Grade 3 Lesson plan
Sharing One Well in Saltgrass Flat: A Grade 3 Civics Lesson
Students help the fictional town of Saltgrass Flat turn a low-well summer into a fair sharing plan, then check the plan with two-step bucket problems.
C3 Framework · Grades 3–5
D2.Civ.13.3-5 How policies address public problems
Explain how policies are developed to address public problems.
Why water teaches this standard well
Watering schedules during a drought, a bond vote for a new treatment plant, and rules about what can go down a storm drain are all policies developed to solve public water problems. Students can follow how a city council hears a problem, considers options, and adopts a water rule.
Materials tagged with this code are written to the full standard , and each carries a written note explaining the alignment. See how we review materials.
29 materials aligned to D2.Civ.13.3-5
Lesson plans
Grade 3 Lesson plan
Water Report Day in Tansy Glen: A Grade 3 Civics Lesson
Students read the fictional town of Tansy Glen's yearly water report card and explain why the town promised to test its water often and tell everyone the results.
Grade 5 Lesson plan
The Delmont Bond Vote: Paying for a New Water Plant
A grade 5 civics lesson where the town of Delmont votes on borrowing money for a new water plant, and students compute each household's share of the cost.
Grade 3 Lesson plan
Cider Mill's Storm Drain Rule: A Grade 3 Civics Lesson
A 45-minute grade 3 civics lesson where students read how the town of Cider Mill made a storm drain rule to keep its creek clean, then map the problem.
Grade 4 Lesson plan
Writing the Storm Drain Rule for Bracken Ridge
A 50-minute grade 4 civics lesson where students role-play a town council that writes a rule to keep Otter Creek clean by controlling what enters storm drains.
Grade 5 Lesson plan
Who Runs the Water? A Grade 5 Public Services Lesson
A 45-minute grade 5 civics lesson mapping how the fictional town of Crestwater delivers water as a public service, and the workers and choices that keep it running.
Grade 5 Lesson plan
Writing a Drought Rule: A Mesquite Springs Council Simulation
A 55-minute grade 5 civics lesson where students role-play a town council that hears a drought problem and develops a fair watering rule for a fictional town.
Grade 4 Lesson plan
Storm Drain Guardians: Designing Water-Protecting Drain Markers
A 50-minute grade 4 art lesson where students trace a map from a storm drain to a creek, then design a circular marker warning neighbors not to dump waste down the drain.
Worksheets
Grade 5 Worksheet
Rules for Sunfield Creek: A Grade 5 Civics Worksheet
A grade 5 civics worksheet where students read a short case about a polluted creek and work out how a town develops a rule to protect a shared waterway.
Classroom activities
Grade 3 Classroom activity
The Peppergate Founders Fair Water Plan: A Grade 3 Game
A grade 3 negotiation game in which four fair committees cut their water requests to fit one dry-day share, with a recording sheet of addition problems.
Grade 3 Classroom activity
Goldfield Creek Council Meeting: A Grade 3 Civics Role-Play
A grade 3 social studies role-play where students act as a town council and decide a rule to stop trash and pet waste from washing into Goldfield Creek.
Grade 4 Classroom activity
The Prospect Town Water Vote: A Grade 4 Decision Role-Play
A grade 4 civics role-play where students take on resident roles at a town meeting and vote between building a new well or starting a strict watering schedule.
Grade 4 Classroom activity
Upstream and Downstream: The Sandpiper River Sharing Game
A grade 4 movement game where student towns along a fictional river see how upstream choices reach downstream neighbors, then agree on a rule to keep the water clean.
Grade 5 Classroom activity
Sharing the Reservoir: A Grade 5 Water Budget Decision Game
A grade 5 civics-and-economics game where groups represent a town's water needs and must divide a shrinking reservoir fairly, weighing scarcity and tradeoffs.
Reading passages
Grade 5 Reading passage
Under Maynard Street: How Ellard Carries Used Water Away
A grade 5 passage about the sewer pipes beneath a fictional town and the keep-it-clear rule its council passed after a clog, with comprehension questions and a key.
Grade 3 Reading passage
Marigold's Dry Summer: How a Town Made a Water Rule
A grade 3 informational passage about how the town of Marigold faced a dry summer and made a water-saving rule to protect its well and creek.
Grade 4 Reading passage
How Halden Cleaned Up Redhawk Creek: A Grade 4 Passage
A grade 4 social studies passage about how a fictional town noticed creek pollution and acted with a cleanup and a new rule, with questions and an answer key.
Writing prompts
Grade 3 Writing prompt
Should Copperbeech Buy the Quarrowick Woods? A Grade 3 Prompt
A grade 3 opinion prompt on whether a fictional town should buy the woods above its wells or let a store be built there, with an exemplar and a four-level rubric.
Grade 4 Writing prompt
Keep or Take Down the Old Stanhope Water Tower?
A grade 4 opinion-writing prompt where students write letters to a fictional town council deciding whether to repair a landmark water tower or clear it for a park.
Projects
Grade 3 Project
The Ardenhope Water Welcome Booklet: A Grade 3 Project
A four-session grade 3 civics project in which students write a four-page welcome booklet on a fictional town's water system, summer watering rule, and water office.
Grade 4 Project
Where Should Ashwater Put Its New Water Tower?
A three-session grade 4 project weighing three sites for a fictional town's new water tower, ending in a site board, a letter to neighbors, and a council recommendation.
Grade 4 Project
The Pentowan Rain Ready Plan: A Storm Water Project
A four-session grade 4 project where teams pick three runoff actions for one flooded block in a fictional town, stay inside a grant budget, and present to the town board.
Grade 3 Project
Ashgrove Storm Drain Mural: A Grade 3 Public Art Project
A four-session grade 3 art project where teams design a storm drain mural with a pollution-prevention message for a fictional town, working within a fixed paint budget.
Quizzes & test questions
Grade 3 Quiz & test questions
Larkenmoor's Boil-Water Notice: A Grade 3 Civics Quiz
A 20-point grade 3 quiz built on a short boil-water notice from a fictional town water department, asking students to answer by pointing to the text.
Grade 3 Quiz & test questions
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.
Grade 4 Quiz & test questions
Ambersill's Old Water Pipes: A Grade 4 Civics Quiz
A grade 4 quiz built on a fictional town council notice about replacing lead service lines, asking students to use text details to trace how a water policy was made.
Grade 5 Quiz & test questions
Water in Our Community: A Grade 5 Social Studies Quiz
A grade 5 social studies quiz on water as a public service, mixing multiple-choice and short-answer items on scarcity, rules, and the benefits and costs of choices.
Graphic organizers
Grade 3 Graphic organizer
How Marram Bay Got Its Water Cleaning Plant: A Grade 3 Chain
A grade 3 cause-and-effect chain tracing a fictional bay town from dirty water and closed clam beds through town meetings to a vote for a cleaning plant.
Grade 4 Graphic organizer
The Coppermarsh Creek Spills: A Problem to Policy Chain
A grade 4 six-link chain organizer tracing how a fictional town's sewer overflow moved from neighbor complaints to a study, to council options, to an adopted rule.