Plant the empty lot: a student's argument: stretch · Grades 7–8

The passage and its 8 questions

Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions in full sentences.

• For six years, the lot on the corner of Birch Street and Fifth Avenue has collected nothing but broken glass and abandoned shopping carts. Our town council is now deciding what to do with it. I believe the council should turn the lot into a community garden, because a garden would feed families, teach young people valuable skills and make our neighborhood safer and more welcoming.
• First, a garden would put fresh food within walking distance. The nearest grocery store is a twenty-minute bus ride away, and many older residents on Birch Street do not drive. Last spring, our student council surveyed 120 families in the area, and 71 percent said they would grow vegetables if they had a plot of land.
• Second, a garden is an outdoor classroom. Students could measure plant growth for science, calculate harvests in math and learn how to plan a project from seed to table.
• These are skills that no worksheet can fully teach.
• Third, empty lots attract trash, while cared-for spaces attract people. When neighbors spend time outdoors together, they get to know one another and keep an eye on the street. Besides, every cool town has a community garden these days, so we should too.
• Some council members argue that the lot should become a parking area instead, since drivers often circle the block looking for a space. This is a fair concern. However, a parking lot would serve a few cars for a few hours, while a garden would serve hundreds of residents every growing season. The town could also add parking spaces along the wider Fifth Avenue side without paving over the lot.
• A town shows what it values by how it uses its land. Let's choose to grow something. I urge the council to vote yes on the garden, and I invite every reader to come to the public meeting next month and say so.
• 1. What is the writer's claim? Copy the sentence that states it.
• 2. Identify the counterclaim in paragraph 5 and explain how the writer rebuts it.
• 3. Which sentence in paragraph 4 is the weakest support for the claim? Name the fallacy and explain.
• 4. What does the word 'urge' mean in paragraph 6?
• 5. Why is the survey in paragraph 2 fairly strong evidence, and what question might a careful reader still ask about it?
• 6. Why does the writer call the parking worry "a fair concern" before disagreeing?
• What effect does this concession have?
• 7. Find a word in the passage that was new or tricky for you. What do you think it means? Which words around it helped you?
• 8. Write a one-paragraph summary that a younger student could understand.