Lesson Planet
Search educational resources
  • Sign In Try It Free
  • AI Teacher Tools
    • Discover Resources Search reviewed educational resources by keyword, subject, grade, type, and more
    • Curriculum Manager (My Content) Manage saved and uploaded resources and folders To Access the Curriculum Manager Sign In or Join Now
    • Browse Resource Directory Browse educational resources by subject and topic
    • Curriculum Calendar Explore curriculum resources by date
    • Lesson Planning Articles Timely and inspiring teaching ideas that you can apply in your classroom
    • Our Story
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Testimonials
    • Contact Us
  • Pricing
  • School Access
    • Your school or district can sign up for Lesson Planet — with no cost to teachers
      Learn More
  • Sign In
  • Try It Free

Hi, what do you want to do?

Create a lesson plan
Create a lesson plan
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Find a teaching resource
Find a teaching resource
Excuse Me, Is This the Way to the Drainpipe? Lesson PlanExcuse Me, Is This the Way to the Drainpipe? Lesson Plan
Publisher
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
K - 6th
Subjects
Science
3 more...
Resource Type
Lesson Plans
Audience
For Teacher Use
Duration
2 hrs
Instructional Strategies
Discussion
2 more...
Usage Permissions
Fine Print: Educational Use
Lesson Plan

Excuse Me, Is This the Way to the Drainpipe?

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet
This Excuse Me, Is This the Way to the Drainpipe? lesson plan also includes:
  • Activity
  • Graphic & Image
  • Reading Passage
  • Activity
  • Graphic & Image
  • Project
  • Reading Passage
  • Join to access all included materials

Elementary kids read and color the story of Willy Wetsworth, a drop of water, as he describes the journey that he and his friends take to provide fresh water to houses. He tells his story to Martha Merriweather, a little girl, and explains what she can do to help protect Willy and his watery pals.

  • K-3: Childre listen to the story, have a discussion, then color the pages to take home and share with their families
  • 4-6: Kids read and color the story on their own, then discuss water supply as a whole class. Next, each child makes their own book showing how water moves through the pipes and the water cycle

226 Views 120 Downloads

Concepts

water supplies, water, the water cycle, drinking water, wastewater, water sources, water treatment, water pollution

Additional Tags

reading in science, water cycle, water supply, septic system, Willy Wetsworth, science

Pros

  • Differentiated for multiple grade levels
  • Reading is engaging and accessible to many levels of readers

Cons

  • Story includes incorrect punctuation in several places (you could use this as a proofreading exercise with older students)

See similar resources:

Worksheet

The Color Spectrum

Curated OER
What is a color spectrum? Simple, it's comprised of the colors of the rainbow. Have the classs read a passage about the color spectrum and then complete two short answer activities. 
3rd Science
Activity

Chromatography - Color Clues

American Chemical Society
Here's an activity that will change how one sees color. Pupils try out an experiment on chromatography where they place a drop of food coloring on a coffee filter, add several drops of water, and watch the colors spread and separate....
K - 5th Science
Printables

The Water Cycle

National Weather Service
Looking for a full-color, labeled water cycle diagram? You found one! From evaporation to precipitation to plant uptake and everything in between, it's all here and beautifully illustrated. 
4th - 6th Science
Lesson Plan

Can Nutrients in Water Cause Harm?

Baylor College
Ecology candidates culture pond water organisms over a few days time, then they experiment to find out how increasing nutrients affects the population. As part of a unit on water, this exploration gives your class an understanding of how...
3rd - 6th Science
Lesson Plan

Seeing Science - Color and Spectra

Curated OER
Students explore various scientific concepts, such as color and spectra, and use iMovie to create movies that demonstrate and explain these concepts to their classmates. They research a concept and use AppleWorks to create a storyboard.
6th - 8th Science
Lesson Plan

The Lighter Side of Color

Curated OER
Middle schoolers explore light and color, including how colors are mixed to produce new colors, how light is filtered, and how light is reflected off of surfaces. They read materials provided, complete worksheets, and complete hands-on...
6th - 8th Science
Lesson Plan

Color Burst

Curated OER
Fourth graders explore how colors react in water (chromatography) and other solvents. They observe, investigate, measure, record data and communicate their results in the form of graphs/charts and narration presented to the class....
4th Science
Activity

A Splash of Color - Is Pure Water Colorless?

Exploratorium
What makes the ocean blue but a glass of ocean water nearly colorless? Investigators prepare tubes of water to examine the color of water. Scholars discover the relationship between light absorption, color variations, and water depth as...
6th - 12th Science
Activity

Microbes Coloring Book and Scavenger Hunt

American Museum of Natural History
Coloring pages showcase microbes—bacteria, viruses, and protists. Scholars have the option to download a coloring book and scavenger hunt or color the page directly on the computer. Three paragraphs describe each microbe. 
6th - 12th Science
Instructional Video

American Museum of Natural History: Seeing Color

American Museum of Natural History
Video shows how color vision works by following a beam of sunlight as it bounces off a beach ball and enters a human eye. But our eyes are just the beginning the real star of the story is the brain. [5:30]
1st - 5th Science
Try It Free
© 1999-2026 Learning Explorer, Inc.
Teacher Lesson Plans, Worksheets and Resources

Sign up for the Lesson Planet Monthly Newsletter

Open Educational Resources (OER)

  • Health
  • Language Arts
  • Languages
  • Math
  • Physical Education
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Special Education
  • Visual and Performing Arts
View All Lesson Plans

Discover Resources

  • Our Review Process
  • How it Works
  • How to Search
  • Create a Collection

Manage Curriculum

  • Edit a Collection
  • Assign to Students
  • Manage My Content
Contact Us Site Map Privacy Policy Terms of Use