Common Core/PARCC Writing Prompt: All Around One Cactus

This writing prompt was designed using the PARCC Writing Prompt Format. It addresses the Writing component of the Common Core State Standards.

This writing prompt gives students a poem and a list of facts explaining the role of the Saguaro Cactus in the Sonoran Desert. It gives additional text excerpts that explain the role of other animals that coexist in the same area.

The writing prompt:

In this narrative nonfiction article, the author describes the many animals that live in and around the Saguaro Cactus.

If you were given the opportunity to have a conversation with the tall and grand Saguaro, what questions would you ask?


Write an article for your school newspaper explaining how the Saguaro Cactus coexists with other animals that live in and around the same area of the Sonoran Desert.