Rain, Rain, Go Away 2A

; Lesson Objectives
Core Content Objectives
Students will:
9 Listen to and demonstrate familiarity with “Rain, Rain, Go Away”
9 Identify Johnny as the character in the nursery rhyme
9 Identify rhyming words in the nursery rhyme

Language Arts Objectives

The following language arts objectives are addressed in this
lesson. Objectives aligning with the Common Core State
Standards are noted with the corresponding standard in
parentheses. Refer to the Alignment Chart for additional standards
that are addressed in all lessons in this domain.
Students will:
9 Describe familiar things, such as rain, and with prompting and
support, provide additional detail (SL.K.4)
9 Discuss personal responses to rain and rainy days and connect
those to the way in which the character in the nursery rhyme
feels about rainy weather

Core Vocabulary
away, adv. Not here
Example: The sun is very far away.
Variation(s): none
character, n. The person a nursery rhyme or story is about
Example: My favorite character in the book was Alice.
Variation(s): characters

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At a Glance Exercise Materials Minutes
What Do We Know
Introducing the Read-Aloud 5
Purpose for Listening

Presenting the Read-Aloud Rain, Rain, Go Away 10

Comprehension Questions 5
Discussing the Read-Aloud
Rhyming Words 5

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Introducing the Read-Aloud 5 minutes
What Do We Know?
§ Show image 2A-1: Johnny looking out window at rain

Ask students what is happening in this picture. Tell students that

the next nursery rhyme they are going to hear takes place during a
rainy day. Ask students how they feel when it rains. Ask them what
kinds of things they like to do on rainy days, and what kinds of
things they are not able to do when it is raining.

Purpose for Listening

Tell students that the person a nursery rhyme is about is called the
character. Ask students to listen carefully to the nursery rhyme
that you are going to read to find out how the character in this
nursery rhyme feels about rainy weather.

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Presenting the Read-Aloud 10 minutes
Rain, Rain, Go Away
§ Show image 2A-1: Johnny looking out window at rain

Rain, rain, go away,

Come again some other day.
Little Johnny wants to play,
Rain, rain, go away.

Read It Again
Reread the rhyme with the Guided Listening Support.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

§ Show image 2A-1: Johnny looking out window at rain

Rain, rain, go away, 1

1 Away means not here.
Come again some other day.
Little Johnny wants to play,
Rain, rain, go away.

Echo Technique
Directions: I am going to say the first line of “Rain, Rain, Go Away.”
Then I will stop and give you a chance to echo the words. That
means you will say the exact words that I said. We will continue
doing this for each line of the rhyme.
Compliment students for doing this correctly, which means that
they were listening carefully.

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Discussing the Read-Aloud 10 minutes
Comprehension Questions 5 minutes
If students have difficulty responding to questions, reread pertinent
lines of the nursery rhyme and/or refer to the image. If students
give one-word answers and/or fail to use read-aloud or domain
vocabulary in their responses, acknowledge correct responses by
expanding the students’ responses using richer and more complex
language. Ask students to answer in complete sentences by
having them restate the question in their responses.
1. Literal Who is this nursery rhyme about? (Johnny) [Tell
students that we can say that the nursery rhyme is about
Johnny, or that Johnny is the character in the nursery rhyme,
or the person the rhyme is talking about.]
2. Inferential What does Johnny tell the rain to do? (go away)
Why? (He wants to play.)
3. Inferential What does it mean when Johnny says, “Come again
another day”? (Don’t rain today; rain another day.)
4. Evaluative Can the rain hear Johnny? (no) So, why does
Johnny talk to the rain? (It makes him feel better, or he is
pretending.)
5. Evaluative How does Johnny feel about the rain? (He doesn’t
like the rain because he can’t play.) How do you know? (He
tells the rain to go away.)
6. Evaluative What kinds of things is Johnny not able to do if it is
raining? (outdoor activities)
[Please continue to model the Think Pair Share process for students,
as necessary, and scaffold students in their use of the process.]
I am going to ask a question. I will give you a minute to think about
the question, and then I will ask you to turn to your neighbor and
discuss the question. Finally, I will call on several of you to share
what you discussed with your partner.
7. Evaluative Think Pair Share: What ideas do you have for things
that Johnny could do since it is raining and he cannot play
outside? (Answers may vary.)

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© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
 8. After hearing today’s read-aloud and questions and answers,
do you have any remaining questions? [If time permits, you may
wish to allow for individual, group, or class research of the text
and/or other resources to answer these remaining questions.]

Rhyming Words 5 minutes

Tell students that rhyming words are words that have different
beginning sounds but end with the same sounds, e.g., cat/hat,
big/pig, coat/goat, bake/take.
Directions: I am going to reread the first two lines of “Rain, Rain,
Go Away” and I want you to listen for rhyming words.
Rain, rain, go away,
Come again some other day.
What are the rhyming words? (away, day)
Now I am going to reread the next two lines and I want you to
listen for words that rhyme.
Little Johnny wants to play,
Rain, rain, go away.
What are the rhyming words? (play, away)
Reread the nursery rhyme, but leave out the second word of each
rhyming pair for students to fill in.
If time permits, ask students if they can think of other words that
rhyme with away, day, and play.

, Complete Remainder of the Lesson Later in the Day

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© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
 It’s Raining, It’s Pouring 2B
; Lesson Objectives
Core Content Objectives
Students will:
9 Listen to and demonstrate familiarity with “It’s Raining, It’s
Pouring”
9 Demonstrate familiarity with “Rain, Rain, Go Away”
9 Describe the old man in the nursery rhyme
9 Retell events of specific nursery rhymes
9 Recite “Rain, Rain, Go Away”

Language Arts Objectives

The following language arts objectives are addressed in this
lesson. Objectives aligning with the Common Core State
Standards are noted with the corresponding standard in
parentheses. Refer to the Alignment Chart for additional standards
that are addressed in all lessons in this domain.
Students will:
9 Explain the meaning of the saying, “it’s raining cats and dogs”
and use in appropriate contexts (L.K.6)
9 Explain that “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring” is realistic text because it
does rain and people do bump their heads and go to bed
9 Prior to listening to “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring,” orally predict what
will happen in the read-aloud based on the title and the previous
nursery rhyme “Rain, Rain, Go Away,” and then compare the
actual outcome to the prediction

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 Core Vocabulary
pouring, v. Raining hard or heavily
Example: The streets are flooded because it has been pouring for
several hours.
Variation(s): pour, pours, poured
snoring, v. Breathing noisily while sleeping
Example: I heard my brother snoring last night.
Variation(s): snore, snores, snored

At a Glance Exercise Materials Minutes

What Do We Know?
Introducing the Read-Aloud 5
Purpose for Listening
Presenting the Read-Aloud It’s Raining, It’s Pouring 10
Comprehension Questions 5
Discussing the Read-Aloud Sayings and Phrases: It’s Raining
5
Cats and Dogs

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© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
Introducing the Read-Aloud 5 minutes
What Do We Know?
Have a student or a group of students recite “Rain, Rain, Go Away.”
Remind students that in the previous read-aloud, Johnny wanted
the rain to go away.

w Recitation of Nursery Rhymes (Instructional Master 2B-1)

During the course of this domain, find an opportunity to assess
each student’s ability to recite a nursery rhyme that has been
taught, using Instructional Master 2B-1.

Purpose for Listening

Tell students that you are going to read another nursery rhyme
about rain. Tell students to listen carefully to decide whether or not
the character in this nursery rhyme wants the rain to go away.

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© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
Presenting the Read-Aloud 10 minutes
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
§ Show image 2B-1: Old man in bed

Recite the lyrics to “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring” aloud to students.

Read It Again
Reread the rhyme with the Guided Listening Support.

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

§ Show image 2B-1: Old man in bed

Recite the lyrics to “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring” aloud to students

again defining pouring 1 and snoring 2 as you recite.

Echo Technique
Explain that this nursery rhyme is often sung.
1 Pouring means raining very hard. Directions: I am going to sing the first line of “It’s Raining, It’s
2 Snoring is a noise made while Pouring.” Then I will stop and give you a chance to echo. That
sleeping. means you will sing the exact words that I sang. We will continue
doing this for each line of the rhyme.
Compliment students for doing this correctly, which means that
they were listening carefully.

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Discussing the Read-Aloud 10 minutes
Comprehension Questions 5 minutes
If students have difficulty responding to questions, reread pertinent
lines of the nursery rhyme and/or refer to the image. If students
give one-word answers and/or fail to use read-aloud or domain
vocabulary in their responses, acknowledge correct responses by
expanding the students’ responses using richer and more complex
language. Ask students to answer in complete sentences by
having them restate the question in their responses.
1. Evaluative Were your predictions correct about whether or not
this character wanted the rain to go away? Why or why not?
(Answers may vary.)
2. Literal How would you describe the weather in this nursery
rhyme? (rainy) Was it just a light, drizzling rain, or was it
raining heavily? (raining heavily, pouring rain)
3. Literal What do you know about the character in this nursery
rhyme? (He’s an old man; he’s snoring; he bumped his head.)
4. Inferential What is the old man doing? (sleeping, snoring)
5. Evaluative Why do you think the old man goes to bed?
(He was tired; the rain made him sleepy; etc.)
6. Inferential Can the events of this nursery rhyme really happen?
(yes) Why? (It rains; people snore; people bump their heads.)
[Please continue to model the Think Pair Share process for students,
as necessary, and scaffold students in their use of the process.]
I am going to ask a question. I will give you a minute to think about
the question, and then I will ask you to turn to your neighbor and
discuss the question. Finally, I will call on several of you to share
what you discussed with your partner.
8. Evaluative Think Pair Share: What do you like to do when it
is pouring rain? (Answers may vary.)
9. After hearing today’s read-aloud and questions and answers,
do you have any remaining questions? [If time permits, you may
wish to allow for individual, group, or class research of the text
and/or other resources to answer these remaining questions.]

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 Sayings and Phrases: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs 5 minutes
Tell students that proverbs are short, traditional sayings that have
been passed along orally from generation to generation. These
sayings usually express general truths based on experiences
and observations of everyday life. Although some proverbs do
have literal meanings—that is, they mean exactly what they say—
many proverbs have a richer meaning beyond the literal level. It
is important to help students understand the difference between
the literal meanings of the words and their implied or figurative
meanings.
Directions: Have you ever heard anyone say, “it’s raining cats and
dogs”? This phrase is another way of saying that it is raining very
hard or pouring. It does not mean that cats and dogs are falling from
the sky! Say it with me: “It’s raining cats and dogs.”
Instead of saying, “I got soaked as soon as I went outside because
it was pouring,” you could say, “I got soaked as soon as I went
outside because it was raining cats and dogs.” Have you ever
seen it raining cats and dogs or been outside when it was raining
cats and dogs? [Have students give examples using the saying.]
Any day that it is pouring or “raining cats and dogs,” be sure to
use the saying to describe the weather.

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© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation