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Classroom activity Grade 1 Science

Storm Drain or Soak In? A Grade 1 Sorting Relay Activity

A grade 1 movement activity where students sort eight rain scenarios into a storm drain, the ground, or a rain barrel, then tally and compare the results.

Objectives

  1. Students will sort eight rain scenarios into the correct destination station based on the surface described.
  2. Students will tally and compare how many scenarios ended at each of three stations.
  3. Students will suggest one way to help more rain soak into the ground instead of running into a storm drain.

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.
Rain barrel
A rain barrel is a container that catches rainwater from a roof downspout so it can be used later to water plants. It saves drinking water and keeps some runoff out of the storm drains.

Also: soak, surface

Teacher overview

At Mossy Bank School, rain that falls on different surfaces ends up in different places: some rushes into a storm drain, some soaks into soil, and some can be caught in a rain barrel. This whole-class sorting relay has students move to one of three stations based on a surface described on a scenario card, then tally the results together so the class can count and compare where the rain went.

Activity Directions

  1. Before class, label three stations in a triangle around the room: Storm Drain, Soaks Into the Ground, Rain Barrel. Give each student a paper raindrop token.
  2. Open with a short discussion: "When a lot of rain rushes into a storm drain fast, it can carry litter straight into a creek. What could help more rain soak into the ground instead?" Take a few ideas and write them on the board.
  3. Explain that the teacher will read eight cards describing where rain falls. After each card, students carrying their raindrop token move to the station that matches where that rain would go.
  4. Read the eight scenario cards aloud, one at a time, pausing after each for students to move: rain falls on a paved driveway (Storm Drain); rain falls on a garden bed (Soaks Into the Ground); rain falls on a roof with a gutter leading to a barrel (Rain Barrel); rain falls on a sidewalk (Storm Drain); rain falls on a grassy lawn (Soaks Into the Ground); rain falls on a paved parking lot (Storm Drain); rain falls on bare dirt (Soaks Into the Ground); rain falls on a roof connected to a rain barrel (Rain Barrel).
  5. After each round, make a tally mark on the board under the station where most students moved.
  6. After all eight cards, gather the class to look at the finished tally chart together.
  7. Debrief questions: ask these six questions in order, giving students time to count on the tally chart and answer each one before moving to the next.
    1. How many rounds landed at the Storm Drain station in all?
    2. How many rounds landed at the Soaks Into the Ground station in all?
    3. How many rounds landed at the Rain Barrel station in all?
    4. How many rounds were there in all, counting the three stations together?
    5. How many more rounds ended at Storm Drain than at Rain Barrel?
    6. What could help more rain soak into the ground instead of running to a storm drain?
  8. Closure: revisit the opening question and agree on one class sentence about how a rain barrel or a grassy lawn can catch water that would otherwise rush into a storm drain.

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: Storm Drain: 3 rounds (driveway, sidewalk, parking lot).
  2. Answer: Soaks Into the Ground: 3 rounds (garden bed, grassy lawn, bare dirt).
  3. Answer: Rain Barrel: 2 rounds (roof with gutter, roof connected to a barrel).
  4. Answer: 8 rounds in all. 3 + 3 + 2 = 8.
  5. Answer: 1 more round. Storm Drain had 3 rounds and Rain Barrel had 2 rounds, so 3 − 2 = 1.
  6. Debrief question: "What could help more rain soak into the ground instead of running to a storm drain?" Answer: Answers will vary; accept a reasonable answer, such as planting grass or a garden, or setting up a rain barrel under a gutter.

Differentiation

Support

Post a small picture at each station (a drain grate, a patch of grass, a barrel) alongside the word, and allow a partner or aide to walk alongside students who need help deciding where to move.

Extension

Ask confident students to invent a ninth scenario card of their own and explain, in one sentence, which station it belongs at and why.

ELL supports

Use the picture icons described in Support for every student, and pair the spoken scenario with a simple gesture (a flat hand sliding forward for a paved surface, fingers wiggling downward for soaking into the ground) that the whole class performs together before moving.