One Day, or Many Years? is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on reasoning about what evidence shows weather and what shows climate, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 3-ESS2-2. 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.
2.A hot desert has one day of heavy rain. Does that make its climate wet?
A.Yes, it is now a wet place
B.No, one rainy day is weather; the climate is still dry
C.Yes, for that year
3.A family is packing for a vacation next month. What should they look at?
A.Last year's vacation photos
B.What the climate there is usually like, then the forecast just before they go
C.Only today's weather at home
4.Why do farmers choose crops that suit their area's climate?
A.The climate tells them what the weather is usually like through the growing season
B.Weather never matters to crops
C.Climate changes every day
5.Which of these is a statement about weather?
A.This island has mild winters most years
B.It will be windy on Friday afternoon
C.The desert gets very little rain each year
6.Which would best describe a city's climate?
A.Its temperature and rainfall recorded over thirty years
B.One photograph of the sky
C.Tomorrow's forecast
7.It snowed in a city yesterday. Does that tell you the city's climate?
A.Yes, the city has a snowy climate
B.Yes, snow is always climate
C.No, one day's snow is weather; climate is what is usual over many years
8.Which of these is a statement about climate?
A.Most years, this town has a dry summer and a wet winter
B.It is raining now
C.It was foggy this morning
LessonPrint · 3-ESS2-2 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — One Day, or Many Years?
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.A graph of its average rainfall for each month
2.No, one rainy day is weather; the climate is still dry
3.What the climate there is usually like, then the forecast just before they go
4.The climate tells them what the weather is usually like through the growing season
5.It will be windy on Friday afternoon
6.Its temperature and rainfall recorded over thirty years
7.No, one day's snow is weather; climate is what is usual over many years
8.Most years, this town has a dry summer and a wet winter
Questions about One Day, or Many Years?
What does the One Day, or Many Years? worksheet cover?
It practices reasoning about what evidence shows weather and what shows climate — 8 questions for Grade 3, all on NGSS 3-ESS2-2: Gather information to describe climates in different parts of the world. The instruction to students is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does One Day, or Many Years? practice?
3-ESS2-2, under Earth and Space Science for Grade 3. The published performance expectation reads: “Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
One Day, or Many Years? is written for Grade 3, typically ages 8-9. It is one of the sheets on 3-ESS2-2, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does One Day, or Many Years? 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 One Day, or Many Years? 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 One Day, or Many Years? free to print and photocopy?
Yes. One Day, or Many Years?, 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 3-ESS2-2
Gather information to describe climates in different parts of the world.