Math problem set Grade 2 Math

Briar Lane Elementary's Rain Gauge Diary: A Grade 2 Math Set

A grade 2 math problem set where students total, compare, and graph a week of whole-inch rain gauge readings recorded on the school playground.

Grade: Grade 2
Subject: Math
Material: Math problem set
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: Problems 1 through 3 have students generate and plot the week's whole-inch rain gauge readings on a line plot and read the plot to find the day with the most rainfall, precisely the measurement-data and line-plot skills this standard requires.

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: Problems 4, 6, and 7 are one-step addition and subtraction word problems within 100 using the week's rainfall totals, with the unknown appearing as a difference, an addend, and a sum in turn, covering this standard's range of problem types.

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 2026-07-16.

Objectives

Students will total and compare a week of whole-inch rain gauge readings.
Students will plot rainfall data on a simple line plot.

Vocabulary

Key words: rain gauge, line plot, total, difference

Teacher overview

Briar Lane Elementary set up a rain gauge, a marked tube that catches and measures rain, on the playground fence during a rainy week. Each morning, the class read the gauge and recorded that day's rainfall to the nearest inch. This problem set has students total the week's rainfall, compare individual days, and build a simple line plot from the readings. A common misconception in this math is assuming that more rainy days always means more total rain, when in fact a single heavy day can add up to more rain than several light days combined.

Briar Lane Elementary's Rain Gauge Diary: A Grade 2 Math Set — Grade 2 Math

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Problems

Briar Lane's rain gauge readings this week: Monday 1 inch, Tuesday 0 inches, Wednesday 3 inches, Thursday 1 inch, Friday 2 inches.

What was the total rainfall for the week? Show your addition.
Make a line plot. Draw a number line from 0 to 3. Put an X above the right number for each day.
Which day had the most rain? How many inches fell that day?
How many more inches fell on Wednesday than on Monday? Show your subtraction.
Last week it rained on all 5 days, but only 1 inch fell each day. That week's total was 5 inches. This week it rained on just 4 days, but the total was more. How can fewer rainy days add up to more total rain?
The rain barrel needs 10 inches to be full. This week's total is your answer from problem 1. How many more inches are needed to reach 10?
Saturday is not a school day, but it also had rain: 2 inches. What is the new 6-day total? Show your addition.
On how many of the five school days did it rain at all? A day with 0 inches does not count.

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: 7 inches. 1 + 0 + 3 + 1 + 2 = 7 inches.
Answer: A line plot from 0 to 3 inches with one X above 0 (Tuesday), two X's stacked above 1 (Monday and Thursday), one X above 2 (Friday), and one X above 3 (Wednesday), five X's in total.
Answer: Wednesday, with 3 inches.
Answer: 2 inches. 3 - 1 = 2.
Answer: This week had more total rainfall, 7 inches from problem 1, than the previous week's 5 inches, even though it rained on fewer days this week, 4 days versus 5 days. Wednesday's single 3-inch reading added as much rain as three of last week's 1-inch days, showing that the number of rainy days alone does not tell you the total amount of rain.
Answer: 3 more inches. 10 - 7 = 3.
Answer: 9 inches. 7 + 2 = 9.
Answer: 4 days. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all had readings above 0 inches; only Tuesday had a reading of 0 inches.

Differentiation

Support

Provide a pre-drawn number line from 0 to 3 for the line plot in problem 2, and allow students to use tally marks or counters to help find the weekly total in problem 1.

Extension

Ask students to write one more problem of their own using the week's rainfall data, along with the answer, comparing any two days they choose.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "rain gauge," "total," and "line plot" using a real or drawn measuring tube marked with inch lines. Allow problem 8 to be answered by circling the days with rain on a printed calendar instead of writing a sentence.