Reading passage Kindergarten English Language Arts

Grandpa Lu's Rain Barrel: A Kindergarten Read-Aloud Story

A kindergarten read-aloud story about a girl who helps her grandfather catch rain in a barrel to water the garden, with oral questions and a closing opinion task.

Grade: Kindergarten
Subject: English Language Arts
Material: Reading passage
Time: 20 min
Prep: No prep
Materials: Drawing paper and crayons for the opinion task

Standards

W.K.1 Common Core ELA

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is...).

How this material aligns: The closing opinion task has students draw and dictate or write whether they think the rain barrel is a good idea, the state-a-preference-through-drawing task this standard describes.

All materials for W.K.1 →

K-ESS3-3 NGSS

Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.

How this material aligns: The passage and question 4 ask students to identify the rain barrel as a solution that saves tap water for the garden, communicating a solution as this standard requires.

All materials for K-ESS3-3 →

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This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-07-16.

Objectives

Students will listen to a read-aloud story and recall two stated facts about it.
Students will explain why Grandpa Lu wanted to catch rain water in a barrel.
Students will state and support an opinion about whether the rain barrel is a good idea.

Vocabulary

Rain barrel: A rain barrel is a container that catches rainwater from a roof downspout so it can be used later to water plants. It saves drinking water and keeps some runoff out of the storm drains.

Teacher overview

This original story follows a kindergartner named Nia, who visits her grandfather and learns how a rain barrel catches water that would otherwise run off the roof and away. Read the story aloud to the class rather than assigning it as independent reading, and let students answer the questions orally or by pointing, since the goal at this age is listening comprehension rather than decoding. The final task doubles as a beginning opinion-writing sample, matching how kindergartners are asked to compose an opinion through drawing and dictation.

Plan to read the story twice: once straight through for enjoyment, and a second time pausing at the questions marked for that spot.

Grandpa Lu's Rain Barrel: A Kindergarten Read-Aloud Story — Kindergarten English Language Arts

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Passage

Grandpa Lu's Rain Barrel

Nia liked Grandpa Lu. He grew plants in his yard. The plants needed water each day.

Rain fell hard one day. Nia watched it drip off the roof. It ran into the yard. Then it ran away.

Grandpa Lu had a plan. He set a big barrel under the roof. Rain filled the barrel fast.

"Why do we need this?" Nia asked.

"We can use rain for the plants," Grandpa Lu said. "Then we save water from the tap."

The next day was hot. It was dry too. Nia dipped a cup in the barrel. She poured rain on the plants.

"The barrel saved water for us," Grandpa Lu said. "Rain did the work."

The plants looked green and full. Grandpa Lu was glad. Nia was glad too.

Nia liked the barrel. She asked for one more, for the flowers.

Grandpa Lu said yes. Nia smiled big. She gave the barrel a pat.

Questions

Who liked Grandpa Lu?
What did Grandpa Lu grow?
What did Grandpa Lu set under the roof?
Why did he want to catch rain?
What did Nia do with rain the next day?
Why did Nia like the barrel?

Opinion task (draw and tell). Is the rain barrel a good idea? Draw one where you live. Tell a grown-up one reason why.

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: Nia. The passage opens by saying Nia liked Grandpa Lu.
Answer: Plants in his yard. The passage states that Grandpa Lu grew plants that needed water every day.
Answer: A big barrel. Grandpa Lu set a barrel under the roof to catch rain as it fell.
Answer: So he could use rain water for the plants instead of using the tap as much, saving tap water for other uses.
Answer: She dipped a cup into the barrel and poured the rain water onto the plants with Grandpa Lu.
Answer: Answers will vary but should reference that the barrel saved water, worked well the very next hot, dry day, or that Nia enjoyed helping in the garden, all details stated in the passage.

Opinion task answer. Answers will vary. Accept any drawn or dictated response that states a clear opinion (good idea or not) with one supporting reason, such as "it is a good idea because it saves water for the tap."

Differentiation

Support

Read the story a second time in short chunks, pausing after each part to ask a simple yes-or-no question, such as "Did the rain go into the barrel?" For question 6, offer two picture choices (a full barrel or an empty one) for students to point to instead of stating a reason aloud.

Extension

Ask students to think of one more thing Grandpa Lu could water with the rain barrel, beyond the plants already named, and to explain why rain water works just as well as tap water for that job.

ELL supports

Pre-teach barrel, rain, roof, and tap with simple pictures or gestures (arms in a circle for barrel, fingers wiggling down for rain) before reading. Allow students to answer questions 1 through 3 by pointing to a picture that matches the correct answer.

Extensions

Set a real bucket outside on a rainy day, or fill one from a hose, and let students dip a small cup into it to water a classroom plant, connecting the story's rain barrel to something they can do themselves. Remind students that this water is for plants and is not for drinking.