Worksheet Grade 1 Science

One Downspout for Twelve Roof Squares at Wrentham School

Students count the squares on two school roofs, work out the cups each downspout delivers, and explain why gentle rain pours hard out of one pipe.

Grade: Grade 1
Subject: Science
Material: Worksheet
Time: 30 min
Prep: No prep
Materials: None

Standards

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 5 and 6 ask how many more cups the gym downspout delivers than the shed downspout and how many cups the two deliver together, which are compare and put-together problems within twenty.

All materials for 1.OA.A.1 →

1.NBT.B.2 Common Core Math

Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones. Understand that 10 can be thought of as a bundle of ten ones; that the numbers 11 to 19 are a ten plus some ones; and that 10, 20, 30, and so on refer to a number of tens with zero ones.

How this material aligns: Item 7 asks students to break the gym roof count of 12 into one bundle of ten and the leftover ones, which is the place-value understanding this standard names.

All materials for 1.NBT.B.2 →

W.1.2 Common Core ELA

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.

How this material aligns: Item 10 asks students to write two sentences naming what belongs under the gym downspout and why it would help, supplying a fact about the topic with a closing thought.

All materials for W.1.2 →

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This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-09-04.

Objectives

Students will count the roof squares that feed each downspout at the school.
Students will add and subtract within twenty to compare the two downspout totals.
Students will explain why rain that feels gentle pours hard out of a downspout.

Vocabulary

Downspout: A downspout is the pipe that carries rainwater down from a roof's gutters to the ground. Where that water goes next, whether onto a lawn, into a rain barrel, or straight to a storm drain, makes a big difference in how much runoff a property sends downstream.

Also: roof, gutter, pour

Teacher overview

The gutters at the fictional Wrentham School drain two roofs into two downspouts, and the crew drew both roofs on a grid so the class could count what each pipe is responsible for. This worksheet gives students that grid count and a simple rule, one cup of water from each roof square, then asks them to compare the two downspouts and explain the difference. The misconception this sheet is built around is the sensible-sounding belief that water leaves a downspout about as gently as rain lands on a hand. A roof gathers rain across its whole surface and funnels all of it into one narrow pipe, so a soft rain arrives at the bottom of the downspout as a hard stream. Watch also for students who think the bigger roof catches heavier rain; the same rain fell on both roofs, and only the number of squares is different.

One Downspout for Twelve Roof Squares at Wrentham School — Grade 1 Science

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

The gym roof and the shed roof each drain into one downspout. The crew drew both roofs on a grid. In one rain, each roof square sends 1 cup of water down to its own downspout.

Roof	Squares on the grid
Gym roof	12
Shed roof	4

How many squares are on the gym roof?
How many squares are on the shed roof?
Each square sends 1 cup. How many cups come down the gym downspout?
How many cups come down the shed downspout?
How many more cups come down the gym downspout than the shed downspout?
How many cups come down both downspouts together?
The gym roof has 12 squares. That is one ten and how many ones?
The same rain fell on both roofs. Tell why the gym downspout gives more water.
The rain feels soft on your hand. The gym downspout still pours out hard. Tell why.
Write two sentences. Tell what the school could put under the gym downspout. Tell why that would help.

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: 12 squares.
The chart lists the gym roof at 12 squares on the grid.
Answer: 4 squares.
The chart lists the shed roof at 4 squares on the grid.
Answer: 12 cups.
Each of the 12 gym roof squares sends 1 cup, so the gym downspout carries 12 cups.
Answer: 4 cups.
Each of the 4 shed roof squares sends 1 cup, so the shed downspout carries 4 cups.
Answer: 8 cups.
The gym downspout carries 12 cups and the shed downspout carries 4 cups, and 12 minus 4 is 8.
Answer: 16 cups.
Adding the 12 cups from the gym downspout and the 4 cups from the shed downspout gives 16 cups.
Answer: 2 ones.
Twelve is one bundle of ten with 2 ones left over.
Answer: Accept any answer naming the larger roof area.
Sample response: the gym roof has more squares, so more rain lands on it, and all of that rain runs to the same one downspout.
Answer: Accept any answer describing rain being gathered into one pipe.
Sample response: your hand catches the rain from one small spot, but the downspout gets the rain from the whole roof at once, so it comes out hard.
Answer: Accept any sensible catch or spreader with a reason.
Sample response: the school could put a rain barrel under the gym downspout. It would hold the water for the garden instead of letting it flood the walk.

Differentiation

Support

Hand out a printed grid with 12 shaded squares and 4 shaded squares so students can place a counter on each square and push the counters into a pile for items 3 and 4. For item 7, give a ten-frame and two loose counters so the bundle of ten is something students build rather than recall.

Extension

Ask students to design a third roof with a square count of their own choosing, state how many cups its downspout would carry, and write the compare question that goes with the gym roof. Students ready for more can explain what would change if each square sent 2 cups instead of 1.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "roof," "downspout," "gutter," and "pour" by pointing to the real gutter and downspout on the school building, or to a photograph of one, and tracing the path with a finger from roof to ground. Accept labeled drawings of the two roofs with the cup totals written beside them in place of written sentences on items 8 through 10.

Extensions

Stand outside near a downspout during a light rain, or run a hose gently across a small tilted board with a spout at one corner, and let students hold a cup under the outlet for ten seconds. Feeling how much water a soft rain delivers at one outlet gives students the physical version of the count they worked on this page, and it is the same reasoning a stormwater crew uses when sizing a pipe.