Worksheet Kindergarten Math
Where Does the Rain Go? A Kindergarten Rain Sorting Worksheet
A kindergarten worksheet where students sort pictures of hard and soft ground into two groups, count each group, and compare which group has more pictures.
Objectives
- Students will classify pictures of ground surfaces into two groups based on whether rain soaks in or runs off.
- Students will count the number of pictures in each group, up to 6.
- Students will compare two counted groups and tell whether they are equal or whether one group has more.
Vocabulary
Key words: soaks in, runs off, hard ground, soft ground
Teacher overview
After a rainstorm, some parts of a schoolyard stay dry and some parts fill with puddles. This worksheet uses one schoolyard, shown in six small pictures of a roof, a sidewalk, a driveway, grass, a garden, and a sandbox, so students sort, count, and compare within a single setting instead of jumping between unrelated scenes. Print the six pictures in a row near the top of the page. Read each item aloud and let students point to or circle their answers if writing is still difficult.
A worked example for the teacher to model first: hold up a picture of a rock and a picture of a sponge. Ask which one soaks up water. Point out that hard, smooth ground acts like the rock, and soft ground with soil acts like the sponge.
Student Worksheet
- Rain falls on a roof. Does rain soak in, or run off the roof?
- Rain falls on grass. Does rain soak in, or run off the grass?
- Look at 6 pictures: roof, sidewalk, driveway, grass, garden, and sandbox. Circle the 3 pictures that are hard ground.
- Count the hard ground pictures you circled. How many are there?
- Count the soft ground pictures that are left. How many are there?
- Compare your two counts. Are the groups equal, or does one group have more?
- Water that runs off hard ground flows into a drain. Where do you think that water goes next?
- A rain barrel sits under a roof's gutter. It catches rain that runs off. Why might that be helpful?
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: Runs off. A roof is hard and smooth, so rain runs off it instead of soaking in.
- Answer: Soaks in. Grass grows in soil, and rain soaks down through the soil around the roots.
- Answer: Roof, sidewalk, and driveway. These three surfaces are hard and smooth, so rain cannot soak into them.
- Answer: 3 pictures. Roof, sidewalk, and driveway make 3 hard ground pictures.
- Answer: 3 pictures. Grass, garden, and sandbox make 3 soft ground pictures once the hard ground pictures are set aside.
- Answer: Equal. 3 hard ground pictures and 3 soft ground pictures is the same amount in each group.
- Answer: Down a storm drain, often on toward a nearby creek or river.
- Answer: A rain barrel saves the rain that would run off, so it can be used later to water a garden instead of flowing away down the drain.
Differentiation
Support
Provide real or laminated picture cards for the 6 surfaces that students can physically move into two piles instead of circling on paper, and let students touch each counter or card once while counting out loud.
Extension
Ask students to think of one more hard-ground and one more soft-ground surface from their own neighborhood, draw each one, and add it to the correct pile before recounting both groups.
ELL supports
Pre-teach soaks in and runs off with a simple demonstration: pour a little water on a paper towel (soaks in) and on a plastic tray (runs off). Allow students to answer items 1, 2, and 6 by pointing to the correct picture or holding up the matching object.
Extensions
Take the class outside after the next rain to look for real puddles and dry spots, and match what they see to the hard-ground and soft-ground groups from the worksheet. Pair this worksheet with a simple demonstration pouring a cup of water onto a paved area and a grassy area to watch the difference firsthand.