Name: Michelle Bade Lesson Title: Rain Gage

Date: 4/10/18 Grade Circle

Level: Preschool one:
ECE
PKSN

Standard(s)/Guideline(s): With modeling and support, identify the basic safety rules

Pre-assessment of current knowledge: Prior to this activity, students will be taking part in the
hook lesson and making of the weather vane. Students will discuss with their teacher what
differentiates a weather vane from a rain gauge (their previous activities should allow them to
answer this). If students appear to be confused on this, the teacher will review before making the
rain gauges.

Instructional Assessment of Student Learning Experience

Objectives (1-2) Learning
One/Two Assessed Identify Evidence: (What will Academic Language:
Instructional you collect or record as data to -rain gauge
Objectives): The demonstrate students have -measurement
student will be able to... met your objective(s) and -inches
-create a rain gauge that skill?)
catches rainfall -the teacher will collect the Procedural steps:
-discuss what they students’ rain gauges and Opening:
observe when rain falls assess their work and see if -discuss how much rainfall the area
and how much the rain they made the gauges approximately gets per year.
gauge collects. correctly/followed directions. -discuss how the clouds look
-the teacher will take pictures different when it is about to rain so
One Assessed of the students working. then the students will be aware if it
Developmental Skill: is going to rain.
-cognitive/social Program Monitoring: (How Body of lesson:
will you aggregate or compile -Explain to students that one way to
Safety Considerations: your evidence into a class or gauge how much rain an area gets
-make sure that students group view?) is to catch the rain and keep track
do not put the rocks or -the teacher will create a of the daily changes.
soil in their mouths check sheet to compile
-students need to be information on each student’s -The changes can easily be
cautious when using ability to follow directions and graphed and an average can be
scissors (the teacher can interact with their peers on found. Work with students or small
precut the bottles) how to make their rain gauge. groups to create a rain gauge
-students need to be
cautious when working -Have gauges set in a safe place
with the bottles that are where rain can be collected for a
cut because the edges set amount of time. Have students
will be sharp record water level changes daily.

-Cut the two liter bottle just under

the wide part where the bottle
begins to narrow.

-Place a handful of small gravel in

the bottom of the bottle. This is
simply to keep it from falling over
while outside.

-Turn the part that was cut off

upside down and place it in the
larger part of the bottle. This will act
as a funnel. Line up and then tape
the cut sections together.

-Put a long vertical piece of tape

down the bottle to use as a
measuring tool. Use a marker to
draw a line on the bottom of the
tape, just above the top of the
pebbles. This will be 0. Use a ruler
to measure and mark every quarter
inch up the tape

-Pour water into your gauge until it

reaches the zero on your line. Set
the gauges outside to collect rain
for an established amount of time.
Make sure the bottles are on a level
surface.

-Make sure to check the water

levels daily. If it has not rained,
make sure water has not
evaporated and the level is still at
zero

Authentic Materials: (Describe

authentic real life, hands-on
materials.)
-rocks
-gravel
-2 liter bottles (per child)
-masking tape
-ruler
-markers

Adult Roles:
- teacher can precut the bottles for
the students
-supervise the children on
monitoring how much gravel and
rocks they put in their bottle
-direct students when putting
measurements on the bottle using
the ruler
Resources & References:

https://www.teacher.org/lesson-plan/rainfall-gauge/

Checklist:
-Pour dirt in a bottle with little to no mess ✓
-Articulate what rain gauge measures ✓
-Measure how much rain was collected among the dirt (students wanted to use dirt in the
bottles as well)
✓
-Make a chart to decipher how much rain was in each gauge
✓
Reflection: (What have you learned about your students? How will this inform future

instruction?)

Overall I think that this plan was decent. It was difficult to describe what

the rain gauge was because it was not raining on the day we did this lesson plan

so I used water to demonstrate the rain and how the gauge would measure the

rain. I do not think that it was as authentic as it could have been since it was not

actually rain. The students still enjoyed putting dirt into their bottles on their own

and putting water into the bottles. The students learned how to measure the

water as if it were rain fall. I learned that my students learn best and are excited

to learn when they are involved and when the lesson is hands on. I also learned

that my students love to observe and this strategy helped most students be able

to compare and contrast the water in other rain gauges. A flaw that this lesson

has is that the soil that is used at the bottom of the bottle to weigh it down so the

wind would not blow it over, soaked up some of the water so it was not an

accurate measurement of how much water went into the bottle. I could avoid this

flaw in this lesson by using rocks instead so that the water would not be soaked

up. The students wanted to use dirt in the bottles so that is the material that I

used because I believe it is important to take student’s input and use materials

that interest them so that they can be excited while learning.

The students seemed to enjoy the weather vane lesson more because it

involved more materials and more steps for the students to complete so this will

inform future instruction by including more materials and making sure that the

lesson is well thought out in the process of what is being made. Also the topic of

measurement was difficult for the students to grasp because it is more of an

abstract idea and at this age it is important to focus on concrete ideas that

students can see and touch.