Worksheet Grade 2 Careers & CTE

The Creek Watcher's Litter Log at Duckpond Park

A grade 2 careers worksheet in which students read one week of a fictional creek watcher's litter log, bar-graph it, and add and subtract within 100.

Grade: Grade 2
Subject: Careers & CTE
Material: Worksheet
Time: 30 min
Prep: No prep
Materials: None

Standards

2.MD.D.10 Common Core Math

Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems using information presented in a bar graph.

How this material aligns: Items 1 through 6 read a four-category litter table, draw a single-unit bar graph of it, and answer compare and put-together questions from that data.

All materials for 2.MD.D.10 →

2.OA.A.1 Common Core Math

Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- and two-step word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

How this material aligns: Items 7 and 8 are one-step add-to and compare word problems within 100 built on the creek watcher's counts, with the unknown in the result position.

All materials for 2.OA.A.1 →

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This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-07-23.

Objectives

Students will read a four-category data table from a creek worker's litter log.
Students will draw and label a bar graph of the four litter categories.
Students will add and subtract two-digit litter counts within 100.

Vocabulary

Key words: creek, litter, log, bar graph

Teacher overview

Mr. Ibarra is a creek watcher for the parks department in the town of Duckpond. Twice a week he walks the creek that runs through Duckpond Park with a bucket and a grabber tool, picks up what he finds, and writes each kind of litter in a log before he empties the bucket. The log tells the town which trash cans need to be moved and which paths need a sign. This worksheet uses one week of his log as a four-category data set for graphing, comparing, and adding within 100.

The Creek Watcher's Litter Log at Duckpond Park — Grade 2 Careers & CTE

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Read aloud: Mr. Ibarra walks the creek at Duckpond Park. He picks up litter and writes down what he finds. Here is his log for one week.

Kind of litter	How many he found
Cups	14
Bags	8
Cans	20
Straws	11

Draw a bar graph. Make one bar for each kind. Label each bar.
Which kind of litter did he find the most of?
Which kind of litter did he find the fewest of?
How many more cans than bags did he find?
How many cups and straws did he find in all?
How many pieces of litter did he find in all?
The next week he found 10 more cans. How many cans is that in all?
Mr. Ibarra wants to get down to 40 pieces next week. He found 53 this week. How many fewer must he find to get down to 40?
Tell why he writes down what he finds.
Name one thing kids can do so he finds less litter.

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

Answer Key

Answer: A bar graph with four labeled bars, Cups at 14, Bags at 8, Cans at 20, and Straws at 11 pieces. Any single-unit scale is fine as long as each bar reaches the right height and carries its label.
Answer: Cans. He found 20 cans, which is more than 14, 11, or 8.
Answer: Bags. He found 8 bags, which is fewer than 11, 14, or 20.
Answer: 12 more cans. 20 - 8 = 12.
Answer: 25 pieces. 14 + 11 = 25.
Answer: 53 pieces. 14 + 8 = 22, 22 + 20 = 42, and 42 + 11 = 53.
Answer: 30 cans. 20 + 10 = 30.
Answer: 13 fewer pieces. 53 - 40 = 13.
Answer: Answers will vary. Accept reasoning that the log shows the town which litter is worst, where to put another trash can, or whether the creek is getting cleaner over time.
Answer: Answers will vary. Accept holding a wrapper until a trash can is nearby, using a refillable bottle, recycling cans, or picking up litter near the water with an adult.

Differentiation

Support (below grade level)

Give a bar graph grid with the side scale already numbered by ones to 20 and the Cups bar shaded. Provide a hundred chart for items 4 through 8, and read each item aloud a second time.

Extension (above grade level)

Ask students to add a fifth row to the log for a kind of litter they think Mr. Ibarra would find, choose a count that keeps the week's total under 100, and rewrite item 6 with the new total.

ELL supports

Pre-teach creek, litter, and log with a simple sketch of a stream, a wrapper, and a notebook page. Allow items 9 and 10 to be answered orally to a partner first, using the starters "He writes it down so ____" and "Kids can ____."

Extensions

Have the class keep its own one-week litter log for the schoolyard using the same four categories, then compare its bar graph with Mr. Ibarra's and write one sentence about what is different. Students who pick anything up should wear gloves, and an adult should handle glass or sharp items.