Sustainability CER Choice Questions for 9th Grade
A short, student-choice writing packet in which 9th graders pick one of three questions about their Blue Lake fishing game and answer it with a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning response built from their own data table. It builds scientific argument writing, analysis of shared-resource trade-offs, and connections between a classroom model and real-world sustainability.
“I need these 3 questions in kid friendly language. The kids will have the option to choose 1 of the 3 questions for their CER. This is a unit on Sustainblity. They played a game and I want them to use their data table as the evidence In the model for this activity, how were the human actions determined in the different games? What else might affect people’s actions in regard to common resource use in a situation like the Blue Lake scenario? Explain the scenario and fishing limits your group chose for Game D, what trade-offs you considered for your scenario and how you decided to address them, your results, and how your scenario affected the sustainability of the fish populations in Blue Lake. How do you think this model compares to a real-life situation where human actions impact a common resource? Explain your reasoning.”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use this as a writing task after students finish the Blue Lake game and have completed their data tables, so the evidence they cite comes directly from their own play.
- Discussion question: What patterns did your group see in the fish population across rounds, and which of your decisions do you think caused them?
- Scaffold for struggling writers: have them first complete a claim sentence stem ("Our fishing limit led to...") and pull two specific numbers from the data table before drafting the reasoning.
- Extension for advanced students: ask them to compare two of the three options or propose one policy change to the Blue Lake scenario and justify it with evidence.
- Estimated time: about 40-50 minutes of class time for planning and drafting, with another short block for revision.
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Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free“I need these 3 questions in kid friendly language. The kids will have the option to choose 1 of the 3 questions for their CER. This is a unit on Sustainblity. They played a game and I want them to use their data table as the evidence In the model for this activity, how were the human actions determined in the different games? What else might affect people’s actions in regard to common resource use in a situation like the Blue Lake scenario? Explain the scenario and fishing limits your group chose for Game D, what trade-offs you considered for your scenario and how you decided to address them, your results, and how your scenario affected the sustainability of the fish populations in Blue Lake. How do you think this model compares to a real-life situation where human actions impact a common resource? Explain your reasoning.”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use this as a writing task after students finish the Blue Lake game and have completed their data tables, so the evidence they cite comes directly from their own play.
- Discussion question: What patterns did your group see in the fish population across rounds, and which of your decisions do you think caused them?
- Scaffold for struggling writers: have them first complete a claim sentence stem ("Our fishing limit led to...") and pull two specific numbers from the data table before drafting the reasoning.
- Extension for advanced students: ask them to compare two of the three options or propose one policy change to the Blue Lake scenario and justify it with evidence.
- Estimated time: about 40-50 minutes of class time for planning and drafting, with another short block for revision.
Sustainability CER Choice Questions for 9th Grade
A short, student-choice writing packet in which 9th graders pick one of three questions about their Blue Lake fishing game and answer it with a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning response built from their own data table. It builds scientific argument writing, analysis of shared-resource trade-offs, and connections between a classroom model and real-world sustainability.
What is Diffit?
Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free