Rain Gauge Activity
Provided by: NASA|Published on: November 16, 2023
Grades: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Chemistry, Earth and Space Sciences, Engineering
Authors: NASA
Region: Global
Languages: English
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson, students will review the water cycle, create rain gauges, and learn why precise data gathering is necessary and important.
- Students will get to experiment, create different rain gauge designs, and learn about the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission and its importance.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This inquiry-based activity is engaging and allows for a variety of results.
- The lesson does a great job of providing a lot of context to deepen understanding.
Additional Prerequisites
- The link to the article explaining the importance of engineering skills does not work.
- Some blue words in the Teacher Guide look like links but are not clickable.
- There is narration for the video clip on slide 7, contrary to what it says in the Teacher Guide.
- Students should already know the forms of water or states of matter.
Differentiation
- If time permits, students may enjoy demonstrations to illustrate evaporation, condensation, and the fact that salt does not evaporate with water.
- This lesson would be a great follow-up to this lesson on exploring the water cycle or any other exploration of the water cycle.
- Language arts students can demonstrate their understanding by writing about the importance of precise precipitation data.
- Students can log precipitation for a week and create a graph using this resource.
In this rain gauge activity, students will learn all about water and why it is important. The lesson touches on many different fundamental concepts about water. The lesson also discusses how and why scientists measure precipitation around the world, which gives them insight into current scientific research. The information presented is accurate and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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