Objective:
The students will measure different amounts of water. 

Materials

• A link to the following site: Normal Monthly Precipitations (or information on average rainfalls from different regions.)

• Clear containers

• Water

• Rulers

• Measuring Rainfall Worksheet

Procedure

1. Set up 10 (or more, if desired) "stations" in advance.  Using the Normal Monthly Precipitations link, pick a summer month in which the precipitation amount will be rain and not snow.  Next pick the 10 cities which are going to be represented. (Try and have a varied range of measurements.)  Then fill 10 containers with water to the amount which equals each of the cities you have picked (round to the nearest 1/2 inch.)  Set up the 10 stations by having a container of water, a card with the name of the city, and a ruler at each station.

2. Divide the students into pairs.  Discuss with the students what is represented at each station.  The amounts are averages which have been measured for a 30 year period.  (Some years there may be more rain, some years less, but on the average this is the amount that falls for the given month.)  Give instructions on how to measure the water.

3. Pass out the Measuring Rainfall Worksheet and have the students travel through the stations, measuring the amounts of water and recording it on their papers.

4. See the Social Studies Lesson for continuing procedures.

Other Lesson Ideas

1. As an extension of the above lesson, have the students arrange the average rainfalls from least to greatest.

2. Have a lesson on how averages are figured (average rainfall.)  This would be most appropriate for older students.

3. Have the students make a rain gauge and record rainfall over a given period of time.  One of the following links may be helpful: The Weathered Look or Weather and Climate Lesson.

4. Go outside with buckets of water and measuring cups.  Have the students create puddles of different sizes using the measuring cups.  How big is a 2 cup puddle?  (Measure its diameter.)  How big is a 5 cup puddle?

5. Write story problems which involve rainfall.  For example, it rained 2 inches on Thursday and 1 inch on Friday.  How many inches did it rain altogether?