Something Is Always Shaking is a free printable Grade 1 science worksheet on evidence that vibration makes sound and sound makes things vibrate, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 1-PS4-1. 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 students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
1.You put your hand on a drum skin while it sounds. What do you feel?
A.Nothing at all
B.The skin getting cold
C.The skin shaking
2.What is the same about every sound you have made today?
A.Something was heavy
B.Something was vibrating
C.Something was hot
3.You pluck a guitar string and it makes a sound. What is the string doing?
A.Getting hotter
B.Staying perfectly still
C.Vibrating back and forth
4.Why does a paper cone in front of a speaker buzz?
A.Paper makes its own sound
B.The speaker touches it
C.The sound makes the paper vibrate
5.How do you stop a ringing bell making a sound?
A.Look away from it
B.Ask it to stop
C.Hold it, so it cannot vibrate
6.A tuning fork is dipped in water after being struck. What happens?
A.The water freezes
B.The water splashes, because the fork is vibrating
C.Nothing happens
7.A loudspeaker is playing music. What is its surface doing?
A.Moving quickly back and forth
B.Staying still
C.Changing color
8.Rice on a drum hops when you shout at it. What does that show?
A.Rice can hear
B.Shouting is warm
C.The sound made the drum skin vibrate
LessonPrint · 1-PS4-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Something Is Always Shaking
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.The skin shaking
2.Something was vibrating
3.Vibrating back and forth
4.The sound makes the paper vibrate
5.Hold it, so it cannot vibrate
6.The water splashes, because the fork is vibrating
7.Moving quickly back and forth
8.The sound made the drum skin vibrate
Questions about Something Is Always Shaking
What does the Something Is Always Shaking worksheet cover?
It practices evidence that vibration makes sound and sound makes things vibrate — 8 questions for Grade 1, all on NGSS 1-PS4-1: Show that things which vibrate make sound, and that sound makes things vibrate. The instruction to students is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Something Is Always Shaking practice?
1-PS4-1, under Physical Science for Grade 1. The published performance expectation reads: “Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Something Is Always Shaking is written for Grade 1, typically ages 6-7. It is one of the sheets on 1-PS4-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Something Is Always Shaking come with an answer key?
Yes. All 8 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Something Is Always Shaking can I print?
25 — one per student, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Something Is Always Shaking free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Something Is Always Shaking, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach 1-PS4-1?
Yes — “Something Is Always Shaking” is a 50-minute Grade 1 plan for 1-PS4-1, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Something Is Always Shaking is the practice that follows it.
More practice for 1-PS4-1
Show that things which vibrate make sound, and that sound makes things vibrate.
Teaching this next? Something Is Always Shaking is the 50-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.