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Worm Bin Writers: Quick Notes and Long Projects worksheet preview

Worksheet

Worm Bin Writers: Quick Notes and Long Projects

Grade 5 writing: read about a class worm bin, match writing jobs to their purpose, audience, and time frame, then write and plan your own.

Grade 5ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toW.5.10

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 Common Core standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 12 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 5
Subject
ELA
Question types
Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students explain how a writer's task, purpose, and audience shape a piece of writing.
  • Students tell short writing tasks done in one sitting apart from long projects that take weeks.
  • Students write a short piece in one sitting and plan the steps of a longer research project.

How to use

Read the passage together and list the writing jobs on the board. Students answer questions 1 to 8 on their own, then write the short pieces and plan the long project in questions 9 to 12.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

W.5.10

Write routinely over longer and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Preview

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Name Date

Worm Bin Writers: Quick Notes and Long Projects

See how writing changes with the task, the reader, and the time you have.

Read about the worm bin

Writing Jobs at the Worm Bin

1Room 12 has an unusual classroom pet: a plastic bin full of worms. The worms live in damp, shredded newspaper, and every few days the students feed them fruit and vegetable scraps from lunch. Slowly, the worms turn the scraps into dark, rich compost for the school's flower beds. Ms. Herrera's fifth graders take care of the bin, and almost every job they do includes some writing. Some of these writing jobs take only a few minutes, while others take weeks.

2The quickest job is the daily log. Each morning, two students lift the lid, check the bin, and write a log entry in the worm notebook. An entry takes about five minutes. It tells whether the bedding is damp or dry, how much food is left, and anything unusual the students notice. The only readers are the other members of the worm team, so short notes such as "Bedding dry, added water, food almost gone" are fine.

3Another short job came up during the first week. Someone had dropped cookie crumbs and cheese into the bin. The team had fifteen minutes to make a sign for the lid. Anyone in the school might read the sign, even kindergarten students. The team chose a few large, simple words: "Fruit and veggie scraps only, please!"

4Some jobs happen only once. When Mr. Abara, the owner of a nearby plant nursery, donated a second worm bin, the class wrote him a thank-you letter. Each student wrote one paragraph during a single class period. The letter was polite and formal, and it explained exactly how the class would use the new bin.

5The biggest job is the Worm Guide, a booklet that the fifth graders write each spring for the second-grade classes. Each student picks one question to answer, such as "How do worms move without legs?" The project takes three weeks. Students read books and websites, take notes, and write a first draft. Then they meet with a partner, revise their drafts, and add labeled diagrams. Because second graders will read the guide, the writers explain hard words and keep their sentences short.

6Every Friday, students also write a quick reflection in their journals. They have about ten minutes to tell what they noticed about the worms that week and what they wonder about next. Ms. Herrera says the short jobs keep everyone writing every day, and the long project teaches them to stick with a big piece of work.

Tasks, readers, and time

Use the passage to answer questions 1 to 8.

1.
Match each piece of writing to its audience, the people who will read it.
  1. the daily log
  2. the sign on the lid
  3. the thank-you letter
  4. the Worm Guide
  1. A. anyone in the school
  2. B. second-grade students
  3. C. Mr. Abara
  4. D. the other members of the worm team
2.
The daily log, the sign, and the Friday reflection are short tasks done in one sitting. The Worm Guide is a long project. Sort each step by the writing job it belongs to.
write whether the bedding is damp or dryread books and websites and take notesmeet with a partner and revise a draftchoose a few large, simple words for the lidadd labeled diagramstell what you wonder about next
Short task (one sitting)Long project (the Worm Guide)
3.
Read paragraph 2 again. Why is it fine for log entries to use short notes such as "Bedding dry, added water, food almost gone"?
  • A. Mr. Abara reads them, and he likes notes that are quick to read.
  • B. Only the worm team reads them, and the team knows what they mean.
  • C. Second graders read them, so the sentences must be very short.
  • D. The principal reads them aloud, and short notes are easier to say.
4.
Read paragraph 3 again. Underline the sentence that tells who the audience for the sign is.

Another short job came up during the first week.Someone had dropped cookie crumbs and cheese into the bin.The team had fifteen minutes to make a sign for the lid.Anyone in the school might read the sign, even kindergarten students.The team chose a few large, simple words: "Fruit and veggie scraps only, please!"

5.
Match each piece of writing to its purpose, the reason it was written.
  1. the sign on the lid
  2. the Worm Guide
  3. the Friday reflection
  4. the thank-you letter
  1. A. to thank someone for a gift
  2. B. to tell people which scraps belong in the bin
  3. C. to look back on the week and ask new questions
  4. D. to answer a question for younger readers
6.
Which sentence would fit best in the Worm Guide for second graders?
  • A. Bedding damp, food almost gone, two worms resting near the lid.
  • B. Annelids move by contracting circular and longitudinal muscle layers.
  • C. Thank you for the new bin that our class uses every single day.
  • D. Worms have no legs, so they squeeze and stretch their bodies to move.
7.
Ms. Herrera adds a new job: a card on the classroom door that reminds the worm team to check the bin each morning. Which plan fits this job best?
  • A. Write a formal letter with a greeting, three paragraphs, and a closing.
  • B. Spend three weeks reading books, taking notes, and writing drafts.
  • C. Write a short, clear reminder that the team can read in seconds.
  • D. Write a journal page about what you noticed and wondered this week.
8.
Why does the Worm Guide take much longer to write than the sign on the lid?
  • A. It needs research, a draft, a partner check, and revising.
  • B. It is written only on Fridays, during journal time in class.
  • C. Mr. Abara has to read and approve each page before it is done.
  • D. Second graders help write it, so the work goes more slowly.

Write and plan

Try two short writing tasks. Then plan a page for a long project like the Worm Guide.

9.
Short task (about 10 minutes): Write a note of 2 or 3 sentences for the classroom door. Tell visitors from other classes that they may look at the worms but should ask before they open the lid. Remember that readers of all ages will see it.
10.
Short task (new audience): Rewrite this log note as one or two full sentences that a second grader could understand: "Bedding dry, added water, food almost gone."
11.
Long project (three weeks), your question: Write one question about worms that you could answer in the Worm Guide. Then name two places where you could look for facts.
12.
Long project (three weeks), your plan: Write what you will do in week 1, week 2, and week 3 to finish your page.

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