WHST.6-8.4Common CoreELAWriting in History, Science and Technical SubjectsGrades 6-8
WHST.6-8.4: Fitting History and Science Writing to Its Task, Purpose and Audience
In plain English: WHST.6-8.4 is the Common Core literacy standard for grades 6-8 that asks students to produce clear and coherent writing in history, science and technical subjects. Students fit how they develop, organize and word each piece to its task, its purpose and its readers, whether that is a history teacher, a science teacher or a family reading a sign.
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy · Domain: Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6-12 · Cluster: Production and Distribution of Writing · Official standard
Students learn that the same facts can be written up in very different ways, and that a good writer chooses the way that fits the job. They study three model texts written for this page: an explanation of how the Erie Canal changed New York City, written for a history teacher (Model A); a sign that explains a canal lock to families at a canal park (Model B); and the Results and Conclusion of a science lab report on which wrap keeps warm water warm (Model C, with invented data). They then diagnose a weak draft: a card for Family Science Night that misses its readers. For homework, they write two short pieces about the Panama Canal for two different readers.
WHST.6-8.4 asks for writing that is clear (each sentence is easy to understand) and coherent (the ideas connect in a logical order), and whose development, organization and style fit the task, the purpose and the audience. The standard has no lettered parts; the lesson teaches both demands, clarity and fit, in every phase. The expectations for each kind of writing (argument, explanation and narration) come from WHST.6-8.1 and WHST.6-8.2, so this lesson focuses on the choices a writer makes for a particular reader.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Name the task, purpose and audience of a piece of history or science writing
Choose the facts and details a particular reader needs, and leave out the ones that reader does not need
Organize a piece in the order that fits its purpose, such as cause and effect, numbered steps or labeled lab sections
Choose words and sentence lengths that fit the reader, from a formal lab report to a sign for families
Revise sentences so that each one is clear and each idea connects to the next
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Writing clear paragraphs whose development and organization fit the task, purpose and audience W.5.4
Writing informative texts in history and science WHST.6-8.2
Reading a simple data table with means (averages)
Knowing the parts of a lab report: question, method, results and conclusion
"Your class has just finished a science lab. Write one sentence about it for your science teacher's lab report, and one sentence about it in a text message to your grandmother. What did you change, and why?"
Give students three minutes, then collect a few pairs of sentences on the board. Ask what changed between the two: the words, the length, the details, the order. Draw out three questions a writer asks before writing anything: What kind of writing is this (the task)? What should it do for the reader (the purpose)? Who will read it, and what do they already know (the audience)? Tell students that today they will see how history and science writers answer those three questions.
Direct Instruction20 minutes
Show Diagram 1 and define the three choices the standard names. Development is the facts, details, examples and explanations a writer uses to build an idea. Organization is the order and structure of the piece: paragraphs, headings, numbered steps or labeled sections. Style is the writer's word choice, sentence length and level of formality. Then work through the five examples below.
Naming the task, purpose and audience
Assignment: Write a caption to go under a map of the Erie Canal in the sixth-grade hallway display.
Result: Task: a caption of one or two sentences. Purpose: help a passerby read the map quickly. Audience: students and visitors walking past, who may know nothing about canals. So the caption points to the map ("The blue line shows...") and uses everyday words.
Development: choosing the facts a reader needs
A history teacher asks, How did the Erie Canal help farmers near the Great Lakes? The student's notes: the canal was 363 miles long; it had 83 locks; shipping a ton of goods to New York City fell from about $100 to about $10; mules pulled the boats.
Result: The cost fact answers the question, so it leads, followed by an explanation: cheaper shipping let farmers sell their grain in the East. The number of locks is interesting, but it does not answer this question, so it stays out.
Organization: putting the main point where the reader looks first
Draft email to the principal: We did a lab about wraps. It took three days. Some cups cooled fast. Tomas dropped a thermometer and it broke. Could we borrow eight thermometers from the high school?
Result: Revision: "Could our class borrow eight thermometers from the high school for next week's lab? One of ours broke during our last test, and each group needs its own." (The request comes first, the reason second, and details the principal does not need are cut.)
Style: the same fact for two readers
Fact: after the Erie Canal opened in 1825, the cost of shipping goods between Buffalo and New York City fell by about 90 percent.
Result: For a history teacher: "Freight charges between Buffalo and New York City fell sharply after 1825." For a second-grade reading buddy: "After the canal opened, sending things to the big city cost much less."
Clarity and coherence: making every word point somewhere
Unclear draft: The canal connected Albany and Buffalo, and it grew quickly. Did the canal grow, or Buffalo?
Result: Revision: "The canal connected Albany and Buffalo, and Buffalo grew quickly as a port on Lake Erie." (Naming the town removes the unclear "it," so the reader never has to guess.)
Read Models A and B aloud. Both are about the Erie Canal and both are accurate, but they were written for different readers. Students number the paragraphs and, for each model, write the task, purpose and audience at the top. Ask: which facts appear in only one of the two models, and why? Where does each model put its main point?
1In 1825, New York State finished a waterway that changed how goods moved in the young United States. The Erie Canal ran 363 miles across the state, from Albany on the Hudson River to Buffalo on Lake Erie. Because the Hudson River flows south to New York City, the canal linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. That link changed New York City in two ways: it made shipping far cheaper, and it sent the trade of western farms through the city's harbor.
2The first change was cost. Before the canal, shipping one ton of goods from Buffalo to New York City by road cost about $100. On the canal, horses or mules walked along a towpath beside the water and pulled boats loaded with cargo, and the cost fell to about $10 a ton. Farmers near the Great Lakes could now sell their wheat and flour in the East at a profit, and they bought cloth, tools and other goods from eastern merchants in return.
3The second change was the route that this trade followed. Canal boats carried grain east to Albany, and from there it traveled down the Hudson River to New York City. There it was sold, stored or loaded onto ships bound for other ports and for Europe. Merchants, banks and shipbuilders in the city grew with this business, and so did the city itself: New York had about 124,000 people in 1820 and more than 200,000 in 1830.
4The Erie Canal did not create New York City's trade on its own, since the city already had a large, deep harbor. However, the canal gave the city a cheap water route to the West that rival ports such as Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore did not have in the 1820s. As a result, New York City became the main gateway between the farms of the interior and the markets of the East Coast and Europe.
Written for this page (a model history explanation), How the Erie Canal Changed New York City (Model A: explanation for a history teacher, written for this page; the facts are real). Original passage written for this page.
1How Does a Boat Climb a Hill? The stone room in front of you is a lock. A lock works like an elevator for boats.
21. A boat floats into the lock, and the gates close behind it. 2. Water flows in from the higher part of the canal. The boat rises with the water. 3. When the water is as high as the canal ahead, the front gates open, and the boat floats out.
3Going down? The steps run backward: water drains out, and the boat sinks gently with it.
4Lake Erie is about 570 feet higher than the Hudson River. The first Erie Canal, finished in 1825, needed 83 locks to carry boats up and down that climb. That is higher than a 40-story building!
5Look along the edge of the water for the towpath. Horses and mules once walked there, pulling the boats.
Written for this page (a model sign), How Does a Boat Climb a Hill? (Model B: sign for family visitors at a canal park, written for this page; the park is invented, and the facts are real). Original passage written for this page.
Guided Practice15 minutes
Pairs read Model C, the Results and Conclusion of a lab report. In the invented lab, each group filled four identical paper cups with lids with 200 mL of warm tap water, wrapped three of them (aluminum foil, bubble wrap and a wool sock) and left one bare, then read the temperature after 20 minutes. They ran three trials. Table 1 shows the data, and Diagram 2 shows the mean drops.
Pairs fill in a three-column chart with Models A, B and C across the top and three rows: development, organization and style. In each box they write one choice the writer made and quote a few words that show it. Then they answer: which model would be hardest to rewrite for the other two readers, and why?
Table 1: Water temperature after 20 minutes (invented data)
Table 1: Water temperature after 20 minutes (invented data)
Wrap
Trial 1 (°C)
Trial 2 (°C)
Trial 3 (°C)
Mean after 20 min (°C)
Mean drop from 45.0 °C
No wrap
36.5
37.1
36.8
36.8
8.2
Aluminum foil
37.8
38.3
37.9
38.0
7.0
Bubble wrap
40.4
39.7
40.2
40.1
4.9
Wool sock
41.0
40.1
40.7
40.6
4.4
1Results: Table 1 shows the temperature of the water in each cup after 20 minutes. Every cup held 200 mL of water that started at 45.0 °C, and the room stayed at 22 °C. The unwrapped cup cooled the most, with a mean drop of 8.2 °C over three trials. The cup wrapped in aluminum foil dropped 7.0 °C. The cups wrapped in bubble wrap (4.9 °C) and in a wool sock (4.4 °C) cooled the least.
2Conclusion: Our question was which of three wraps slows the cooling of warm water the most. The wool sock and the bubble wrap worked best. The difference between their means, 0.5 °C, is smaller than the spread between trials of either wrap, so this test cannot tell which of the two is better. Both materials hold air in many small pockets, and trapped air slows the flow of heat from the water to the cooler room. The foil helped only a little.
3Limitation: We measured the temperature only once, at the end of 20 minutes. A second test could record it every 5 minutes to show whether the wraps also differ during the first few minutes.
Written for this page (a model lab report section), Which Wrap Keeps Warm Water Warm? (Model C: Results and Conclusion of a lab report for a science teacher, written for this page; the students and the data are invented). Original passage written for this page.
Independent Practice20 minutes
Jordan, an invented student in the same science class, was asked to write a card of 60-100 words for the group's table at Family Science Night. Families will read it standing up, in about a minute. The card's purpose is to tell them what the group found and how they could use it, for example to keep soup warm in a lunch box. Below is Jordan's first draft.
Our Lab In this lab the independent variable was the insulating material and the dependent variable was the final temperature in degrees Celsius. First we got four paper cups with lids. Then we put 200 mL of warm water in each one. My group was me, Jada and Tomas, and Tomas kept dropping the thermometer lol. The controlled variables were starting temperature, volume, cup type and room temperature. The unwrapped cup had a mean ΔT of 8.2 and the foil was 7.0 and bubble wrap was 4.9 and the sock was 4.4. Thermal energy transfers by conduction, convection and radiation. So basically the sock won. It was a really fun lab.
Written for this page (an invented student draft), Our Lab (weak draft of a Family Science Night card, written for this page; Jordan, the student writer, and Jada and Tomas are invented). Original passage written for this page.
Students number the nine sentences of the draft (the title "Our Lab" is not a sentence). For each sentence they write K (keep), R (rewrite for families) or C (cut), with a reason that names the reader. Then they list the draft's problems under four headings: task, development, organization and style. They do not rewrite the card yet; that happens in Activity 3.
Closure5-10 minutes
Exit ticket: (1) Name the task, purpose and audience of Model B. (2) Write one sentence from Model C that would need to change for a family audience, and write the new version. (3) Name one question you will ask yourself before you write your next lab report.
Hand out the homework notes on the Panama Canal (below) and read the directions together.
Teacher notes: All three models, the weak draft and the notes were written for this page. The canal park in Model B, the students, Jordan, Jada and Tomas, and the lab data in Table 1 are invented; the facts about the Erie Canal and the Panama Canal are real and come from published histories. Figures for the Erie Canal's shipping costs and New York City's population are rounded, as they are in most histories. If you run the optional demonstration, use warm tap water only, no hotter than a comfortable bath, and do not use kettles or hot plates.
1The Panama Canal crosses the Isthmus of Panama, a narrow strip of land that joins North and South America and separates the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The canal is about 50 miles long.
2Before the canal opened, a ship sailing from New York to San Francisco had to go all the way around the southern tip of South America, a voyage of about 13,000 miles. Through the canal, the same voyage is about 5,000 miles.
3A French company began digging a canal across Panama in 1881 and gave up in 1889. Disease, landslides and money problems stopped the work, and thousands of workers died.
4The United States took over the project in 1904. The canal opened to ships on August 15, 1914.
5Yellow fever and malaria killed many workers. Both diseases are spread by mosquitoes, which lay their eggs in still water. Dr. William Gorgas, the project's chief health officer, led a campaign to drain puddles and swamps, spread oil on ponds, fumigate houses and put screens on windows and doors. By 1906, yellow fever had disappeared from the canal area, and malaria cases fell sharply.
6The canal uses locks to raise ships about 85 feet to Gatun Lake, a lake made by building a dam across the Chagres River. On the other side of the isthmus, more locks lower the ships back to sea level.
7Hospital records list more than 5,600 deaths from disease and accidents among workers during the American construction, from 1904 to 1914.
8Many of the workers came from islands in the Caribbean, especially Barbados.
9Today, a ship takes about 8 to 10 hours to pass through the canal.
Written for this page (research notes), The Panama Canal, 1904-1914 (research notes for the homework, written for this page; the facts are from published histories). Original passage written for this page.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give a task-purpose-audience card with three blanks to fill in before any writing: "I am writing a ___ so that ___ can ___."
Highlight the main point of each model in a different color, so students can see where each writer placed it
For Activity 3, give the first sentence of the family card and let students write the rest
For Advanced Students
Rewrite Model A as a 30-second audio stop for a museum tour, and explain two changes made for listeners instead of readers
Write the family card in two versions, one for adults and one for children in grades 1-2, and compare the choices
Find a real sign, label or instruction sheet at home or at school and write a short review of how well it fits its readers
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Check that students can name the task, purpose and audience of a piece before they judge it, and that their revisions follow from those three answers. In their own writing, look for development that fits the reader (the facts that answer the question, with nothing padded in), organization that puts the main point where that reader needs it, and a style that matches the reader, formal and exact for a teacher and plain and short for families. Every sentence should be clear on its own, and each should connect to the one before it, with no unclear "it" or "this." Facts must stay accurate even when the style becomes simple.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Same Facts, Three Readers
15 minPairs
Pairs choose which Erie Canal facts each of three readers needs most and put them in the best order for that reader. The activity practices development and organization for a named audience.
Fact Cards
1. Digging began on July 4, 1817, in Rome, New York.
2. The canal opened on October 26, 1825.
3. It ran 363 miles, from Albany on the Hudson River to Buffalo on Lake Erie.
4. Shipping a ton of goods from Buffalo to New York City fell from about $100 by road to about $10 by canal.
5. Horses or mules walked on a towpath and pulled the boats.
6. The first canal had 83 locks.
7. Critics called the project "Clinton's Ditch," after Governor DeWitt Clinton, who pushed for it.
8. The first canal was 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep.
Procedure
Pairs read the three readers: (a) a history teacher who asked, "How did the canal change trade in New York?"; (b) a family at a canal park who wants to know what they are looking at; (c) a classmate building a timeline of the 1820s
For each reader, pairs choose the three cards that reader needs most and put them in order
Pairs write one sentence per reader that explains the choice and the order, naming what that reader wants
Sample key (other choices can be defended): (a) 3, 4, 2, because trade depends on the route and the cost; (b) 5, 6, 8, because families can see the towpath, the locks and the width; (c) 1, 2, 7, because a timeline needs dates and the story of the project
Pairs compare with another pair and defend any card they chose that the other pair did not
Discussion Questions
Which card did no reader need most? Could any reader use it at all?
Card 4 has two numbers. Which reader needs both, and which reader might need only a comparison, such as "about ten times cheaper"?
How did the order of your three cards change from one reader to the next?
2
Whose Sentence Is It?
15 minGroups of 3-4
Groups sort nine sentence strips into the three kinds of writing in the lesson and name the clue that gave each one away. The activity trains students to hear style and to connect it to task, purpose and audience.
Sentence Strips
1. Push the button to hear a lock keeper's story.
2. Merchants in New York City gained a cheaper route to western farms than their rivals in Boston or Philadelphia had.
3. The mean temperature drop for the foil cup was 7.0 °C.
4. Can you spot the towpath? Mules walked there.
5. As a result, more western grain passed through the port of New York.
6. Each cup held 200 mL of water at a starting temperature of 45.0 °C.
7. Although critics mocked the project as "Clinton's Ditch," the canal was finished in 1825.
8. A second test could record the temperature every 5 minutes.
9. Water in, boat up. Water out, boat down.
Procedure
Groups sort the strips into three piles: history explanation for a teacher, sign for families, and lab report for a science teacher
For each strip, groups write the clue that decided it: a word, the sentence length, a question, the word "you," a unit of measure, or a transition
Teacher key: strips 2, 5 and 7 belong to the history explanation; strips 1, 4 and 9 to the sign; strips 3, 6 and 8 to the lab report
Each group chooses one strip and rewrites it for one of the other two readers, keeping the facts accurate
Discussion Questions
Strip 9 is not a complete sentence. Why can a sign get away with it when a lab report cannot?
Which clue helped you most often: words, sentence length, or what the sentence is about?
Could strip 8 appear in a sign for families? What would have to change?
Modification for Distance Learning
Post the nine strips in a shared document with three columns. Each student drags two strips into a column and adds the clue in a comment; the group then checks every placement against the key.
3
Science Night Rewrite
20 minPairs
Pairs rewrite Jordan's weak draft (T4) as a Family Science Night card of 60-100 words that is clear, coherent and fits its readers, using the K, R and C labels from Independent Practice and the checklist below.
Family-Card Checklist
Task: a card that families read standing up, in about a minute
Purpose: tell families what the group found and how they can use it
Development: what the group found, one sentence on how they tested it and one plain explanation of why it works; you decide the order
Organization: decide what a family reading for one minute must see before anything else; short paragraphs or a short list
Style: everyday words, or a quick definition of any science word; short sentences; accurate numbers, rounded if that helps
Accuracy: say only what the data show; reread Model C's Conclusion before naming a winner
Procedure
Pairs decide which idea a family must read first, and write that sentence
Pairs add the remaining sentences, checking each one against the checklist
Pairs count the words and cut until the card has 100 words or fewer
Pairs trade cards with another pair, who read it in one minute and then say back the main point; if they cannot, the writers revise
Each pair writes two sentences explaining the biggest change they made and why it helps families
Younger Reader Variation
Pairs write a second version of the card for first and second graders who visit Science Night with their families: no more than five short sentences, no numbers with decimals and one comparison to something children know from home.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: Task, Purpose and Audience Shape Three Choices
Before writing, a writer answers three questions: what kind of writing this is, what it should do and who will read it. The answers decide the three choices the standard names: development, organization and style.
Diagram 2: How Much Each Cup Cooled (Model C, invented data)
The mean drop in water temperature over 20 minutes for each wrap, from Table 1. The bubble-wrap and wool-sock bars differ by only half a degree, less than the spread between trials of either wrap.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
WHST.6-8.4 Homework: One Canal, Two Readers
Directions: Use the research notes on the Panama Canal (T5) in Closure. You will write two short pieces from the same notes. Piece 1 is an explanation of 150-200 words for your history teacher that answers the question How did the Panama Canal change ocean travel, and what made it so hard to build?Piece 2 is a sign of 50-90 words for a fifth-grade class visiting your school's History Fair, answering the question Why did fighting mosquitoes help build the canal? Cite the notes by paragraph, for example (T5, paragraph 5). Complete the six problems below; together they build both pieces.
Part 1: Plan for Each Reader (Problems 1-2)
Make a chart with two columns, Piece 1 and Piece 2. For each piece, write its task, its purpose and its audience, then one thing that reader probably already knows and one thing that reader probably does not know.
For each piece, list the paragraphs of the notes (T5) that you will use, and one paragraph that you will leave out. Explain each choice in one sentence that names the reader.
Part 2: Draft Both Pieces (Problems 3-4)
Write Piece 1 (150-200 words). Organize it so that the reader can see two parts, how the canal changed ocean travel and what made it hard to build, and support each part with at least two accurate facts from the notes. Keep a formal style.
Write Piece 2 (50-90 words). Put the main point first, use short sentences, explain what a mosquito has to do with a disease in words a fifth grader would understand, and keep every fact accurate.
Part 3: Check Clarity and Coherence (Problems 5-6)
Choose one fact that appears in both of your pieces. Copy the sentence from each piece, then explain two differences in word choice, sentence length or detail, and why each difference fits its reader.
Reread Piece 1 and circle every "it," "this" and "they." Make sure a reader can tell what each one refers to, and fix any that are unclear. Then underline two transitions that connect ideas and write the relationship each one shows (for example, cause, contrast or time).
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Task and Purpose
Each piece does its job: Piece 1 answers both parts of the question, and Piece 2 answers its question for young visitors
One piece does its job, or both answer only part of the question
Neither piece answers its question
Development for the Reader
Accurate facts chosen for each reader, with nothing padded in and nothing essential missing
Facts accurate but poorly chosen for one reader, or one fact inaccurate
Few facts, or several inaccurate
Organization and Coherence
Main point placed where each reader needs it; ideas connect with clear transitions and clear pronouns
Order mostly clear; some jumps or an unclear "it" or "this"
No clear order
Style for the Reader
Formal and exact in Piece 1; plain, short and friendly in Piece 2
Style fits one piece but not the other
The two pieces sound the same, or neither fits its reader
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
The questions use Models A and B (T1 and T2) in Direct Instruction, Model C (T3) and Table 1 in Guided Practice and Jordan's weak draft (T4) in Independent Practice. Your score updates as you answer, and Reset quiz clears everything so you or your students can try again.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Model B (T2) is a sign for families at a canal park. Which feature shows that the writer expects readers to be standing beside the lock?
Answer: B
The sign says "The stone room in front of you is a lock" and "Look along the edge of the water for the towpath," which only make sense to a reader standing at the canal. A is a fact any reader could use anywhere. C helps readers picture 570 feet but does not depend on where they stand. D is a friendly style choice, but it introduces the steps for going down, not something in view.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
How is Model A (T1) organized?
Answer: C
Paragraph 1 says the canal changed the city "in two ways," and paragraphs 2 and 3 begin "The first change was cost" and "The second change was the route." A mistakes the topic for the order: the model never narrates the digging. B misreads paragraph 4, which mentions rival ports, not their canals. D describes a different structure that the model does not use.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Why does Model B (T2) put its three steps in a numbered list?
Answer: A
A lock works in a fixed order (the boat enters, the water rises, the gates open), and numbers let a reader match each step to what they see. B turns one good choice into a false rule. C is wrong because each step depends on the one before. D is wrong because paragraph 4 of the sign gives the number of locks.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence from Model A (T1) develops the idea that the canal made shipping cheaper with a specific fact?
Answer: D
D gives an exact cost, which paragraph 2 then compares with the canal's cost of about $10 a ton. A is the topic sentence: it names the idea but gives no fact. B introduces the whole explanation, and C is about the trade route, the second change.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Model B (T2) says that a lock "works like an elevator for boats." Why does this comparison suit its audience?
Answer: B
The sign's readers include children and adults who may never have seen a lock, so it explains the new idea with a familiar one. A is wrong because the comparison replaces technical names instead of adding them. C takes the comparison literally: a lock uses water, not an elevator's machinery. D confuses length with clarity; the comparison takes only a few words.
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A student wants to add one sentence to Model A (T1), the explanation for a history teacher. Which sentence fits its task, purpose and audience best?
Answer: C
C is formal, stays on the question of how the canal changed the city and shows a cause and effect, like the rest of the model. A is too informal and makes a claim no history could prove. B is written for a visitor standing at the canal, like Model B. D borrows lab report words that do not fit a history explanation.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Model C (T3) gives the Results before the Conclusion. Why does this order suit a lab report for a science teacher?
Answer: D
A science teacher reads the Results to see the evidence and then reads the Conclusion to see whether the claim follows from it, so the report puts evidence first. A and B invent reasons the report does not show. C describes a narrative, but the Results give data, not the events of the lab day.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Model C (T3) says that "this test cannot tell which of the two is better." Why is this sentence right for its reader?
Answer: A
Paragraph 2 explains that the 0.5 °C difference between the wool sock and the bubble wrap is smaller than the spread between trials of either wrap, and a science teacher expects a claim that the data can support. B misreads an honest limit as a cover-up. C changes the subject to clothing. D is false: the same sentence gives a number, 0.5 °C.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which data from Table 1 best support Model C's statement that "The foil helped only a little"?
Answer: B
The foil cup cooled only 1.2 °C less than the unwrapped cup (8.2 - 7.0 = 1.2), while the bubble wrap and the wool sock cut the drop by 3.3 °C and 3.8 °C. A compares the two best wraps and says nothing about foil. C and D describe conditions that were the same for every cup, so they cannot show a difference.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
What is the main problem with Jordan's weak draft (T4) as a card for Family Science Night?
Answer: C
The card's readers are families reading for about a minute, but the draft opens with "independent variable" and "dependent variable," uses "ΔT" without explaining it and does not give its finding until sentence 8. A is wrong because families do not need every trial. B reverses the draft's order: the steps come first. D is wrong because accurate numbers help; they only need plain words around them.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which opening sentence would fit Jordan's Family Science Night card best?
Answer: D
D gives families the finding and a use for it in the first line, in everyday words, which is the card's purpose. A and C are lab report sentences with terms families may not know. B is friendly, but it gives no information and promises a story the card does not tell.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence of the weak draft (T4) adds nothing for any reader, whether a family or a science teacher?
Answer: A
Who dropped the thermometer does not help any reader understand the results, and "lol" fits no school task. B holds the results, which both readers need, although families need them in plain words. C is the finding, which needs to be corrected and rewritten, not cut. D gives the volume of water, which a science teacher needs to judge the test.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Choose the transition that best connects these two sentences from a history paragraph: Before 1825, sending a ton of flour from Buffalo to New York City by wagon was slow and costly. ____, a canal boat could carry the same flour cheaply and without the bumps of a rough road.
Answer: C
The second sentence describes the opposite of the first, the cheap canal against the costly road, and "In contrast" signals that difference. "For example" would introduce an instance of the first idea, "As a result" would claim that the costly road caused the canal boat's low cost, and "In addition" would add another point of the same kind.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which revision of So basically the sock won. (T4) is accurate and suits families?
Answer: B
The data show only a 0.5 °C gap between the sock and the bubble wrap, smaller than the spread between trials, so "about equally well" is accurate, and the words are plain. A and D claim far more than the data show. C uses ΔT and "mean" without explaining them and still names a winner the data do not support.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Using facts from Model A (T1), write two or three sentences for a sign at the same canal park that tell families why the Erie Canal mattered to New York City. Then name one choice you made for that audience.
Model answer: "Why did this ditch matter so much? Before the canal, sending a ton of goods from Buffalo to New York City by road cost about $100. By canal it cost about $10, so grain from western farms flowed to the city, and New York grew into a great port." (facts from T1, paragraphs 2 and 3) Choice: I opened with a question and used one striking pair of numbers instead of the population figures, because families reading a sign want one clear idea. Rubric line: 2 points for accurate facts from T1, a style that fits families (short sentences, everyday words) and a named choice with a reason; 1 point if the facts are accurate but the style still sounds like Model A, or if the choice is not explained.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
Rewrite sentence 6 of the weak draft (T4), "The unwrapped cup had a mean ΔT of 8.2 and the foil was 7.0 and bubble wrap was 4.9 and the sock was 4.4," for families. Keep the numbers accurate, and replace "mean ΔT" with words a family would understand.
Model answer: "In 20 minutes, the water in the bare cup cooled by about 8 degrees Celsius. The foil cup cooled by 7 degrees, but the cups in bubble wrap and in a wool sock cooled by only about 4 or 5 degrees (averages of three tries)." Rubric line: 2 points for accurate numbers (rounding is fine), plain words for the temperature drop and the average, and sentences that group the results so the pattern is clear; 1 point if the numbers are accurate but a term such as ΔT or "mean" is still unexplained, or if the sentence is still one long list.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Jordan's card (T4) needs a new organization. List, in order, what the card should say first, second and third, and explain in one sentence why that order suits families who read it in about a minute.
Model answer: First, the finding and a use for it: wool and bubble wrap kept warm water warm longest, so they can keep a lunch warm. Second, how the group tested it, in one sentence: four cups of warm water, three wraps and one bare cup, checked after 20 minutes. Third, why it works: both materials trap air, and trapped air slows heat from escaping. Families may read only the first line, so the main point has to come first, and the test and the reason follow for readers who stay. Rubric line: 2 points for the finding placed first, a short test description and a plain reason, with an explanation tied to the family reader; 1 point for a sensible order with no explanation, or an explanation with the finding still near the end.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
A student writes in a history paragraph: "The Erie Canal was really cool and it helped a lot of people." Rewrite the sentence for a history teacher, using a specific fact from Model A (T1), and cite the paragraph.
Model answer: "The Erie Canal helped New York City grow into a larger trading city: New York had about 124,000 people in 1820 and more than 200,000 in 1830 (T1, paragraph 3)." Another correct answer uses the drop in shipping costs from about $100 to about $10 a ton (T1, paragraph 2). Rubric line: 2 points for a formal sentence that replaces "really cool" and "a lot of people" with a precise claim, an accurate fact from T1 and a citation; 1 point if the style is formal but the fact is missing or inaccurate, or the reverse.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
Model C (T3) explains: "Both materials hold air in many small pockets, and trapped air slows the flow of heat from the water to the cooler room." Rewrite this explanation in one or two sentences for a second-grade science buddy, and name one change you made for that reader.
Model answer: "Wool and bubble wrap are full of tiny pockets of air. The air works like a blanket around the cup, so the warm water stays warm longer." Change: I replaced "the flow of heat" with a comparison to a blanket, something a second grader knows. Rubric line: 2 points for a version that stays accurate (the wraps slow cooling; they do not add heat), uses words a young child knows and names a change with a reason; 1 point if the words are simple but the science becomes wrong, or if no change is named.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
Name the task, purpose and audience of Model C (T3). Then give one choice in its development, one in its organization and one in its style that fits them, quoting a few words for each.
Model answer: Task: the Results and Conclusion sections of a lab report. Purpose: report the data and answer the research question honestly. Audience: a science teacher. Development: exact means with units and the number of trials, "a mean drop of 8.2 °C over three trials" (paragraph 1). Organization: labeled sections in the order a lab report uses, "Results," "Conclusion" and "Limitation." Style: formal and careful not to claim too much, "this test cannot tell which of the two is better" (paragraph 2). Rubric line: 2 points for a correct task, purpose and audience and three choices, each with a short quotation that shows it; 1 point for a correct task, purpose and audience with only one or two supported choices.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does WHST.6-8.4 mean?
WHST.6-8.4 means that students in grades 6-8 can write clearly and coherently in history, science and technical classes, and can shape each piece for the job it has to do.
The standard names three choices, development (the facts and details), organization (the order and structure) and style (the words and sentences), and asks that all three fit the task, the purpose and the audience. A lab report for a teacher and a sign for families can use the same facts, but they should not read alike.
What is the difference between WHST.6-8.4 and W.7.4?
The wording is the same; the difference is the class. W.6.4, W.7.4 and W.8.4 are the English-class versions, and WHST.6-8.4 applies the same demand to history, science and technical writing.
In practice, a WHST.6-8.4 piece is also judged on its content: a history explanation needs accurate facts and dates, and a lab report needs accurate data with units, however well it is written.
What do task, purpose and audience mean in writing?
The task is the kind of writing, the purpose is what it should do, and the audience is who will read it.
For example, the task might be a lab report, a caption or a letter; the purpose might be to explain, to report results or to give directions; and the audience might be a science teacher, a younger student or a visitor who knows nothing about the topic. Students answer all three questions before they choose what to write.
What is the difference between clear writing and coherent writing?
Clear writing is easy to understand one sentence at a time; coherent writing hangs together from one sentence to the next.
A sentence with an unclear "it" or an undefined term is not clear. A paragraph of clear sentences that jump from topic to topic, with no order and no transitions, is not coherent. The standard asks for both.
Is WHST.6-8.4 taught in science class, history class or English class?
It belongs to history, science and technical classes, as part of the Common Core literacy standards for those subjects.
English teachers often teach the idea of writing for an audience, and science and history teachers apply it to lab reports, explanations, captions and posters. Using the same three questions (task, purpose, audience) in every class helps students carry the habit from one class to the next.
Can students write "you" or "I" in science and history writing?
It depends on the task, which is exactly what this standard asks students to notice.
A sign or a family card may speak to the reader as "you," and a lab report written by a group often uses "we" for what the group did. A history explanation for a teacher usually avoids both and keeps the focus on the topic. When in doubt, students should check the teacher's directions or a model of the same kind of writing.
How is WHST.6-8.4 assessed?
Teachers usually assess it within other writing, not as a separate test.
A rubric for a lab report, a history explanation or a poster can include rows for development, organization and style for the named reader, as the homework rubric on this page does. Short quiz items can also ask students to judge which version of a sentence fits a given reader, or to rewrite a sentence for a new one.
Why does this lesson use a sign and a lab report instead of only essays?
Because the standard is about fitting writing to its readers, and that is easiest to see when the readers are very different.
A sign, a lab report and a history explanation about related topics show how the same facts change shape. History and science classes also ask for many kinds of writing besides essays, such as captions, lab reports, posters and museum labels.
Is WHST.6-8.4 the same as WHST.9-10.4?
The two standards have the same wording, but the expectations grow with the grade.
In grades 6-8, students usually write for readers they know, such as a teacher, a younger class or families at a school event. In grades 9-10, the topics, sources and readers are more demanding, for example a technical report for a specialist or a history paper that weighs several interpretations.
How can parents help with writing for different audiences at home?
Ask your child who will read a piece and what that reader should be able to do after reading it.
Everyday writing works well for practice: a note for a babysitter, directions to your home for a visitor or a thank-you message to a relative. Reading a finished school assignment aloud together also helps, because unclear sentences are easier to hear than to see.
07
Related Standards
5 standards
These standards connect to WHST.6-8.4: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
W.5.4Prerequisite
Write clearly, with development and organization suited to task, purpose and audience
Lesson coming soon
Alongside
W.7.4Parallel
Produce clear, coherent writing suited to task, purpose and audience in English class
