Lesson plan Grade 4 Art & Music
Storm Drain Guardians: Designing Water-Protecting Drain Markers
A 50-minute grade 4 art lesson where students trace a map from a storm drain to a creek, then design a circular marker warning neighbors not to dump waste down the drain.
Objectives
- Students will explain that storm drains carry rainwater directly to a local creek or river without treatment.
- Students will trace a simple map showing the path from a street storm drain to a nearby creek.
- Students will design a storm drain marker with an image and a short message warning against dumping.
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.
- Stormwater
- Stormwater is rain or melted snow that flows off roofs, streets, and parking lots. In most towns it goes into storm drains and flows to a stream without being treated, carrying whatever it picked up.
Teacher overview
Many students assume every drain leads to the same place, so this lesson uses art to correct that directly: a sink drain travels to a treatment plant, while a street storm drain usually travels straight to a nearby creek or river with no treatment at all. Students design a storm drain marker, a small warning sign real public works departments and utilities install next to drains, after first tracing a simple map that shows where one neighborhood's storm drains lead. A common misconception this lesson addresses: students often think storm drains connect to the same sewer system as sinks and toilets, when in most communities the two systems are entirely separate.
Procedure
Hook (5 min): Show the class two images side by side: a kitchen sink drain and a street storm drain. Ask, "Where do you think the water goes after it disappears down each one?" Collect a few guesses without confirming or correcting them yet.
Direct instruction (10 min): Explain that water going down a sink travels to a wastewater treatment plant, where it is cleaned before it reaches a river. Water going down a street storm drain, however, usually flows straight to the nearest creek or river with no treatment step at all, carrying along anything that was poured or washed into it. Show the map of a fictional neighborhood, Elmhurst, tracing the path from a house, to the street, to a storm drain, to Cutbank Creek, so students can see the whole route at once.
Guided discussion (5 min): Ask students to brainstorm things that might get poured or swept into a street storm drain, such as motor oil, paint, pet waste, or yard chemicals. For each item, ask what could happen to fish or plants in the creek if that item traveled there untreated.
Civic context (5 min): Explain that because storm drains carry pollution directly to waterways, many towns run storm drain marking programs: volunteers place a small painted or stenciled marker next to each drain with a picture and a short warning message, reminding neighbors that whatever goes down that drain goes straight to the creek. This is one real policy communities use to address a shared water problem.
Design work (20 min): Give each student a blank circle template, matching the shape of a real storm drain marker. Students design their own marker with one simple picture (such as a fish or a wave) and a short message of six words or fewer warning against dumping waste down the drain.
Gallery walk (3 min): Students leave their finished markers on their desks and walk quietly past at least three classmates' designs, noticing different pictures and messages other students chose.
Closure / exit ticket (2 min): On an index card, students answer: "Why should someone never dump waste down a storm drain?" Collect the cards and scan for the key idea that storm drains lead untreated water straight to a creek or river.
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Answer Key
Exit ticket answer: Someone should never dump waste down a storm drain because, unlike a sink drain, most storm drains carry water straight to a nearby creek or river without passing through any treatment plant, so anything dumped there travels directly into the water where fish, plants, and people downstream can be affected. A strong answer should mention that the water is untreated and that it reaches a real body of water.
Map-tracing check: Students tracing the Elmhurst map should be able to name the correct order of the path: house → street → storm drain → Cutbank Creek, showing that they can read the sequence of a simple map rather than guessing at it.
Differentiation
Support (below grade level)
Provide a simplified map with only three labeled stops (house, storm drain, creek) instead of four, and offer a small set of picture stickers (a fish, a raindrop, a stop sign) that students can arrange on their marker instead of drawing freehand.
Extension (above grade level)
Ask students to design a second marker aimed at a different audience, such as drivers who might change their car's oil in a driveway, and to explain in one sentence how their message or picture changes for that audience compared to their first marker.
ELL supports
Pre-teach storm drain, treatment, and pollute using the sink-versus-storm-drain picture pair and the Elmhurst map with each stop labeled in simple icons. Allow the marker's message to be a single strong word or two-word phrase (such as "Only rain!") paired with a clear picture, rather than a full sentence.
Extensions
If storm drains are visible near the school, take students on a short, supervised walk to view one from the sidewalk and check whether it already has a marker. Contact the local public works or stormwater department to ask whether the class's marker designs could be used in a real neighborhood marking event, connecting the art project to an authentic civic audience.