Worksheet Grade 2 Careers & CTE

Drip Patrol at Harborlight School: A Line Plot Worksheet

Grade 2 students plot a fictional school water worker's jar-depth measurements from ten drippy fountains on a line plot and read totals from it.

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

Standards

2.MD.D.9 Common Core Math

Generate measurement data by measuring lengths of several objects to the nearest whole unit, or by making repeated measurements of the same object. Show the measurements by making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked off in whole-number units.

How this material aligns: Item 1 builds a line plot with a whole-number inch scale from ten given jar-depth measurements and items 2 through 5 read counts off that plot, while the closing extension has the class measure and add an eleventh point of its own.

All materials for 2.MD.D.9 →

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 word problems within 100, one comparing the deepest and lowest jar readings and one adding a second set of fountains, each 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 build a line plot with a whole-inch scale from ten measurements.
Students will read counts and comparisons from their own line plot.
Students will explain why a school water worker records each measurement.

Vocabulary

Key words: drip, fountain, depth, line plot

Teacher overview

Ms. Sorensen keeps the water running at Harborlight School, a fictional school used for this worksheet. Fixing drips is one of the steady parts of her week, and she works out which fountain to fix first by measuring rather than guessing. She sets the same jar under each drippy fountain for one hour, measures the water depth in whole inches, and writes the number on her clipboard. This worksheet turns those ten measurements into a line plot and then asks students to read counts and differences from it.

Drip Patrol at Harborlight School: A Line Plot Worksheet — Grade 2 Careers & CTE

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Read aloud: Ms. Sorensen fixes the drinking fountains at Harborlight School. She put the same jar under each drippy fountain for one hour. Then she measured the water in the jar. Here is what she wrote down.

Fountain	Inches of water in the jar
1	2
2	3
3	3
4	1
5	4
6	3
7	2
8	3
9	5
10	4

Make a line plot. Mark the bottom line 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 inches. Put one X for each fountain.
Which depth has the most X marks?
How many fountains had 4 inches of water?
How many fountains had less than 3 inches of water?
How many fountains had more than 3 inches of water?
How many fountains did she check in all?
The deepest jar was 5 inches. The lowest jar was 1 inch. What is the difference?
The gym has 10 more fountains. How many fountains is that in all?
Which fountain should she fix first? Tell why.
Tell why she writes down every number.

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 line plot with a whole-number scale from 1 to 5 inches holding ten X marks: one X above 1, two above 2, four above 3, two above 4, and one above 5.
Answer: 3 inches. Four fountains measured 3 inches, which is more than any other depth.
Answer: 2 fountains. Fountain 5 and fountain 10 each measured 4 inches.
Answer: 3 fountains. One fountain measured 1 inch and two measured 2 inches, so 1 + 2 = 3.
Answer: 3 fountains. Two fountains measured 4 inches and one measured 5 inches, so 2 + 1 = 3.
Answer: 10 fountains. The table lists fountains 1 through 10, and the line plot holds ten X marks.
Answer: 4 inches. 5 - 1 = 4.
Answer: 20 fountains. 10 + 10 = 20.
Answer: Fountain 9. It filled the jar to 5 inches in one hour, more than any other fountain, so it is losing the most water. Accept any answer that names fountain 9 and points to the largest depth as the reason.
Answer: Answers will vary. Accept reasoning that the numbers show which fountain is worst, prove the drip is gone after a repair, or tell the school how much water was being lost.

Differentiation

Support (below grade level)

Give a line plot with the number line already drawn and the first three X marks placed. Cross off each row of the table as it is plotted so students keep their place, and provide counters for items 4 and 5.

Extension (above grade level)

Ask students to write the depth they would expect from fountain 9 after Ms. Sorensen replaces the washer, explain their reasoning, and redraw the line plot with that new value in place of the 5.

ELL supports

Pre-teach drip, fountain, and depth by holding a jar and pointing at the water line while saying each word. Allow items 9 and 10 to be answered orally first, using the starters "She should fix ____ because ____" and "She writes the numbers so ____."

Extensions

Set a jar like Ms. Sorensen's under a classroom sink for one hour with the tap barely dripping, measure the water depth in whole inches, and add that reading to the class line plot as an eleventh point.