because the town will need new operators soon and training them now is the safest way to protect its water. The background shows the problem is real. Several of Deering's operators plan to retire within a few years, and across the country about 10,000 operator jobs are expected to open every year, all because workers retire or leave for other work. On top of that, the EPA estimates that about one-third of water workers will be able to retire within the next 10 years, while in 2016 only about 10 percent of water workers were 24 or younger. If Deering waits until its operators are gone, it may have no trained person ready to run the plant. Training people now means the town will not be caught short.
The apprenticeship is also a fair deal for both sides. Operators earn a median of about $60,020 a year, so these are good jobs that can keep young people in Deering. The town pays trainees while experienced operators teach them, so the knowledge is passed on before the older workers retire and take it with them.
Some residents will argue that the town should not spend money on training right now, especially when budgets are tight. That is a reasonable worry, and the council should keep the program small enough to afford. But the cost of losing safe water is far greater than the cost of the apprenticeship. If no one is trained to run the plant, Deering could face unsafe water or have to hire outside help at a much higher price. Paying to train local operators now is cheaper than scrambling to fix an emergency later.
Deering should fund the apprenticeship. The town has a clear future need, the jobs are good ones, and training people now costs less than waiting until the plant has no one to run it.
Rubric:
| Criterion | Emerging | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claim | No clear position | States a position but it shifts or is vague | States one clear, consistent position | States a clear position and previews the reasoning |
| Evidence & reasoning | No evidence from the background | Restates one fact without explaining it | Uses at least one specific fact and explains how it supports the claim | Uses two or more specific facts and explains how each supports the claim |
| Counterclaim | No counterclaim addressed | Mentions an opposing view without answering it | States a counterclaim and answers it | States a counterclaim, answers it specifically, and ties the answer back to the claim |
| Organization & conventions | Ideas disconnected; frequent errors block meaning | Some structure; errors are noticeable | Clear paragraphs; few errors | Clear, purposeful structure with a strong conclusion; nearly error-free |
Differentiation
Support (below grade level)
Provide sentence starters for each organizer row ("One reason Deering should fund the program is ___, because the background says ___."). Allow the counterclaim and the answer to be written as two short sentences, and let students underline the two facts they will use before drafting.
Extension (above grade level)
Ask students to add a second counterclaim, such as the idea that the town should hire trained operators from elsewhere instead of training its own, and answer it using evidence from the background about how many openings exist nationwide.
ELL supports
Pre-teach "apprenticeship," "operator," "license," "counterclaim," and "workforce" with simple definitions and an image of a trainee working beside an experienced operator. Provide a word bank of the key facts and figures, and allow the organizer to be filled in with phrases rather than full sentences before drafting.