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Finding Out Before Deciding is a free printable Kindergarten to Grade 2 science worksheet on gathering information to define a problem, aligned to Common Core standard K-2-ETS1-1. 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 pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

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All 25 sets ask different questions.

Finding Out Before Deciding

K-2-ETS1-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.You gather information and the problem turns out to be different. What should you do?
  • A.Change the problem statement to match what you found
  • B.Ignore what you found
  • C.Build the first idea anyway
2.The bank by the playground washes away in heavy rain. What is the problem to solve?
  • A.Why it rains
  • B.Who owns the bank
  • C.How to hold the soil on the bank when it rains
3.Which of these is a problem a new object could solve?
  • A.It rains in autumn
  • B.The path is grey
  • C.Soil washes onto the path every time it rains
4.Before designing a barrier, what information would help?
  • A.How much soil washes down in one storm
  • B.What colour the soil is
  • C.Who noticed it first
5.Why ask the caretaker about the bank?
  • A.He has watched it for longer and has information you do not
  • B.He owns a spade
  • C.He is busy
6.Two pupils describe the bank problem differently. What comes first?
  • A.Building both ideas
  • B.Voting on who is nicer
  • C.Agreeing one problem to solve
7.A pupil says 'make the bank better'. What is missing?
  • A.What better would mean, and how you would know
  • B.A name
  • C.A colour
8.Why write the problem down before designing?
  • A.So the solution can be judged against it later
  • B.So it takes longer
  • C.So the sheet is full

LessonPrint · K-2-ETS1-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Finding Out Before Deciding

Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Change the problem statement to match what you found
  2. 2.How to hold the soil on the bank when it rains
  3. 3.Soil washes onto the path every time it rains
  4. 4.How much soil washes down in one storm
  5. 5.He has watched it for longer and has information you do not
  6. 6.Agreeing one problem to solve
  7. 7.What better would mean, and how you would know
  8. 8.So the solution can be judged against it later

Questions about Finding Out Before Deciding

What does the Finding Out Before Deciding worksheet cover?

It practises gathering information to define a problem — 8 questions for Kindergarten to Grade 2, all on Common Core K-2-ETS1-1: Ask, look and gather information to define a problem worth solving. The instruction to pupils is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.

Which Common Core standard does Finding Out Before Deciding practise?

K-2-ETS1-1 — K-2-ETS1-1, in the Engineering Design domain for Kindergarten to Grade 2. The published standard reads: “Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.

What age or grade is this worksheet for?

Finding Out Before Deciding is written for Kindergarten to Grade 2, typically ages 7-8. It is one of the sheets on K-2-ETS1-1, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.

Does Finding Out Before Deciding 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 Finding Out Before Deciding can I print?

25 — one per pupil, 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 Finding Out Before Deciding free to print and photocopy?

Yes. Finding Out Before Deciding, 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 K-2-ETS1-1?

Yes — “Finding Out Before Deciding” is a 50-minute Kindergarten to Grade 2 plan for K-2-ETS1-1, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Finding Out Before Deciding is the practice that follows it.

More practice for K-2-ETS1-1

Ask, look and gather information to define a problem worth solving.

Teaching this next? Finding Out Before Deciding is the 50-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Kindergarten to Grade 2 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to K-2-ETS1-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.