Grade 11 Lesson plan
Calder Heights' Stormwater Fee: An Argument Writing Lesson
A grade 11 ELA lesson where students build a claim and counterclaim on a fictional city's proposed stormwater fee tied to each property's paved area.
Common Core ELA · Grades 11–12
W.11-12.1 Argument writing
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Why water teaches this standard well
Students construct arguments with knowledgeable claims and fully developed counterclaims on questions such as whether water should be priced as a commodity or guaranteed as a right, or who should pay to replace lead service lines. Water governance provides the substantive complexity expected of college-ready argument.
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.
36 materials aligned to W.11-12.1
Lesson plans
Grade 11 Lesson plan
Two Editorials on Removing Vardon Dam: Syntax and Stance
A grade 11 ELA lesson analyzing agent deletion, nominalization, and concession in two fictional op-eds about a dam, then writing an argument paragraph.
Grade 12 Lesson plan
Who Qualifies Under Caldmoor's Stormwater Credit Ordinance
A 75-minute grade 12 ELA lesson on reading regulatory language closely: students apply a fictional stormwater ordinance to three parcels and defend one determination.
Grade 11 Lesson plan
Bellmont's Water Bond: An Argument Writing Lesson on Local Government
A grade 11 lesson connecting real infrastructure data to a fictional town's water bond vote, as students write a claim-and-counterclaim letter to the town council.
Grade 12 Lesson plan
Drafting a Public Comment on Alder Hollow's Rate Increase
A grade 12 lesson where students draft and deliver public-comment testimony on a fictional town's water rate increase, using claim, evidence, and counterclaim.
Worksheets
Grade 11 Worksheet
Sereno Valley's Water Budget Op-Ed: A Rhetoric Worksheet
A grade 11 ELA worksheet analyzing an original op-ed on tiered water-budget pricing, ending with a student-written rebuttal on outdoor water use.
Grade 12 Worksheet
Checking the Numbers in a Pell Junction Pump Station Letter
A grade 12 ELA worksheet where students test each numeric claim in a fictional letter to the editor against the water district's own pump station fact sheet.
Grade 11 Worksheet
Corrigan Falls' Lead Line Op-Ed: A Rhetorical Analysis Worksheet
A grade 11 worksheet where students analyze a persuasive op-ed on replacing lead lines in a fictional town, identifying claim, evidence, and counterclaim.
Grade 12 Worksheet
Evaluating Evidence in Fenwick's PFAS Op-Ed
A grade 12 worksheet where students evaluate and revise a fictional utility op-ed on PFAS testing, strengthening its claim, evidence, and counterclaim.
Classroom activities
Grade 11 Classroom activity
Cut to Fit: An Editorial Board Session on Thelmere's Lead Lines
A grade 11 activity in which teams cut a 475-word op-ed to 260 words, defend every cut with a labeled reason, and compare which sentences every team kept.
Grade 12 Classroom activity
Testifying at Elm Fork's Stormwater Fee Hearing
A grade 12 role-play activity where students testify for or against a fictional town's proposed stormwater utility fee, then vote and debrief as a mock council.
Writing prompts
Grade 11 Writing prompt
Recycled Water for the Glenhaven Fields: A Drought Health Argument
Students weigh injury risk on hard, dry fields against exposure to recycled irrigation water, then argue to a school board using four sources and a fair counterclaim.
Grade 12 Writing prompt
Should Merriton County Require Well Tests When Homes Are Sold?
A grade 12 health argument prompt: students decide whether a fictional county should require private well tests at every home sale, weighing health evidence and cost.
Grade 11 Writing prompt
Harberton Valley: Provisional License or Shared Operator?
A grade 11 careers argument prompt on how a fictional 900-person water system should replace its retiring operator, with a full exemplar and a four-level rubric.
Grade 12 Writing prompt
Should Morecomb Hollow Pay for Operator Certification Training?
A grade 12 careers argument prompt on a fictional utility's tuition and exam support tied to a service commitment, with background, organizer, exemplar, and rubric.
Grade 12 Writing prompt
Should Ellingsby Meter Its 1,900 Unmetered Homes?
A grade 12 argument writing prompt on a fictional town's choice to meter flat-rate homes, with background evidence, an organizer, an exemplar, and a rubric.
Grade 11 Writing prompt
Should Brindmere Publish Its Water Tests as They Come In?
A grade 11 argument prompt on live publication of a fictional utility's turbidity monitoring, with a one-day log students use as evidence on both sides.
Grade 11 Writing prompt
Who Pays for Linden Park's Lead Pipes? An Argument Prompt
A grade 11 argument prompt on whether a fictional city should use public funds to replace the private side of residents' lead service lines.
Grade 11 Writing prompt
Selling Rushton's Water System: A Utility Ownership Argument Prompt
A grade 11 argument writing prompt on whether a fictional town should sell its water system to a private company, with sources, organizer, exemplar, and rubric.
Grade 12 Writing prompt
Recommending Colverton's Next Water Source: An Argument Prompt
A grade 12 argument writing prompt in which students recommend one of three water supply options to a fictional town board, with an organizer, exemplar, and rubric.
Grade 12 Writing prompt
Covering Fairvale's Lorimer Reservoir: An Argument Prompt
A grade 12 argument writing prompt in which students recommend one of two ways a fictional city can meet the rule against uncovered finished water storage.
Grade 11 Writing prompt
Whose Water First? A Grade 11 Argument Prompt on Drought Cuts
A grade 11 argument prompt on whether a drought-stricken state should cut farm irrigation before city water use, using real figures on water share and supply.
Grade 12 Writing prompt
Lead Service Lines in Quarry Bend: An Argument Writing Prompt
A grade 12 argument prompt where students choose an accelerated or phased plan to replace lead service lines, using real federal deadlines and rate data as evidence.
Grade 11 Writing prompt
Funding Water Infrastructure: A New Deal-Scale Argument Prompt
A grade 11 argument prompt where students take a position on federal water-infrastructure funding, using Hoover Dam and ASCE infrastructure-grade data as evidence.
Debate kits
Grade 11 Debate kit
Ilderton Valley's PFAS Upgrade: A License Class Debate Kit
A grade 11 careers debate kit on whether adding PFAS treatment should raise the operator license class required at a small water plant, with two-sided evidence.
Grade 11 Debate kit
Vantrell's Meter Readers and the Move to Advanced Metering
A grade 11 careers debate kit on whether a utility should convert to advanced metering when the change ends four meter reading jobs, with two-sided evidence.
Grade 11 Debate kit
Should Amberton Adopt Direct Potable Reuse? A Debate Kit
A grade 11 debate kit on whether a fictional inland city should treat its wastewater directly back to drinking quality, with two-sided evidence.
Grade 11 Debate kit
Easements or a Treatment Plant for Havershaw's Wellfield?
A grade 11 debate kit on whether a fictional town should protect its recharge area with farmland easements or build nitrate treatment, with two-sided evidence and roles.
Grade 11 Debate kit
Should Norbeck County Approve the Data Center's Wells? A Debate Kit
A grade 11 debate kit on a fictional county's decision about groundwater withdrawals for a data center, with two-sided evidence, roles, and a rubric.
Grade 12 Debate kit
Dunmarch's Nitrate Decision: Cropland Buyouts or a New Plant
A grade 12 debate kit on whether a fictional water commission should retire upstream cropland or build a nitrate removal plant, with two-sided evidence and a rubric.
Grade 12 Debate kit
Advanced Water Meters in Swanton Township: A Debate Kit
A grade 12 debate kit on whether a fictional township should install hourly reading water meters, with two-sided evidence on leaks, cost, and privacy.
Grade 12 Debate kit
Should Kinsley Ban Water Shutoffs? A Grade 12 Debate Kit
A grade 12 debate kit on whether a fictional city may shut off water for unpaid bills, with genuinely two-sided evidence on public health and utility finance.
Grade 11 Debate kit
Should Fenwick Approve a Water Infrastructure Bond? A Debate Kit
A grade 11 debate kit on whether a fictional town should approve a water infrastructure bond, using real data on aging pipes, rising bills, and affordability.
Grade 12 Debate kit
Extending the PFAS Compliance Deadline: A Grade 12 Debate Kit
A grade 12 debate kit weighing EPA's proposed two-year PFAS exemption for eligible water systems against the cost of delayed protection for affected communities.
Projects
Grade 11 Project
Public Comment on the Thurloe Marsh Concentrate Permit
A four-session grade 11 ELA project in which students write a formal comment letter on a draft discharge permit, plus a plain-language version for neighbors.
Graphic organizers
Grade 11 Graphic organizer
Warrant and Rebuttal Frame for the Corvenna Nitrate Rule
A grade 11 Toulmin-style organizer that separates claim, grounds, warrant, backing, qualifier, and rebuttal in an argument about a county nitrate rule.