For A Good Cause
A group of students is planning to wash cars at their school to raise money
for a homeless shelter. The car washes will be available every weekend
for two months. The students are considering three different plans. In each
plan, drivers purchase a booklet of coupons and each coupon entitles the
driver to one car wash at the school. A car wash at the local gas station
costs $10.95 including tax.
Plan / Number of Coupons / Cost of Coupon BookletA / 3 / $32.99
B / 5 / $52.49
C / 8 / $79.49
1. How many car washes can you get at the gas station and still pay less than Plan A?
Plan B? Plan C? Write and solve an inequality to find the answers.
2. Suppose a driver expects to wash her car 3 times over the two-month period. Is it better
to buy the coupon booklet or go to the gas station? Explain your thinking.
3. Suppose a driver expects to wash her car 8 times over the two-month period. Is it better
to buy the coupon booklet or go to the gas station? Explain your thinking.
4. The students think that drivers will pay a maximum of $43 for the coupon booklet, so they
decide to develop a new plan. The students want the cost of each car wash to be at least
$10, but less than the cost at the gas station. How many coupons should the $43 booklet
contain? Explain.
5. Research the cost of a car wash in your area. Based on the number of times you think
most drivers wash their cars over a two-month period, develop a plan for a coupon
booklet similar to those shown above.
A group of students decide to have custom T-shirts made to promote their
fund-raiser. Prices for the T-shirts are shown below. There is also a $3.50
shipping and handling charge per order. Assume that the students have
a budget of $200 for the T-shirts and that the shirts must be purchased in
packs of ten.
Type of T-shirt / Cost per 10 Shirts ($)Long-sleeve, blue / 65
Long-sleeve, white / 55
Short-sleeve, blue / 50
Short-sleeve, white / 45
1. How many long-sleeve, blue T-shirts can the students buy? Write and solve an inequality to
find the answer.
2. How many short-sleeve, white T-shirts can the students buy? Write and solve an inequality
to find the answer.
3. Which type of T-shirts should the students buy if they want to use as much of the budget as
possible? In this case, how much money will they have left over?
4. The manufacturer charges an additional $7.50 per pack to put a design on both the front
and back of the T-shirts. How many long-sleeve, blue T-shirts can the students buy if they
want a design on the front and back? How much additional money would they need in
order to buy one more pack?
5. Research the cost of having custom T-shirts printed. Be sure to find out the cost of shipping
and handling. Write and solve an inequality to determine how many T-shirts you could order
with a $200 budget. Explain your solution.
Category / Possible Points / ScoreCar-wash- Which plan for the number of car washes. / 20
Calculation of how many tickets the booklet should contain. / 20
T-shirts-writing and solving inequalities. / 20
Calculation of how t-shirts on budget / 20
Student writing demonstrates the six traits – Car wash explanations.. / 10
Student writing demonstrates the six traits –
T-shirt explanations. / 10
Final Score:
6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Ideas/Content / Clear, focused topic sentence. Expansively answers well-defined question; information comes from credible sources; striking insight and in-depth understanding of topic; ideas are clear and elaborated. Accurate support/evidence gives weight to main idea / Clear, focused topic sentence; gives reader important, useful information; information comes from credible sources; clear and focused throughout. Accurate support/evidence lends credibility to main idea / Identifiable topic sentence; information comes from credible sources; clear and focused most of the time; includes identifiable main idea and quality details. Gaps in support/evidence leave reader with questions / Thesis or topic sentence can be inferred with careful reading; information comes from credible sources most of the time; generalities and filler outweigh quality detail. Sketchy evidence/support hurts credibility / Missing critical components of assignment; information may or may not come from credible sources; there is just a hint of a main idea; paper is loosely focused. Evidence/support not helpful to someone who does not know topic / Missing critical components of assignment; information does not come from credible sources or is not included; these are just notes and random thoughts, there is no big picture; missing main idea/thesis. No details, evidence, or support. Reader can’t tell what the message is
Word Choice Mathematical Vocabulary / Every word carries its own weight; math terminology is used correctly and precisely; appropriate vocabulary is explained and defined as needed for the reader / Language is appropriate to topic, purpose and audience; math terminology is used correctly; appropriate vocabulary is defined as needed; precise, natural language supports ideas / Language is appropriate to topic; functional clear language is used correctly, math terminology is attempted but may not be used correctly; some strong promising moments. / Moments of imprecise, stilted or incorrectly used language; Math terminology is not attempted or is used incorrectly; vague or flat language is used. / Flat, dull dry language, terms are not defined as needed; words are used incorrectly or with repetition; over-written or under-written / Meaning is unclear or buried under jargon or technical terms; words distort the message and seem chosen at random.
Sentence Fluency / Writing is crisp and to the point; sentences are easy to read and support the meaning of the text / Highly readable; varied sentence structure, length / Grammatical, natural and pleasant phrasing; few awkward moments, some repetition in sentence beginnings / Mechanical, but readable; run-ons, fragments, or choppy sentences occur; repetitive beginnings / Reader stumbles over text, must re-read; fluency is lacking / VERY hard to read, does not always make sense or use complete sentences, may contain missing words or awkward phrasing
Organization / Essay includes strong introduction and conclusion with clincher; smooth, thoughtful transitions move reader from thought to thought; structure enhances topic / Essay includes introduction and conclusion; main ideas, turning points stand out; strong thoughtful transitions, structure evident but not overpowering / Essay is functional; structure supports ideas but is occasionally predictable; functional lead and conclusion; transitions are present and usually helpful / Essay may not include correct number of paragraphs, essay may need re-ordering; introduction and conclusion are attempted but need work; transitions are unclear or too formulaic / Essay is not long enough, or is one big paragraph; hard to follow even with effort; lead and/or conclusion are missing; transitions are missing or unclear / Disjointed list of details/events; no apparent connections; no real lead or conclusion, no recognizable structure; transitions are not attempted
Voice
Analytical Tone / Professional, voice holds reader’s attention; confident tone reflects knowledge, inspires readers trust; writer’s enthusiasm for the topic grabs reader’s attention / Professional voice is well suited to audience and purpose; confident tone makes readers open to the message; writer seems engaged by the topic / Appropriate, but inconsistent voice; tone is acceptable to audience and purpose; confidence appears in spurts, reflects variable knowledge of subject / Voice is out of balance—too little, or too much of the wrong voice; tone is functional but sometimes distant; tone is occasionally questionable for audience and purpose; writer projects limited confidence in his/her knowledge of the topic / Voice is too chatty for purpose/audience; voice is overly formal or too informal; tone is inappropriate for audience; serious lack of confidence suppresses voice / Voice decidedly inappropriate or just a faint whisper; writer does not know topic—writing to get it done
Conventions / Only the pickiest editors will spot errors; virtually ready to publish; contains only 1 or 2 minor errors / Text appears proofed; ready to publish with minor touch-ups; contains 3-5 errors / Noticeable errors but do NOT obscure meaning; basics (periods, simple spelling) are okay; a good once-over needed before publication / Noticeable, distracting errors that may affect meaning;
Errors occur even on basics,
Careful editing required before publication / Noticeable, frequent, distracting errors, numerous errors on basics, line by line editing required before publication / Serious, frequent errors make reading almost impossible; Errors obscure meaning; extensive word by word editing required before publication