Weekly Writing Prompt-Close Read B
Prompt:
The author the text is trying to persuade people to save the wetlands. Some say the wetlands are important for people and animals. But are the wetlands really necessary? Humans have built water purification systems to filter water and we have zoos to keep animals safe.
Write an argument essay which expresses a claim on whether people should conserve the wetlands or use them for human needs (such as construction for new homes and businesses). Cite evidence from “Bolsa Chica Wetlands” and “U.S. Wetlands” to support your opinion.
Lexile 910 (Grades 6-8)
Deconstructing the Prompt Form
AUDIENCE: Who is your audience (Example: other students, teacher, parents, and/or public)?
TOPIC: What you are writing about (Example: Safety Equipment for Firefighters)?
GENRE: What essay genre are you directed to write?
CLAIM: What argument are you trying to prove?
DIRECTIONS: Make a list of items to include in the essay.
U.S. Wetlands
Source: http://www.soil.ncsu.edu/publications/Soilfacts/AG-439-26/
Bolsa Chica Wetlands
By: Amelia Lorraine McShay
The term “Bolsa Chica” in Spanish translates to “small purse.” When I was a kid I got into trouble for searching through my mother’s purse which always had many different treasures, and like a mother’s purse, Bolsa Chica has several treasures important for Californians to know, understand, and protect!
A wetland is defined rather easily: a very wet land. Swamps, bayous, oases, and marshes are other names for a wetland. There are several wetlands throughout the world. In fact, wetlands naturally occur on every continent except Antarctica. Wetlands are important to the environment for a number of reasons including serving as a wildlife habitat, protecting inland areas from flooding, and are a natural source for cleaning and filtering water.
Bolsa Chica is a Wetland located in Southern California, south of Long Beach. According to the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, “At Bolsa Chica, storm water and urban runoff enter the wetlands through the Wintersburg Channel…. This means that anything that enters a storm drain connected to this channel winds up at Bolsa Chica.”When storms occur, trash enters the wetlands. Sometimes things as big as sofas and mattresses are found in the Bolsa Chica environment!
Bolsa Chica is a very important wetland for California. It is home to several animal species including over 320 species of birds. In addition, there are many types of sharks, stingrays, fish, sponges, clams, and oysters in the region. If Bolsa Chica were destroyed, these animals wouldn’t have a home. Some may become endangered, or even extinct.
In the 1970s developers planned on building ocean homes on the Bolsa Chica land. The people of the community protested. Eventually the people saved the land for the wildlife.
You can get involved in helping the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in a variety of ways. Several times a year Bolsa Chica Conservancy has a habitat restoration Public Service Day. During these days, people volunteer to help pick up trash and replant plants that are native to the area.
The most important way you can help environment conservation is by watching what you do with your trash and educating yourself about the various types of environments. You should recycle and reuse as many resources as possible: we don’t want these things to end up in the wetlands and hurt the animal and plant life. Perhaps most importantly, you should educate yourself about the various types of environments that exist in your region, our country, and the world.
Close Read B
Source Cited:
Bolsa Chica Conservancy. Retreived April 22, 2014. http://bolsachica.org/the-wetlands/ecology/
Lexile: 960
6th Grade Argument Writing Rubric
Item# / Paragraph / Standard / Description / Point value / Student Score / Teacher Score
1 / 1 / W1a / Get the reader’s attention by asking a question or making an interesting statement about the topic. / 1
2 / 1 / W1a / Establish the situation (provide summary). / 1
3 / 1 / W1a / Establish a claim or opinion which relates to the prompt. / 1
4 / 1 / W1b / Provide three reasons that support the claim in a list sentence. / 1
5 / 1 / W1c / Provide a concluding or transition sentence. / 1
6 / 2 / W1b / State one reason that supports the claim. / 1
7 / 2 / W1b / Provide at least one piece of text-based evidence that supports the claim. / 1
8 / 2 / W1c / Provide an analysis of how the reason and evidence support the claim. / 1
9 / 2 / W1c / Provide a concluding or transition sentence. / 1
10 / 3 / W1b / State a second reason that supports the claim. / 1
11 / 3 / W1b / Provide at least one piece of text-based evidence that supports the claim. / 1
12 / 3 / W1c / Provide an analysis of how the reason and evidence support the claim. / 1
13 / 3 / W1c / Provide a concluding or transition sentence. / 1
14 / 4 / W1b / State a third reason that supports the claim. / 1
15 / 4 / W1b / Provide at least one piece of text-based evidence that supports the claim. / 1
16 / 4 / W1c / Provide an analysis of how the reason and evidence support the claim. / 1
17 / 4 / W1c / Provide a concluding or transition sentence. / 1
18 / 5 / W1e / Restate the situation. / 1
19 / 5 / W1e / Restate the claim/opinion. / 1
20 / 5 / W1e / Restate the reasons that support the claim/opinion. / 1
21 / 5 / W1e / Provide a concluding statement. / 1
22 / Overall / W4 / Essay is organized into purposeful paragraphs with an introduction. / 1
23 / Overall / W4 / Essay is organized into purposeful paragraphs with a body. / 1
24 / Overall / W4 / Essay is organized into purposeful paragraphs with a conclusion. / 1
25 / Overall / W1d / A formal style is established. / 1
26 / Overall / W1d / A formal style is maintained. / 1
27 / Overall / L1a / Pronouns are in the proper case. / 1
28 / Overall / L1b / Intensive pronouns are used correctly. / 1
29 / Overall / L1c / Pronouns are in the correct number and person. / 1
30 / Overall / L2a / There are no more than 3 punctuation mistakes. / 1
31 / Overall / L2a / There are no more than 3 capitalization mistakes. / 1
32 / Overall / L2b / There are no more than 3 spelling mistakes. / 1
Total / 32