Lesson plan Grade 3 Social Studies & Civics

Cider Mill's Storm Drain Rule: A Grade 3 Civics Lesson

A 45-minute grade 3 civics lesson where students read how the town of Cider Mill made a storm drain rule to keep its creek clean, then map the problem.

Grade: Grade 3
Subject: Social Studies & Civics
Material: Lesson plan
Time: 45 min
Prep: Low prep
Materials: Printed copies of the short Cider Mill rule card, A simple street-to-creek map to project or hand out, Chart paper and markers, Index cards, one per student

Standards

D2.Civ.13.3-5 C3 Framework

Explain how policies are developed to address public problems.

How this material aligns: Students trace how the town of Cider Mill noticed a public problem in its creek and how the council adopted a storm drain rule to address it, matching this standard's focus on how policies are developed to address public problems.

All materials for D2.Civ.13.3-5 →

RI.3.1 Common Core ELA

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

How this material aligns: Students read the short town rule card and answer questions about what the rule allows and forbids, referring back to the text for each of their answers.

All materials for RI.3.1 →

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This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-07-17.

Objectives

Students will explain why a storm drain rule was needed to protect Cider Creek.
Students will describe the steps the town council took to make the rule.
Students will use the rule card to decide what may and may not go down 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.

Also: pollution

Teacher overview

Cider Mill (a fictional town used for this lesson) has storm drains along every street. Many students think a storm drain sends water to a plant that cleans it, but in Cider Mill the drains carry rain straight to Cider Creek with no cleaning at all. That means anything left on the street can wash into the creek. This lesson shows students how the town noticed a public problem and how its council made a rule to solve it, which is the heart of how communities govern a shared resource.

Procedure

Hook (5 min): Project the street-to-creek map. Point to a storm drain at the curb and ask students to guess where the water goes after it drops in. Take a few guesses, then reveal that in Cider Mill the drain leads straight to Cider Creek, the same creek where people fish and wade.

Direct instruction (12 min): Explain that a storm drain carries rain off the street so roads do not flood. In Cider Mill the drains do not go to a treatment plant, so whatever sits on the street, such as spilled oil, litter, grass clippings, and pet waste, can wash down the drain and become pollution in the creek. Explain that the town began to see trash and cloudy water in Cider Creek, which is a public problem that one person alone cannot fix. Explain that residents brought the problem to the town council, the council discussed it at a public meeting, and then the council voted to adopt the storm drain rule.

Guided reading (13 min): Hand out the short rule card. It reads: "Cider Mill Storm Drain Rule. Only rain may go down a storm drain. Do not pour oil, paint, or dirty water into a drain. Do not sweep leaves, grass, or litter into a drain. Pick up after pets so waste does not wash into Cider Creek." Read it aloud once, then have students reread it with a partner and mark what is allowed and what is not. Ask text-based questions: What is the only thing the rule says may go down a drain? Name two things the rule tells people not to put in a drain.

Guided practice (10 min): As a class, build a cause-and-effect chart on chart paper. On the left, list what people used to do (sweep grass into the drain, let oil sit on the street). In the middle, draw the drain and the arrow to Cider Creek. On the right, list the effect on the creek. Then add how the new rule breaks that chain.

Closure and exit ticket (5 min): Students answer one question on an index card: "Cider Creek was getting dirty. Explain one thing the council's rule asks people to do, and how it helps the creek." Collect and scan the cards for a correct link between the rule and cleaner water before dismissal.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key

Reading answer, allowed: Only rain may go down a storm drain, according to the first line of the rule card.
Reading answer, not allowed: Any two of these from the card: pouring oil, paint, or dirty water into a drain; sweeping leaves, grass, or litter into a drain; or letting pet waste wash toward the creek.
Exit ticket answer: Any answer that names a real part of the rule and links it to a cleaner creek. Example: picking up after pets keeps waste off the street, so it cannot wash down the drain into Cider Creek. Look for the connection between the action and the creek staying clean.

Differentiation

Support

Give these students a rule card with the allowed line highlighted in one color and the not-allowed lines in another, so the sorting is partly done. Let the exit ticket be answered by circling one rule on the card and telling a partner how it helps, rather than writing it out.

Extension

Ask students to write one more line for the rule card that the council did not include, such as a rule about washing cars in the street, and to explain what creek problem their new line would help prevent.

ELL supports

Pre-teach storm drain, pollution, and rule with simple pictures of a curb drain, an arrow to a creek, and a clean versus cloudy creek. Allow students to answer the reading questions by pointing to the matching line on the rule card and reading it aloud with support.