What Rain Does

Overview

In lesson 3 of the four-part Rain Writers Workshop, students use oral rehearsal and shared writing to explain what rain does. They build on earlier work identifying rain-related words and sentences, then compose two linked informative sentences for children who want to learn about weather.

Learning intentions

• WALT explain what rain does to people, plants, animals, and places.
• WALT use an action verb to explain an effect.
• WALT compose two linked informative sentences for a clear audience.
• WALT use phoneme-based spelling and basic sentence punctuation.

Success criteria

• I can write a sentence that tells what rain does.
• I can use a word such as helps, waters, fills, or makes.
• I can write a second sentence about what people use on rainy days.
• I can use a capital letter, finger spaces, and a full stop.

Curriculum links

• Communicating and Presenting — Verbal reasoning: using if/then sentences to show what might happen when something else happens.
• Comprehension — Text form, structure, style, and features: noticing basic features of informative writing and responding to questions about a text.
• Composition — Writing to entertain: writing one or more sentences about a single event or linked events in an understandable order.
• Key competencies: using language, symbols, and texts; managing self; participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Weather hook. Open with the rain hook and weather images and ask, “What does rain do?” Show an image of rain falling on a garden, a river, a puddle, and a person with an umbrella. Students turn and talk, then share an idea using the frame, “Rain …”.

2. 4–9 min · Explore effects. Display the rain effects picture prompts and discuss how rain affects people, plants, animals, and places. Teacher records children’s ideas, prompting with, “What happens next?” and “How does that help or change things?” Students contribute oral sentences, for example, “Rain waters plants,” “Rain fills rivers,” or “Rain makes puddles.”

3. 9–14 min · Model informative writing. Use the teacher model and sentence-building slide to model: “Rain helps plants to grow. People use umbrellas on rainy days.” Think aloud: choose an action verb, explain the effect, say the sentence slowly, stretch sounds for spelling, and check the capital letter, finger spaces, and full stop. Students read the model with the teacher, identify the action verbs, and help orally improve one sentence.

4. 14–17 min · Oral rehearsal. Give each child a partner and revisit the oral rehearsal sentence frames. Students rehearse two linked sentences: one about what rain does and one about what people use on rainy days. Partners listen for an action verb and suggest a useful word from the word bank: helps, grows, waters, fills, makes, puddles, plants, rivers, umbrellas, boots.

5. 17–25 min · Independent writing. Distribute the What Rain Does writing sheet. Students draw or write two linked informative sentences for the audience. Encourage phoneme-based spelling rather than copying every word, while making the word bank available. Confer with individuals: ask them to reread, point to each word, check the first letter, and add a full stop.

6. 25–28 min · Partner read and check. Display the success-criteria check slide. Students read their writing to a partner, who responds to one prompt: “I learned that rain …” Writers check for an action verb, a capital letter, finger spaces, and full stops, making one improvement if needed.

7. 28–30 min · Share and close. Invite two or three children to read their sentences. Return to the opening question and ask, “What can rain do?” Students share one new fact and place their worksheet in the writing folder for feedback and use in the final publishing lesson.

Resources

• the What Rain Does teaching deck
• the What Rain Does writing sheet
• Whiteboard or chart paper
• Thick marker
• Pencils and crayons
• Word-bank display
• Individual writing folders
• Rain, garden, puddle, river, umbrella, and boots images

Assessment

• Listen during partner talk and oral rehearsal: can students explain an effect using an action verb?
• During writing, check whether each child produces two linked sentences and applies capitals, finger spaces, full stops, and plausible phoneme-based spelling.
• Collect the worksheet as an ongoing writing sample. Note whether students can independently explain what rain does and identify an appropriate rainy-day item.

Differentiation

• Support oral language with the sentence frames: “Rain ___.” and “People use ___ when it rains.” Rehearse each sentence several times before writing.
• Provide a picture-supported word bank, adult scribing for ideas where needed, and a choice of copying one key word before attempting the remaining words phonetically.
• Work with a small group to orally build and write one sentence at a time, using sound buttons, magnetic letters, or teacher-led segmenting for words such as rain, helps, plants, and boots.
• Extend confident writers by adding an if/then sentence, such as, “If it rains, then plants can grow,” or by explaining a second effect on animals or places. Encourage them to join ideas with and.