Grade 6 Lesson plan
Granthorpe's Choice: Sewer Line or New Septic Tanks?
A grade 6 lesson where students read three stakeholder statements about failing septic systems on a lake, fill a decision matrix, and recommend an option to the board.
Common Core ELA · Grades 6–8
WHST.6-8.1 Discipline-specific argument writing
Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
Why water teaches this standard well
Science and social studies teachers can assign discipline-grounded water arguments, such as whether a watershed should permit new development or which filtration design the class should adopt, without leaving their content area. Evidence from labs, data tables, and documents anchors student claims in the discipline itself.
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.
31 materials aligned to WHST.6-8.1
Lesson plans
Grade 6 Lesson plan
Pinewick's Lead Pipes: Building a Service Line Inventory
A 45-minute grade 6 science lesson where students use a fictional town's records to sort homes by lead-pipe risk and argue which service lines to replace first.
Grade 6 Lesson plan
Elderwood Dam and the Fish Ladder: An Ecosystem Change Argument
A 50-minute grade 6 lesson where students use a fictional dam's fish-count data to calculate percent change and argue how much a fish ladder restored the population.
Writing prompts
Grade 6 Writing prompt
Why Stagbrook's Oxygen Runs Lowest Just Before Sunrise
A grade 6 science argument prompt: students use a 24-hour oxygen and temperature record from a fictional creek to explain the dawn low that killed minnows.
Grade 6 Writing prompt
The White Crust at Tessendale Farm: Where the Salt Came From
A grade 6 science argument prompt: students use water, soil, and rainfall records from a fictional farm to explain why salt is building up in an irrigated field.
Grade 6 Writing prompt
Does Thornmere Pond Freeze Solid? A Winter Argument
A grade 6 science argument prompt: students use a fictional winter temperature profile to explain why a pond freezes from the top down and stays liquid below.
Grade 6 Writing prompt
Why Dunwilloe's Water Mains Break in February
A grade 6 science argument prompt using a fictional town's break log, frost depths, and repair notes to explain why water main breaks peak in late winter.
Grade 6 Writing prompt
Ellerby Reservoir's Musty August Water: Which Intake Depth?
A grade 6 science argument prompt using a fictional reservoir's summer depth profile to decide which intake depth a plant should use and why algae grow where they do.
Grade 7 Writing prompt
Penmoor's Well Field: Argue for or Against the Truck Depot
A grade 7 science argument prompt on building a truck repair depot inside a fictional town's wellhead protection area, with background, organizer, exemplar, and rubric.
Grade 8 Writing prompt
Funding Pipe Replacement in Hartwell: A Grade 8 Writing Prompt
A grade 8 argument prompt where students decide how a town should pay to replace aging water pipes, using real national infrastructure and affordability data as evidence.
Debate kits
Grade 6 Debate kit
Closing Caldmere Reservoir's Ramps to Slow the Mussels
A grade 6 science debate on whether a fictional town should close its boat ramps to keep zebra mussels out, with two-sided evidence on spread, food webs, and cost.
Grade 6 Debate kit
Marchbold's PFAS Choice: Blend the Wells or Add Carbon
A grade 6 science debate on how a fictional town should cut PFAS in its well water, with two-sided evidence on blending and on carbon filters.
Grade 6 Debate kit
Braymere Lake's Swim Beach: Close It After Every Storm?
A grade 6 science debate on whether a fictional town should close its swim beach by a rainfall rule or wait for bacteria test results, with two-sided evidence.
Grade 6 Debate kit
Beaver Dams on Hollowsett Brook: Remove Them or Leave Them?
A grade 6 science debate on whether a fictional town should pull out three beaver dams, with two-sided evidence on flooding, water temperature, oxygen, and habitat.
Grade 7 Debate kit
Should the Ashkirk Mill Dam Come Out of the Elderbeck River?
A two-session grade 7 science debate comparing dam removal, a fish ladder, and repair at a fictional mill dam, with evidence on fish, sediment, safety, and town use.
Grade 7 Debate kit
Should Caldon County Require Buffer Strips Along Yarnell Creek?
A two-session grade 7 science debate on a proposed rule requiring planted stream buffers on farms, with two-sided evidence on nutrients, fish, land cost, and fairness.
Grade 8 Debate kit
Should Havering County Spread Biosolids on Farm Fields?
A grade 8 science debate kit on land-applying treated sewage solids, weighing recycled nutrients against PFAS and runoff concerns, with a four-level rubric.
Grade 8 Debate kit
Kilnbrook's Purified Water Plan: Reuse for the Drinking Supply
A grade 8 science debate kit on whether a fictional inland city should purify its wastewater for drinking, with two-sided evidence and a four-level rubric.
Grade 7 Debate kit
Should Combermere Sell Water to the Blackthorn Data Center?
A two-session grade 7 debate on whether a fictional town should sign a 20-year water contract with a data center, with two-sided evidence, roles, and a rubric.
Grade 6 Debate kit
Should Fendalton Put a Meter on Every Home?
A grade 6 debate kit on whether a fictional town should switch from a flat water fee to metered billing, with two-sided evidence on fairness, cost, and conservation.
Grade 6 Debate kit
Should Silverbrook Charge a Stormwater Fee by Hard Surface?
A two-session grade 6 debate kit on whether a fictional city should bill each property for storm drains by roof and pavement area, with two-sided evidence.
Grade 7 Debate kit
Should Gallowmere County Ban New Septic Systems?
A grade 7 debate kit on whether a fictional county should require new homes over a shallow aquifer to connect to the sewer instead of using septic systems.
Grade 7 Debate kit
Should Rivermont Sell Its Water System? A Grade 7 Debate
A grade 7 debate kit on whether a fictional town should sell its public water system to a private company, with two-sided evidence on repairs, rates, and control.
Grade 8 Debate kit
Should Rundle Put Smart Water Meters in Every Home?
A grade 8 debate kit on whether a town should install hourly-reporting smart water meters, with two-sided evidence on cost, leaks, privacy, and conservation.
Grade 6 Debate kit
Removing Birch Hollow Dam to Restore Fish Passage: A Grade 6 Debate
A grade 6 debate kit on whether a fictional town should remove an aging dam to restore fish passage, weighed against its park pond and flood protection.
Grade 7 Debate kit
Recycled Water or a New Reservoir? A Grade 7 Water-Supply Debate Kit
A grade 7 debate on whether a community should treat wastewater to drinking-water standards instead of building a reservoir, with evidence on cost and trust.
Grade 8 Debate kit
Removing Alderfen Dam to Restore Fish Passage: A Grade 8 Debate Kit
A grade 8 debate kit on removing a fictional aging dam to restore fish migration, weighing real dissolved-oxygen science against hydropower and cost.
Grade 7 Debate kit
Toilet to Tap? A Grade 7 Debate on Water Recycling
A grade 7 debate kit on whether a fictional coastal town should build a water-recycling plant instead of a new reservoir, with evidence for both sides.
Grade 6 Debate kit
Should Brookhaven Raise Water Rates to Replace Aging Water Mains?
A grade 6 debate kit on a fictional city raising water rates to replace aging cast-iron mains, with two-sided evidence on infrastructure need and household affordability.
Projects
Grade 6 Project
Emberdale's Capital Plan: Four Projects, One Budget
A four-session grade 6 project where teams fund part of a town's water repair list within a fixed budget and defend the plan to a council panel with evidence.
Grade 8 Project
Rebuild or Buy Out? A Floodplain Plan for Grantly
A five-session grade 8 project in which students use land cover data and a fixed grant to build a flood plan for 18 homes and defend it to a village board panel.