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. Your partner cannot see your signal. What should you change?
A. Send it more quietly B. Make it bigger or brighter C. Send it faster 2. What must a device do to count as solving the problem?
A. Be quick to build B. Look impressive C. Get the message across the distance 3. You must send a message in the dark. What works best?
A. A torch flashing B. Waving a card C. Pointing 4. 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 5. Your sound signal works close up and not far away. What does that show?
A. Sound cannot travel B. The sound is too quiet to carry that far C. The partner is not listening 6. You must send a message across a noisy playground. What works best?
A. Tapping two sticks B. Whispering C. Something seen, like a bright waved card 7. 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 8. Which message could a torch send most easily?
A. A list of names B. A whole story C. One flash for yes, two for no LessonPrint · 1-PS4-4 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Getting a Message Across Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.
1. Make it bigger or brighter 2. Get the message across the distance 3. A torch flashing 4. So the other person can work out the message 5. The sound is too quiet to carry that far 6. Something seen, like a bright waved card 7. To find out whether the message actually gets through 8. One flash for yes, two for no 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.