Worksheet Grade 1 Science

Follow the Pipe to Tanager Elementary's Fountain: A Worksheet

A grade 1 worksheet where students trace water's path from tower to fountain, tally a classroom drink-source survey, and solve simple counting word problems.

Grade: Grade 1
Subject: Science
Material: Worksheet
Time: 25 min
Prep: No prep
Materials: None

Standards

1.MD.C.4 Common Core Math

Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories; ask and answer questions about the total number of data points, how many in each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in another.

How this material aligns: Items 4 through 7 have students organize a three-category survey of where classmates get their drinking water, then ask and answer how many chose each place and how many more chose one place than another.

All materials for 1.MD.C.4 →

1.OA.A.1 Common Core Math

Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

How this material aligns: Items 8 and 9 are add-to word problems about cups filled at the fountain with the total unknown, the exact problem type this standard requires students to solve within 20.

All materials for 1.OA.A.1 →

K-2-ETS1-1 NGSS

Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

How this material aligns: Items 1 through 3 gather information about how water reaches the fountain from the tower through the buried pipe, and item 10 defines the simple problem of a school needing more than one drinking source.

All materials for K-2-ETS1-1 →

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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 put the steps of water's path from tower to fountain in the correct order.
Students will organize a three-category survey and answer how-many-more questions about it.
Students will solve add-to word problems about cups filled at the school fountain.

Vocabulary

Key words: tower, pipe, fountain, path

Teacher overview

Before a drop of water reaches the fountain at Tanager Elementary, it travels from a tall water tower, through underground pipes, and into the school. This worksheet has students put that path in order, then use a short survey about where classmates drink water most often to practice organizing data into groups and comparing counts, finishing with two counting word problems set at the school fountain.

Follow the Pipe to Tanager Elementary's Fountain: A Worksheet — Grade 1 Science

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Number these three steps 1, 2, 3. Show how water travels to our fountain.
- Pipes carry the water into the school.
- Water leaves the tower.
- Water comes out of the fountain.
Why is the pipe buried under the ground? Write one reason.
Look at the path: Tower, then Pipe, then Fountain. Can water reach the fountain if the pipe breaks? Write yes or no. Tell why.
Our class asked students where they drink water most. Fountain: 9 students. Water bottle: 6 students. Sink cup: 2 students. How many students answered in all?
How many more students picked the fountain than the water bottle?
How many more students picked the water bottle than the sink cup?
Which place got picked the least: fountain, water bottle, or sink cup?
Before school, 8 students filled cups at the fountain. Then 5 more filled cups at recess. How many cups in all?
By lunch, 13 cups were filled. Then 4 more students filled cups. How many cups now?
Why is it good for a school to have more than one place for a drink? Write one reason.

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: 2, 1, 3. Water leaves the tower first, then pipes carry it into the school, then it comes out of the fountain.
Answer: Answers will vary; accept any reasonable reason, such as burying the pipe protects it from breaking or keeps the water inside cool and clean.
Answer: No. Water cannot reach the fountain if the pipe between the tower and the school is broken, since the pipe is the only path shown for the water to travel.
Answer: 17 students. 9 + 6 + 2 = 17.
Answer: 3 more students. 9 − 6 = 3.
Answer: 4 more students. 6 − 2 = 4.
Answer: Sink cup. Only 2 students picked the sink cup, fewer than the fountain's 9 or the water bottle's 6.
Answer: 13 cups. 8 + 5 = 13.
Answer: 17 cups. 13 + 4 = 17.
Answer: Answers will vary; accept any reasonable reason, such as students do not have to wait in one long line, or a drink is still available if one fountain is broken.

Differentiation

Support

For item 1, provide the three steps already printed on separate small cards so students can physically arrange them in order before writing the numbers. For items 4 through 9, allow counters or tally marks alongside the numbers.

Extension

Ask students to design a fourth drink-source category (such as a classroom water jug) and invent a reasonable count for it, then rewrite item 5 as a new how-many-more question comparing their invented category to the fountain.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "tower," "pipe," "fountain," and "path" with a simple three-box picture sequence posted at the front of the room. Allow items 2, 3, and 10 to be answered orally or with a single word instead of a full sentence.