Weekly Writing Prompt-Close Read E
Prompt:
There are many types of biomes and environments in the world. A biome is a large area of land or water that shares a similar climate, plants and animals. Environments are the surrounding conditions in which a person or animal live. An example of a biome is a desert, and an example of an environment is the Nile River Valley.
According to some scientists, 50% of Earth’s land area used to be forests; today, that number is less than 10%. Because we haven’t conserved our resources and because of overpopulation, humans are eventually going to end up ruining their existence: if there are no forests, they will have nowhere to live, and no way to survive! Use textual evidence from “World Ecosystems,” “Population Density,” and “Architecture and Environment in History” to support or refute the claim stated above. Do you agree with the claim? Why or why not? Write an argumentative essay that includes your opinion that is supported by 3 reasons, and refute a counterclaim.
Lexile 940 (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.
Population Density
http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/popn1.html
World Ecosystems
Source: http://www.saburchill.com/questions/c50q06.html
Architecture and Environment in History
Egypt
Most of Egypt receives less than 4 inches of rain. It is therefore impossible to build large structures out of anything but stone. This challenging environmental factor meant that the ancient Egyptians could not build any of their great structures out of anything but stone and clay. Little wood was used in the construction of the pyramids because Egyptians could only trade for timbwer. The Nile was used extensively in the building of the pyramids as stone and other building materials were shipped upriver. The Nile also provided mud that could be formed into bricks used in building houses that remained cool by deflecting the sun’s heat and keeping homes cool. Bricks were used in the building of the early pyramids but were too weak to support larger pyramids. As a result, the ancient Egyptians used stone to build their great pyramids.
The Aztecs
The Aztecs were able to adapt the environment around them in several ways. The Aztecs used the available flat, dry land near Lake Texcoco for their farms while utilizing the swamps around them for sources of protein (fish, reptiles, and small mammals).The swamps provided water for their farms but water for the farms was not suitable for drinking. To solve the problem the Aztecs turned to the mountain streams that fed the lake. The Aztecs built channels or simple aqueducts to bring freshwater into the city. As the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán grew, the Aztecs built causeways. These “sidewalks” on the water provided roads into and out of the city of Tenochtitlán allowing for more trade and protection from invasion. Another example of Aztec adaptation is the floating garden or chinampa. The swampy land provided little usable farmland as the population of Tenochtitlán grew. The Aztecs created an ingenious solution to the problem of limited land to grow crops. They created floating islands. These floating gardens were created by placing soil on rafts and anchoring them to trees in the water. These chinampas surrounded the central part of the city and were at the heart of Tenochtitlán.
The Inca
The Inca roads were engineering marvels. The Incas conquered coast, desert, grassland, plain, forests and mountain environments to build their roads. Incan roads connected all parts of the Incan Empire together. They embraced the different environments by adapting their road building techniques to the resources they had readily available. Some parts of the Inca Empire had little or no wood. They were able to use grasses to create strong durable bridges made of rope. These simple bridges often spanned over 200 feet over gorges and valleys and could support several hundred pounds. The Incas followed natural features in the land like ridgelines, valleys, and coastlines. The roads built in the mountains and deserts were often no more than six feet wide but were wide enough for people and pack animals to cross. These roads were carved from stone and put together with such precision you could not place a knife blade between the stones.
The Romans
The Roman aqueduct system was the marvel of the ancient world and would not be matched in terms of efficiency and design until the 20th century. As Rome grew from a small village to a city, the demands for water increased. Rome’s proximity to mountain springs meant there was enough water to meet Rome’s demands but the springs were 50 to 100 miles away from the center of the city. To transport the water from the mountains to the city Roman engineers bore into mountains to create tunnels. Streams would be diverted into reservoirs and then the reservoirs would be linked to the tunnels. The water was transported by gravity alone without help from pumps. The water was moved from the mountain springs into the public baths and private water systems via the aqueducts and a complex plumbing system of lead and ceramic pipes. Roman plumbing delivered fresh, clean water for baths, gardens, and farming thousands of years before electricity.
Close Read E
Author: Brian Finn
Lexile 1150
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