Rain

Objectives

• Students will accurately measure the amount of rain in the rain gauge on a given day. (Analysis)
• Students will create a bar graph of the data collected. (Synthesis)

Materials

• 2 liter plastic bottle with the top cut off
• About 6 strips of white, thin tape
• "Rain Cards" for daily weather evaluation
• Blank overhead sheet

Procedures

1. Gather the students in a semi-circle arrangement. Tell the students that we are going to create the sounds of a rainstorm in the classroom. Explain that when I walk right in front of them that they are to make the sound that I am making with my body and they must continue creating that sound until I walk in front of them again to make a new sound. The first sound they will make will result from them rubbing their hands together. The second sound they will make will result from them snapping their fingers. The third sound they will make will result from them patting their legs. For the peak of the thunderstorm, the students will stomp their feet. As the thunderstorm subsides, the students will make all the sounds in reverse order, making the appropriate sound as I walk in front of them.
2. Hold a short discussion about how the activity sounded like a rainstorm. What things about the activity made it sound like a rainstorm? Are there any other sounds we could create to add to the "rainstorm"?
3. Introduce the idea of using a scale to measure rain. Explain that a rain gauge is a tool used for measuring rain, just as there are flags to estimate wind direction and thermometers for measuring temperature. Explain that we will be making a class rain gauge to leave outside.
4. Ask students what sort of things could be used to collect rain. Show the class the 2 liter bottle with the top cut off and tell them that this will serve as our rain gauge. Put some water in the bottle and ask students how we could measure the amount of water we collect. Explain that we need some way to measure the rain we collect. (We could put it in a liquid measuring device, use a ruler, or create our own measuring system.) Explain that we will put the thin, white strips of tape on the bottle for measuring purposes. Ask, "Can we put the strips any place we like? As far or as close to each other as we like?" Stress that these must be put at regular intervals.
5. Review measuring procedure. Be sure to point out that the bottle must be level when measuring the amount of rain. Explain that one must look at the level of the water at eye level to determine where it lies according to the white tape. Practice reading an amount as a class.
6. As a class, walk outside the building and determine a proper spot to place the rain gauge. Place a sign by it so that students of the school do not interfere with the collection of rain. Stress the importance of catching as much rain which will fall as possible. Ask class if it would be wise to put the gauge in an area close to the building or out in the open.
7. For the following days of the unit, include the amount of rainfall in the morning calendar activity. Each morning the meteorologists will need to observe the rain gauge and determine how much rain has fallen. Blank cards should be made with raindrops on them on which students can write down the amount of rain which fell since our last meeting.
8. After two weeks of observing and recording the amount of rainfall, the class will make a bar graph of the data. Discuss, as a class, the data collected. Create a bar graph on an overhead with the students input. Have the students create their own bar graph in their journals using the same information.

Evaluation

1. Are students measuring the amount of rain that has fallen correctly? Is the bottle level as they are reading the measurement?
2. Does each students' bar graph accurately represent the data recorded during daily weather evaluation? Is each graph similar to the one created as a class?