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Worksheet Grade 1 Health & Consumer Science

Mosquito Spots After the Rain in the Brisco Yard on Wickenby Lane

A grade 1 health worksheet: students decide what to do with eight rain-filled or dry yard objects to stop mosquito eggs, then count and compare the groups.

Objectives

  1. Students will decide whether a yard object after rain should be tipped out by a child, emptied by an adult, or left as it is.
  2. Students will explain that mosquitoes lay eggs on still water, even a very small amount of it.
  3. Students will count and compare the objects placed in three categories.

Vocabulary

Key words: mosquito, still water, wiggler, tip out, lid

Teacher overview

After a rain, water collects in toys, buckets, flowerpot saucers, and old tires, and several kinds of mosquitoes lay their eggs on exactly that sort of small, still water. Emptying those containers after rain is one of the ordinary household habits that reduce mosquito bites, and first graders can do it safely for small, light objects while leaving heavy or bulky ones to an adult. A common misconception, held by many adults as well as children, is that mosquitoes come from tall grass and bushes, or only from large ponds and marshes; in fact the water in a bottle cap can be enough for eggs to hatch, and item 13 addresses that idea directly. The worksheet uses the Brisco family on Wickenby Lane, a made-up household: students sort eight objects into Tip it out, Get a grown-up, and Fine as it is, then count and compare the groups, which is the data work described in 1.MD.C.4. Read the passage and each item aloud, and let students answer with a letter, a number, or a short spoken or written phrase.

Each of the eight objects states whether water is sitting in it and whether it is small or big and heavy, so the sort has one intended answer per item. Before students begin, model the three letters with one object that is not on the page, such as a small toy boat with rain in it (T).

Mosquito Spots After the Rain in the Brisco Yard on Wickenby Lane — Grade 1 Health & Consumer Science
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Read aloud to the class.

It rained all night on Wickenby Lane. In the morning, Jin Brisco went out to the yard with his mom. The Brisco family is made up.

The rain left still water in some things. Still water sits and does not run away. A mosquito can lay eggs on still water. The eggs hatch into tiny wigglers that swim. The wigglers grow into mosquitoes that bite. Some bites can make people sick.

So Jin and his mom check the yard after it rains. They use three rules.

  • T means tip it out. The thing is small and has still water in it. Jin can tip it out.
  • G means get a grown-up. The thing is big or heavy and has still water in it.
  • F means fine as it is. The thing has no still water in it.

When the job is done, Jin and his mom wash their hands with soap.

Write T, G, or F for each thing in the Brisco yard.

  1. A small toy truck. Rain sits in the back of it.
  2. A small flowerpot dish. It is full of rain.
  3. The grass. The rain soaked down into the dirt.
  4. A big wading pool. It is full of rain.
  5. A small sand pail. It has rain in it.
  6. An old car tire. It is big and heavy, and rain is inside it.
  7. A bucket that is upside down. No rain is in it.
  8. A small cup on the picnic table. It has rain in it.

Count your letters.

  1. How many things did you mark T?
  2. How many things did you mark G?
  3. How many more things did you mark T than G?

Think and write.

  1. Why do Jin and his mom tip out still water?
  2. Jin finds a bottle cap with a little rain in it. What should he do with it?
  3. The Brisco family has a rain barrel with a tight lid. How does the lid help keep mosquitoes away?

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: T.
    The truck is small and has still water in the back, so Jin can tip it out himself.
  2. Answer: T.
    The dish is small and full of still water, so it fits the T rule.
  3. Answer: F.
    The rain soaked into the dirt, so no still water is left on top of the grass.
  4. Answer: G.
    The pool is big and full of water, which makes it too heavy for a child to tip. A grown-up empties it.
  5. Answer: T.
    The pail is small and holds still water, so Jin can tip it out.
  6. Answer: G.
    The tire is big and heavy and holds still water. A child should not try to lift or tip it.
  7. Answer: F.
    An upside-down bucket cannot hold rain, so there is no still water to empty. Turning a bucket over is one way to keep it dry.
  8. Answer: T.
    The cup is small and has still water in it, so Jin can tip it out.
  9. Answer: 4 things.
    Items 1, 2, 5, and 8 are marked T: the truck, the flowerpot dish, the sand pail, and the cup.
  10. Answer: 2 things.
    Items 4 and 6 are marked G: the wading pool and the tire.
  11. Answer: 2 things.
    4 things marked T minus 2 things marked G equals 2 more things marked T.
  12. Answer: Mosquitoes lay eggs on still water.
    Accept any answer that names eggs, wigglers, baby mosquitoes, or bites, such as "so mosquitoes do not grow in it" or "so we do not get bit."
  13. Answer: Tip it out.
    The bottle cap is small and has still water in it, so it fits the T rule. Even a little still water can be enough for a mosquito to lay eggs. Accept "dump it" or "pour it out."
  14. Answer: The lid keeps mosquitoes from getting to the water to lay eggs.
    Accept any answer that says the mosquitoes cannot get in, cannot reach the water, or cannot lay eggs in the barrel.

Differentiation

Support

Give these students eight picture cards, one for each object, with the water drawn in blue where it is sitting, and three sorting mats labeled T, G, and F with a small icon on each (a hand tipping a cup, an adult figure, and a check mark). Read one item at a time and have the student place the card on a mat before writing the letter. For items 9 through 11, students count the cards on each mat and may line the T cards up against the G cards to see how many more there are. Accept dictated answers for items 12 through 14.

Extension

Ask these students to add two objects of their own from a yard, a balcony, or the schoolyard, write a sentence describing each one after a rain, and mark it T, G, or F. Then have them answer a new question about their longer list, such as how many objects they marked in all, and explain to a partner why a tire swing or a birdbath would be a job for a grown-up.

ELL supports

Pre-teach mosquito, still, tip, heavy, and lid with pictures and gestures; a tipping motion with the hands works well for tip it out. Post the three letters with a picture beside each one so a student can check the code without asking. Allow answers to items 12 through 14 as a labeled drawing or as a spoken sentence in the home language, with one or two English words added during scribing.

Extensions

After the next rain, take the class on a short walk around the schoolyard with a clipboard and look for places where still water is sitting, such as a bucket by the garden, a saucer under a planter, or a low spot on a tarp. Students name each place and decide whether it is a T, G, or F spot, and the class passes the G spots to the custodian in a short written note. Students look at the containers during the walk but do not handle them, and everyone washes hands afterward. The same three-letter checklist can go home so families can use it in their own yards after a storm.