Home / Science / Printables / Grade 1 / Getting a Message Across Getting a Message Across is a free printable Grade 1 science worksheet on designing a device that sends a message with light or sound, aligned to Common Core standard 1-PS4-4. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
One paper per pupil
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
Getting a Message Across 1-PS4-4
Name Date
Circle the best answer.
1. What must a device do to count as solving the problem?
A. Get the message across the distance B. Be quick to build C. Look impressive 2. Your partner cannot see your signal. What should you change?
A. Make it bigger or brighter B. Send it more quietly C. Send it faster 3. You must send a message across a noisy playground. What works best?
A. Something seen, like a bright waved card B. Tapping two sticks C. Whispering 4. Your sound signal works close up and not far away. What does that show?
A. The sound is too quiet to carry that far B. Sound cannot travel C. The partner is not listening 5. Why agree what each flash means before you start?
A. So the other person can work out the message B. So it takes longer C. So it looks tidy 6. Which message could a torch send most easily?
A. One flash for yes, two for no B. A list of names C. A whole story 7. You must send a message in the dark. What works best?
A. Waving a card B. A torch flashing C. Pointing 8. Why test the device before using it for real?
A. To make it look used B. To use up time C. To find out whether the message actually gets through LessonPrint · 1-PS4-4 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Getting a Message Across Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.
1. Get the message across the distance 2. Make it bigger or brighter 3. Something seen, like a bright waved card 4. The sound is too quiet to carry that far 5. So the other person can work out the message 6. One flash for yes, two for no 7. A torch flashing 8. To find out whether the message actually gets through More practice for 1-PS4-4 Build something that sends a message across a distance using light or sound.
Teaching this next? Getting a Message Across is the 50-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.
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Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 1-PS4-4 of the Next Generation Science Standards.