Young Ones and Their Parents is a free printable Grade 1 science worksheet on using observations of families to show young plants and animals are like their parents, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 1-LS3-1. It prints 7 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.
What the class noticed from photographs of four animal families.
WHAT WE NOTICED
Puppy: same shape as its mother, much smaller, one white paw she has not
Duckling: yellow fluff, mother has brown feathers, same beak shape
Foal: long legs like its mother, a white blaze she has not
Kitten: same ears as its mother, striped where she is plain
All four photographs were taken at a farm park.
1. What is the same about the duckling and its mother?
2. What was true of all four young animals?
3. What claim does this record support?
4. Why does the foal have long legs like its mother?
2.Two seedlings from the same sunflower are different heights. What does that show?
A.One is not a sunflower
B.Young plants are like their parent but not exactly the same
C.They are different kinds of plant
3.How could you show that young plants are like their parents?
A.Ask which plant is the prettiest
B.Look at one leaf only
C.Grow seeds from one plant and compare the seedlings with it
4.A seed from a red tomato grows. What fruit will the new plant most likely have?
A.Tomatoes, like the parent plant
B.Strawberries
C.Apples
5.A daisy seed lands in a lawn. What will grow from it?
A.Grass
B.A tree
C.A daisy, like the plant that made the seed
6.One seedling from a packet of white flowers has a pale pink flower. Is it still like its parents?
A.Yes, in most ways, though not exactly
B.No, it has no parents
C.No, it is a new kind of plant
7.Ten pea plants grow from one packet. What is true of all ten?
A.Each grows a different fruit
B.They are all exactly the same
C.They all grow pea pods, though some grow taller
LessonPrint · 1-LS3-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Young Ones and Their Parents
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. The same beak shape. 2. Each was like its parent in some ways and different in others. 3. Young animals are like their parents but not exactly like them. 4. Young animals get their features from their parents.
2.Young plants are like their parent but not exactly the same
3.Grow seeds from one plant and compare the seedlings with it
4.Tomatoes, like the parent plant
5.A daisy, like the plant that made the seed
6.Yes, in most ways, though not exactly
7.They all grow pea pods, though some grow taller
Questions about Young Ones and Their Parents
What does the Young Ones and Their Parents worksheet cover?
It practices using observations of families to show young plants and animals are like their parents — 7 questions for Grade 1, all on NGSS 1-LS3-1: Show that young plants and animals resemble their parents without matching them. The instruction to students is “Read the record, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Young Ones and Their Parents practice?
1-LS3-1, under Life Science for Grade 1. The published performance expectation reads: “Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Young Ones and Their Parents is written for Grade 1, typically ages 6-7. It is one of the sheets on 1-LS3-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Young Ones and Their Parents come with an answer key?
Yes. All 7 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 Young Ones and Their Parents 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 Young Ones and Their Parents free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Young Ones and Their Parents, 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.
More practice for 1-LS3-1
Show that young plants and animals resemble their parents without matching them.