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Three Rock Pools is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on using rock-pool counts to argue which sea creatures survive well where, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 3-LS4-3. 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.

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Three Rock Pools

3-LS4-3

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

Three Rock Pools

Counts the class made in three rock pools at low tide: one high on the shore, one in the middle and one near the sea. WHAT WE COUNTED High pool (out of the sea for most of the day): 30 barnacles, 6 limpets, some green seaweed, no starfish, no kelp Middle pool: 12 limpets, 9 sea anemones, 4 crabs, brown seaweed, no kelp Low pool (covered by the sea for all but an hour a day): 5 starfish, 11 sea anemones, 6 crabs, kelp, 3 small fish The high pool's water was the warmest, and its level dropped most in the sun. We counted for ten minutes at each pool.

  1. 1. Where was the kelp found?
  2. 2. Where would you look to find more kelp?
  3. 3. How many starfish were in the low pool?
  4. 4. What claim does this survey support?
2.A crab from a rock pool is left on dry sand in the hot sun. What will happen?
  • A.It will survive less well, or not at all, unless it gets back to water
  • B.It will grow faster
  • C.It will be fine all day
3.Why are there no coral reefs in polar seas?
  • A.Polar seas are too salty for fish
  • B.Reef coral needs warm water to survive
  • C.Polar bears eat the coral
4.Why does kelp grow only in shallow water?
  • A.It cannot swim
  • B.It needs sunlight, which cannot reach the deep sea
  • C.It is too heavy for deep water
5.Which ocean habitat could a polar bear survive in?
  • A.The floor of the deep dark sea
  • B.A warm coral reef
  • C.The sea ice of the Arctic
6.How can a seal live in icy seas?
  • A.It never gets wet
  • B.A thick layer of fat under its skin keeps it warm
  • C.It lives on land all year
7.A limpet clamps tight to a rock when the tide goes out. How does that help?
  • A.It keeps it warm
  • B.It stops it drying out until the sea comes back
  • C.It helps it swim

LessonPrint · 3-LS4-3 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Three Rock Pools

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Only in the low pool. 2. Lower down the shore, near the sea like the low pool. 3. 5 starfish. 4. Some sea creatures survive well high on the shore, and others only in the pool near the sea.
  2. 2.It will survive less well, or not at all, unless it gets back to water
  3. 3.Reef coral needs warm water to survive
  4. 4.It needs sunlight, which cannot reach the deep sea
  5. 5.The sea ice of the Arctic
  6. 6.A thick layer of fat under its skin keeps it warm
  7. 7.It stops it drying out until the sea comes back

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 3-LS4-3 of the Next Generation Science Standards.