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Worksheet Grade 1 Engineering & Design

Birchwood's Puddle Problem: A Grade 1 Rain Spout Design Worksheet

A grade 1 worksheet where students compare test data from two rain spout shapes and use addition and subtraction within 20 to decide which one solves a puddle problem.

Objectives

  1. Students will compare test data from two rain spout designs to decide which one better solves a stated problem.
  2. Students will add and subtract within 20 to find totals and differences from the test data.

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

At Birchwood Elementary, rain running off the roof lands right at the base of the side door because the spout there points straight down, leaving a puddle every time it rains. Two student design teams tested two different spout shapes to see which one solves the puddle problem better. This worksheet has students read the test results, drawn from a fair test in which both spouts were poured with the same 12 cups of water, and use addition and subtraction within 20 to compare the two designs. Water that misses either spout's target still ends up somewhere, the same way rain that misses a storm drain still has to go somewhere on its way off a street.

Birchwood's Puddle Problem: A Grade 1 Rain Spout Design Worksheet — Grade 1 Engineering & Design
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Teacher note: before item 1, draw Spout A (a straight pipe pointing down) and Spout B (a pipe with a bend pointing toward the grass) where students can see them.

  1. Look at Spout A. It is a straight pipe. It points straight down. Look at Spout B. It has a bend. The bend points toward the grass. Do not look at the test results yet. Which spout do you predict will send more rain water onto the grass? Explain your prediction in one sentence.
  2. Spout A was tested first. It sent 3 cups of water onto the grass. It left 9 cups of water pooling by the door. How many cups of water came out of Spout A in all?
  3. Spout B was tested next. It sent 10 cups of water onto the grass. It left 2 cups of water pooling by the door. How many cups of water came out of Spout B in all?
  4. Which spout sent more water onto the grass? How many more cups?
  5. Which spout left more water pooling by the door? How many more cups?
  6. Look at the numbers in items 2 through 5. Which spout shape solved Birchwood's puddle problem better? Use the numbers to explain your answer.
  7. Sketch your own spout shape. Predict that it will beat Spout B. It should send even more water onto the grass. Describe its shape in one sentence.
  8. Birchwood wants zero cups of water pooling by the door. How many fewer cups would Spout B need to leave?

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

Answer Key
  1. Answer: Answers vary.
    Accept any prediction with a reason, such as predicting Spout B because its bend points toward the grass instead of straight down at the door.
  2. Answer: 12 cups.
    3 + 9 = 12.
  3. Answer: 12 cups.
    10 + 2 = 12, the same total as Spout A, since both spouts were tested with the same amount of water poured onto the roof.
  4. Answer: 7 cups.
    Spout B sent more water onto the grass than Spout A, by 7 cups. 10 − 3 = 7.
  5. Answer: 7 cups.
    Spout A left more water pooling by the door than Spout B, by 7 cups. 9 − 2 = 7.
  6. Answer: Spout B solved the puddle problem better.
    It sent 10 cups of water onto the grass and left only 2 cups by the door, while Spout A sent just 3 cups onto the grass and left 9 cups by the door.
  7. Answer: Answers vary.
    Accept any sketch description that states a shape and gives a reason it would send water even farther from the door.
  8. Answer: 2 fewer cups.
    Spout B currently leaves 2 cups by the door, and 2 − 0 = 2.

Differentiation

Support (below grade level)

Provide the two totals from items 2 and 3 already computed (12 cups each), so students only need to focus on the comparison subtraction in items 4 and 5. Offer a simple labeled diagram of each spout shape.

Extension (above grade level)

Ask students to design a third spout on paper, predict how many of the 12 cups it would send onto the grass versus leave by the door, and explain why their new shape should beat Spout B's result.

ELL supports

Label the spout diagrams with simple words in English and, where possible, students' home languages: grass, door, spout, water. Allow item 1's prediction and item 7's description to be spoken and scribed rather than independently written.

Extensions

If your classroom has a downspout or gutter outside, observe where the water lands after the next rain and sketch its actual path, comparing it with Spout A and Spout B from this worksheet.