Rainwater Analysis: Grade 5 STEM Road Map for Elementary School

What if you could challenge your fifth graders to design rainwater recycling and delivery systems to provide water for a fictional community garden? With Rainwater Analysis, students can use their own school building and grounds as a design lab. This interdisciplinary module makes the connection between Earth’s spheres, rainfall analysis, irrigation, and mathematical modeling. Students draw on Earth and environmental science and the engineering design process to complete activities such as creating a rain gauge, learning about volume calculations, and analyzing data to determine the best location for a water collection system. Students will also use English language arts to present a proposal for a rainwater system, formulate a message about watershed conservation, and create an ad campaign to share with their community.