Classroom activity Grade 2 Art & Music

Only Rain Down the Drain: A Grade 2 Storm Drain Message Activity

Grade 2 pairs design a round storm-drain marker with a picture and short message warning that most drains carry water straight to a creek, then write an opinion caption.

Grade: Grade 2
Subject: Art & Music
Material: Classroom activity
Time: 40 min
Prep: Low prep
Materials: Paper circles, about 8 inches across, 1 per pair, Crayons, markers, or colored pencils, Pencils, One teacher example drawn on the board

Standards

W.2.1 Common Core ELA

Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

How this material aligns: Each pair writes one opinion caption for their design using the linking word 'because' to give a reason, the structure this standard requires.

All materials for W.2.1 →

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This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-07-15.

Objectives

Students will design a storm-drain marker with a picture and a short message about water pollution.
Students will write one opinion caption for their design using the word 'because.'

Vocabulary

Storm drain: A storm drain is the grate at the edge of a street that swallows rainwater and sends it through pipes to the nearest creek or river. That water is usually not treated, so only rain belongs down the drain.

Teacher overview

This is a partner art activity in which pairs of students design a round paper marker like the ones many towns stick or paint beside storm drains to remind people that in most towns whatever goes down that drain flows to a nearby creek or river without being cleaned. Each pair sketches a picture, such as a fish or a wave, alongside a short message, then writes one sentence explaining why their message matters. Real neighborhoods run similar marker programs, often organized by a city's public works or stormwater staff.

This activity gives students a visual-art way to practice a persuasive message while learning about a real piece of civic infrastructure: the difference between a storm drain, which in most towns carries rain straight to a natural waterway, and an indoor drain, which carries wastewater to a treatment plant instead. Keeping that distinction in mind while designing the marker helps the message stay accurate as well as eye-catching, and the closing gallery walk gives each pair's work an audience.

Activity Directions

Show the class a simple drawing of a round storm drain on the board and explain that rain falling on the street flows down through it into a pipe that, in most towns, leads straight to a local creek without being cleaned along the way.
Explain the challenge: each pair will design a marker for one of these drains, using a picture and a short message that reminds people not to dump things like paint, oil, or trash down the drain.
Pair students up and give each pair a paper circle, along with crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
Give pairs 5 minutes to talk through their idea: what picture will they draw, and what short message will they write (three to six words, such as "Drains to Creek" or "No Dumping, Fish Live Here").
Give pairs 20 minutes to sketch their picture in pencil first, then color and outline their final design on the paper circle.
Each pair writes one caption sentence on the back of their circle giving their opinion about why the message matters, using the word "because" to connect their opinion to a reason.
End the activity when every pair has finished their marker and caption. Collect the markers and arrange them on a table or wall for a five-minute gallery walk, where students walk past and read each other's designs.
Debrief: ask two or three pairs to read their caption sentence aloud and explain what their picture shows.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Differentiation

Support (below grade level)

Provide a set of simple picture stencils (a fish, a wave, a raindrop) that students can trace before adding their own message, and offer a sentence frame for the caption: "People should not dump ___ down the drain because ___."

Extension (above grade level)

Ask pairs to design a second marker aimed at a different audience, such as one for drivers who might spill oil versus one for people washing paintbrushes outside, and explain in one sentence how the two messages differ.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "storm drain," "creek," and "dump" using the board drawing from step 1, pointing to each part as the words are introduced. Allow the caption sentence to be dictated to the teacher or a partner and then copied, rather than composed independently.