Make a rainstick or guiro

            Here we will use a recycled water bottle and different sized beans or rice grains to make a rainstick.

What you need:

·      dry, recycled water bottles

·      dried kidney beans, lentil beans, rice,

·      plastic funnels

·      bowls (for the beans)

·      paper cups (for students to collect beans)

·      scoops or measuring cups

Before class time

1.     Collect the recycled water bottles. Ideally, they should be 16 ounces or larger, and have ridges on the side. Make sure to keep the caps!

2.     Wipe the outside and inside with a paper towel sprayed with antibacterial disinfectant.

3.     The most challenging part of this prep is to make sure the water bottles are dry. Make sure they are upside down, and periodically shake them.  If you are in a hurry, wrap a paper towel around a pencil or pipe cleaner and wipe out the extra drops.

4.     Put different beans or rice into shallow bowls. If you would like to incorporate fractions into the lesson, use measuring spoons for scooping out the beans.

During class time

1.    Have the children label the cap and the bottle. Caps can be written on directly. Bottles can be labeled with mailing label stickers or by using masking tape or with regular paper and tape.

2.    Show students how to use the plastic funnel. Paper funnels can work also, but plastic funnels are sturdier. We recommend about ½ cup of beans or rice in each bottle. If students want to mix types of beans, they should end up with ½ cup (an excellent opportunity for fractions!)

3.    Give each student a paper cup and instruct them to collect up to ½ cup of beans.

4.    Use the funnel to carefully put the beans into the bottle. If the beans get stuck, tap the funnel so the beans move through.

5.     Carefully put the cap onto the bottle. Make sure it is screwed on flat and tight!

To make it “rain” have the children slowly tilt the bottles so the beans run down the ridges on the sides. We combined this with a lesson on the Brazilian rainforest, and created a rainstorm with the rain sticks while reading a book on the rainforest. Children made the rumbling thunder by stomping their feet, and lights were flickered to simulate lightning.


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