Students will work in pairs or teams to read the history of rain measurement handout and create a visual representation that includes reasons for measuring rainfall and tools past and future. This could be a poster, cartoon strip, children's storybook, or educational brochure.

Procedure:

1. Have students read the history of rain measurement handout in pairs, discussing the major events, people and technologies involved in measuring rainfall in the past, and possible new technologies in the future. Have each student practice their writing skills by paraphrasing these main points. They will use these notes to design their project.
2. Have students design a visual representation of the history of rain measurement. They may choose to record one moment in history, some realistic projection for the future, or put together something that demonstrates changes in rainfall measurement over time. Some possibilities include a poster or timeline, cartoon strip, children's storybook, or educational brochure.

Assessment:

The visual project is an authentic assessment of the learning of the written material. Give the students a scoring checklist for the project when they are given directions about the project so they know exactly how they will be graded.

Have a 'share fair' where student work is displayed, and everyone can walk around and see all the projects. Develop a 'peer feedback' sheet for students to fill out as they observe other projects.

Extensions:

• Have students research major rainfall events that have caused flooding or other disasters.
• Have students research one or more of the following meteorologists to find out about their career and what their contributions to society/meteorology have been.