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Worksheet Grade 1 Social Studies & Civics

Signs at Roundstone Park: Rules That Keep the Pond Clean

A grade 1 civics worksheet with four park signs from a fictional town, nine short questions about what each rule asks people to do, and a draw-a-sign task.

Objectives

  1. Students will tell what each of four park rules asks a visitor to do.
  2. Students will explain how a park rule helps keep pond water clean.
  3. Students will apply a park rule to a new situation and write one rule of their own.

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.

Also: rule, sign, pond, spill

Teacher overview

Rules are the most visible civics a first grader meets, and park signs put them in plain words. This worksheet uses four signs posted around the pond in a fictional place called Roundstone Park. Each sign asks visitors to do one small thing, and each one protects the same pond in a different way.

The last three items move from reading a rule to applying it. Item ten asks students to write a rule of their own, so plan on collecting a few and posting them. Read the opening lines and the four signs aloud before students work.

Signs at Roundstone Park: Rules That Keep the Pond Clean — Grade 1 Social Studies & Civics
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Read aloud: Roundstone Park has a small pond. Ducks swim in it. Fish live in it. The town put up four signs by the pond. One drain by the path runs straight to the pond. Read each sign. Then answer the questions.

Sign What the sign says
Sign 1 Put trash in the can.
Sign 2 Only rain goes in this drain.
Sign 3 Clean up after your dog.
Sign 4 Tell the town crew about a spill.
  1. What does Sign 1 ask people to do?
  2. How does Sign 1 help the pond stay clean?
  3. Sign 2 is on a drain. Name one thing that must not go in that drain.
  4. Where does the water in that drain go?
  5. What does Sign 3 ask a dog owner to do?
  6. Who should you tell when you see a spill in the park?
  7. Who put the four signs up in the park?
  8. A boy drops a cup on the grass. Which sign tells him what to do?
  9. A girl sees paint by the drain. Which sign tells her what to do?
  10. Draw one new sign for the pond. Write a short rule on it.

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: Put trash in the can. Sign 1 asks each visitor to carry litter to a trash can instead of leaving it on the ground.
  2. Answer: Trash stays out of the pond. Litter left on the grass blows or washes into the water, so using the can keeps it out of the pond where the ducks and fish live.
  3. Answer: Paint. Accept any pollutant a first grader can name, such as paint, soap, oil, or trash, since Sign 2 says only rain may go in.
  4. Answer: To the pond. The read-aloud states that the drain by the path runs straight to the pond, so anything poured in reaches the water.
  5. Answer: Pick up after the dog. Sign 3 asks a dog owner to clean up the mess and put it in the trash rather than leaving it near the water.
  6. Answer: The town crew. Sign 4 asks visitors to report a spill to the crew that takes care of the park. A child should not touch a spill and can ask a grown-up to make the report.
  7. Answer: The town. The read-aloud says the town put up the four signs, which is one way the people who run a town take care of a shared place.
  8. Answer: Sign 1. A dropped cup is litter, and Sign 1 is the rule about putting trash in the can.
  9. Answer: Sign 4. Paint by the drain is a spill, and Sign 4 asks visitors to tell the town crew about it. Accept Sign 2 with a reason, since paint is not rain.
  10. Answer: Answers will vary. Accept any short, sensible rule that protects the pond, such as keep food off the water, do not pour drinks in the grass, or take your fishing line home.

Differentiation

Support

Read each sign aloud twice and act it out before students begin. Provide items one, five, and six with the sign number already circled so the student only supplies the action. Accept drawings with one labeled word for items one through six.

Extension

Ask these students to rank the four signs from most important to least important for the pond and write one sentence defending the sign they placed first. A second task is to write a fifth sign for a part of the park with no rule posted yet, such as the picnic tables.

ELL supports

Pair each sign with a simple icon: a trash can, a raincloud over a grate, a dog on a leash, and a person waving to a truck. Pre-teach rule, sign, and spill with gestures. Allow one-word or picture answers for items one through six, and provide the spoken frame "Sign 1 tells us to" as a model before students answer items eight and nine.

Extensions

Take a short walk around the school grounds and photograph or sketch every sign the class can find, then sort them into rules that protect people, rules that protect places, and rules that protect water. Send the class-written rules from item ten to the office as a proposal for a real sign near the school's outdoor tap.