Write an argument that answers the other side
Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
A Garden on Willow Street (argument draft)
[1] A fenced lot on Willow Street has been empty for six years, and weeds now cover most of it. [2] The town should lease the lot to neighbors who want to turn it into a community garden. [3] Gardens give families a place to grow vegetables, and fresh produce can be expensive in the nearby shops. [4] A single raised bed can supply a family with salad greens for several weeks, which lowers the grocery bill.
[5] The lot also sits across from Willow Elementary, where teachers could take classes to see plants grow. [6] Students who watch a seed become food can see for themselves how plants and soil work together. [7] Empty lots collect litter, but a tended garden gives neighbors a reason to visit and keep the place clean. [8] In a neighboring town, volunteers cleared a similar lot and now fill thirty beds each spring. [9] Those volunteers show that Willow Street neighbors could keep a garden going for many years.
Pia drafts the next two sentences after [9]. Which pair names a worry fairly and then answers that same worry?
- Some neighbors may feel that a garden would be a lovely place to meet on a quiet street. For that reason, the lease could set daytime hours and one entrance.
- Some neighbors may worry that a garden would attract crowds on weekends. That worry is serious, so the town should probably keep the lot empty for now.
- Some neighbors may worry that a garden would bring crowds and noise to the street. However, the lease could set daytime hours and one entrance.
- Some neighbors may worry that a garden would use too much water in the summer. Gardens also let families grow tomatoes, beans, and herbs close to their homes.
A Garden on Willow Street (argument draft)
[1] A fenced lot on Willow Street has been empty for six years, and weeds now cover most of it. [2] The town should lease the lot to neighbors who want to turn it into a community garden. [3] Gardens give families a place to grow vegetables, and fresh produce can be expensive in the nearby shops. [4] A single raised bed can supply a family with salad greens for several weeks, which lowers the grocery bill.
[5] The lot also sits across from Willow Elementary, where teachers could take classes to see plants grow. [6] Students who watch a seed become food can see for themselves how plants and soil work together. [7] Empty lots collect litter, but a tended garden gives neighbors a reason to visit and keep the place clean. [8] In a neighboring town, volunteers cleared a similar lot and now fill thirty beds each spring. [9] Those volunteers show that Willow Street neighbors could keep a garden going for many years.
Added after sentence [9]: Some neighbors may worry that a garden would bring crowds and noise to the street. However, the lease could set daytime hours and one entrance.
Tala has added the pair shown below the draft. Which closing sentence follows from the whole argument and adds no new claim?
- With fresh food, hands-on learning, and set hours that answer the noise worry, the lot should become a garden.
- The town should also build a playground and a weekly market on Willow Street for neighbors and their children after school.
- In a neighboring town, volunteers now fill thirty beds each spring on a similar lot that was empty.
- Even so, the town may decide that leaving the lot empty is the simpler choice for now.
Save the Clock Tower (argument draft)
[1] The clock tower beside Main Street Station has stood for ninety years, but its four faces stopped keeping time last winter. [2] The town council should repair the clock tower instead of tearing it down. [3] Visitors who arrive by train see the tower first, and many take photographs of it before they walk into town. [4] Those photographs spread the town's name online, which brings new visitors to the nearby shops and cafes.
[5] The tower also holds a bell that rang when the first school in town opened, so it carries local history. [6] Once the tower is gone, no photograph or plaque can replace a landmark that people can see and hear. [7] A repair crew from the next county estimates that new clockworks would cost less than half the price of a demolition and a new plaza. [8] A smaller bill means the council can fix the tower without raising taxes. [9] A working clock would also help commuters, who now check their phones to find the time.
Zee drafts the next two sentences after [9]. Which pair names a worry fairly and then answers that same worry?
- Some residents may feel that taxes are already too high this year. That feeling is strong, so the council should probably tear the old tower down.
- Some residents may feel the money should go to roads and sidewalks. However, the repair costs less than half of the plaza plan, so the council could fund both.
- Some residents may feel that the tower is unsafe to leave standing. The tower's bell also rang when the first school in town opened on the hill above the station.
- Some residents may feel that the tower is a landmark worth saving for visitors. For that reason, the repair costs less than half of the plaza plan.
A reader says the tower is too old to save. The first answer is, 'Those people do not care about the past.' Ari wants a better one. Which revision answers with a reason?
- Anyone who wants to tear down a landmark has no feelings for the town, its past, or its people.
- Age matters, so the council may be right to tear the tower down and start over.
- A tower that has lasted ninety years is sturdy, and new clockworks would keep it standing for decades.
- The town council should repair the clock tower instead of tearing it down this year.
Trays That Come Back (argument draft)
[1] Each day, the Pinecrest Middle School cafeteria serves about four hundred lunches on paper trays that go straight into the trash. [2] The school should switch to washable trays that can be used again each day. [3] A full bin of paper trays leaves the cafeteria after every lunch period, and the bin fills up fast. [4] Washable trays would shrink that trash pile, which means fewer trips to the dumpster for the custodians.
[5] Paper trays cost money every month because the school must buy a new box whenever the old one runs out. [6] A set of washable trays costs more up front but can be used for years, so the school would spend less over time. [7] A school across town made the switch last year and reports that the dishwasher adds about twenty minutes of work per day. [8] Twenty minutes is a small price for cutting the trash that the cafeteria produces. [9] Students also say they would rather eat from a real tray than from one that bends under a heavy lunch.
Esme drafts the next two sentences after [9]. Which pair names a worry fairly and then answers that same worry?
- Some staff may feel that washable trays are an easy way to cut trash. For that reason, the school across town reports about twenty minutes of washing a day, which is easy.
- Some staff may worry that washing trays would add too much work to the kitchen. However, the school across town reports only about twenty minutes a day, a small task for one dishwasher.
- Some staff may worry that washable trays would crack after a few months of use. Students also say they would rather eat from a real tray than from a bending one.
- Some staff may worry that the trays would cost too much at first. That worry is strong, so the school should probably keep using paper trays for now.
A reader says washable trays cost too much. The first answer is, 'People who worry about price are not thinking.' Jun wants a better one. Which revision answers with a reason?
- The school should switch to washable trays that can be used again each day at lunch.
- The price is a real problem, so the school should probably keep paper trays for another year.
- Washable trays cost more at first but last for years, so the school spends less over time.
- People who focus on price rarely think about the planet or about the future of the school.
Trays That Come Back (argument draft)
[1] Each day, the Pinecrest Middle School cafeteria serves about four hundred lunches on paper trays that go straight into the trash. [2] The school should switch to washable trays that can be used again each day. [3] A full bin of paper trays leaves the cafeteria after every lunch period, and the bin fills up fast. [4] Washable trays would shrink that trash pile, which means fewer trips to the dumpster for the custodians.
[5] Paper trays cost money every month because the school must buy a new box whenever the old one runs out. [6] A set of washable trays costs more up front but can be used for years, so the school would spend less over time. [7] A school across town made the switch last year and reports that the dishwasher adds about twenty minutes of work per day. [8] Twenty minutes is a small price for cutting the trash that the cafeteria produces. [9] Students also say they would rather eat from a real tray than from one that bends under a heavy lunch.
Added after sentence [9]: Some staff may worry that washing trays would add too much work to the kitchen. However, the school across town reports only about twenty minutes a day, a small task for one dishwasher.
Kira has added the pair shown below the draft. Which closing sentence follows from the whole argument and adds no new claim?
- Still, the school might decide that paper trays are the simpler choice for another year or two.
- Washable trays would cut trash, save money over time, and take little time to wash, so the school should switch.
- A school across town made the switch last year and reports about twenty minutes of extra washing each day.
- The school should also stop using plastic forks, paper cups, and bottled water at lunch.
A Bus to the Lake (argument draft)
[1] On weekends, hundreds of families walk, bike, and picnic along the Lakeshore Trail, but no city bus stops within a mile. [2] The city should extend the Route 12 bus to a new stop at the Lakeshore Trail entrance. [3] Families without a car cannot reach the trail unless a neighbor drives them, so many never visit at all. [4] A bus stop would open the trail to everyone, which makes the park a shared place instead of a place for car owners.
[5] Cars also fill the small trail lot by ten o'clock on sunny mornings, and visitors then circle the road looking for space. [6] Each rider on a bus is one less car in that crowded lot, which means less circling and a calmer road. [7] The Route 12 bus already turns around at Birch Street, just half a mile from the trail entrance. [8] Extending the route a short distance would cost far less than building a new line. [9] A brief extension would connect more families to the lake without adding many miles to the route.
Luz drafts the next two sentences after [9]. Which pair names a worry fairly and then answers that same worry?
- Some riders may worry that weekend crowds would fill the seats on the bus. Families at the lake also spend money at the shops and cafes nearby, which helps local owners.
- Some riders may feel that a longer route would be a great way to reach the lake. For that reason, the extension adds just half a mile to the route, and the stop is easy to reach.
- Some riders may worry that a longer route would slow the bus for people going to work. However, the extension adds just half a mile, so each trip would take a minute or two longer.
- Some riders may worry that a new stop would make the route too long for the schedule. That worry is strong, so the city should probably leave Route 12 as it is for the whole year.
A reader says buses would be too noisy at the lake. The first answer is, 'Those people want the lake to themselves.' Milo wants a better one. Which revision answers with a reason?
- The city should extend Route 12 to a new stop at the trail entrance for families.
- Complaints like that come from people who have little experience with buses or with the lake.
- On weekends the buses would add a few trips, far fewer than the cars that circle the lot.
- Noise could harm the lake area, so the city may want to skip the new stop for now.
A Bus to the Lake (argument draft)
[1] On weekends, hundreds of families walk, bike, and picnic along the Lakeshore Trail, but no city bus stops within a mile. [2] The city should extend the Route 12 bus to a new stop at the Lakeshore Trail entrance. [3] Families without a car cannot reach the trail unless a neighbor drives them, so many never visit at all. [4] A bus stop would open the trail to everyone, which makes the park a shared place instead of a place for car owners.
[5] Cars also fill the small trail lot by ten o'clock on sunny mornings, and visitors then circle the road looking for space. [6] Each rider on a bus is one less car in that crowded lot, which means less circling and a calmer road. [7] The Route 12 bus already turns around at Birch Street, just half a mile from the trail entrance. [8] Extending the route a short distance would cost far less than building a new line. [9] A brief extension would connect more families to the lake without adding many miles to the route.
Added after sentence [9]: Some riders may worry that a longer route would slow the bus for people going to work. However, the extension adds just half a mile, so each trip would take a minute or two longer.
Noah has added the pair shown below the draft. Which closing sentence follows from the whole argument and adds no new claim?
- The city should also build a second parking lot and a cafe at the trail entrance for visitors who arrive by car.
- A short extension would connect families to the lake, calm the lot, and cost little, so the city should do it.
- Even so, the city might decide that the lake trail is fine for drivers to enjoy alone on weekends.
- Route 12 now turns around at Birch Street, which is just half a mile from the trail entrance where families begin.