What the Surroundings Change is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on evidence that traits can be influenced by the environment, aligned to Common Core standard 3-LS3-2. 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 pupils 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.Two identical seedlings are given different amounts of water. What is being tested?
A.Whether seeds are alive
B.Whether water affects how they grow
C.Whether they are related
2.What would you need to show a trait is inherited rather than environmental?
A.A longer wait
B.The same trait appearing when the surroundings are kept the same
C.A photograph
3.Can a trait be affected by both?
A.Only in plants
B.Yes, height is inherited and also affected by light and food
C.No, it is one or the other
4.Why does it matter that all the seed came from one packet?
A.It made them cheaper
B.It kept them tidy
C.It rules out different seed as the cause of the difference
5.A tree on a cliff leans away from the sea. What caused that?
A.It chose to
B.Its parent leaned too
C.The wind it grew in
6.Sunflowers from one packet grew 148 cm in sun and 96 cm in shade. What does that show?
A.The surroundings affected how tall they grew
B.The seeds were different kinds
C.Height is not inherited at all
7.Which is influenced by the environment?
A.The colour of its flowers
B.How tall a plant grows in poor light
C.The shape of its leaves
8.A puppy fed well grows heavier than its littermate. Inherited or environment?
A.Inherited, because they are related
B.Environment, because the food differed
C.Neither
LessonPrint · 3-LS3-2 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — What the Surroundings Change
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.Whether water affects how they grow
2.The same trait appearing when the surroundings are kept the same
3.Yes, height is inherited and also affected by light and food
4.It rules out different seed as the cause of the difference
5.The wind it grew in
6.The surroundings affected how tall they grew
7.How tall a plant grows in poor light
8.Environment, because the food differed
Questions about What the Surroundings Change
What does the What the Surroundings Change worksheet cover?
It practises evidence that traits can be influenced by the environment — 8 questions for Grade 3, all on Common Core 3-LS3-2: Show with evidence that surroundings can change a trait. The instruction to pupils is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does What the Surroundings Change practise?
3-LS3-2 — 3-LS3-2, in the Life Science domain for Grade 3. The published standard reads: “Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
What the Surroundings Change is written for Grade 3, typically ages 8-9. It is one of the sheets on 3-LS3-2, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does What the Surroundings Change 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 What the Surroundings Change 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 What the Surroundings Change free to print and photocopy?
Yes. What the Surroundings Change, 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 3-LS3-2?
Yes — “What the Surroundings Change” is a 55-minute Grade 3 plan for 3-LS3-2, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. What the Surroundings Change is the practice that follows it.
More practice for 3-LS3-2
Show with evidence that surroundings can change a trait.
Teaching this next? What the Surroundings Change is the 55-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.