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Four Systems, One Storm is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on modeling how the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere interact, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-ESS2-1. It prints 5 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 22 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Four Systems, One Storm

5-ESS2-1

NameDate

Read the account, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

One Storm, Four Systems

A local account of one week's storm and the week that followed it. THE WEEK OF THE STORM Air: three days of gale and heavy rain Water: the river rose two meters and burst its bank Land: the bank collapsed and 40 tonnes of soil moved downstream Living things: the willow roots held one section of bank in place The section held by willow lost almost no soil.

  1. 1. How high did the river rise?
  2. 2. What claim does this account support?
  3. 3. Which section of bank lost almost no soil?
  4. 4. How did living things affect the land here?
2.A river carries 40 tonnes of soil downstream. Which two systems?
  • A.Living things affecting the water
  • B.The air affecting living things
  • C.The water affecting the land
3.Why is one storm a good example of systems interacting?
  • A.The air, water, land and living things all affected each other in one week
  • B.Storms are rare
  • C.Storms are dramatic
4.Planting willow along the whole bank would be an example of what?
  • A.The air affecting the water
  • B.A system with no interaction
  • C.People using living things to affect the land
5.What makes the two bank sections a fair comparison?
  • A.They are both muddy
  • B.Same storm and same river, so only the willow differed
  • C.They look similar

LessonPrint · 5-ESS2-1 · Set 22 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Four Systems, One Storm

Set 22. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Two meters. 2. The air, the water, the land and living things all affect one another. 3. The section held in place by willow roots. 4. The willow roots held the soil so the bank did not collapse there.
  2. 2.The water affecting the land
  3. 3.The air, water, land and living things all affected each other in one week
  4. 4.People using living things to affect the land
  5. 5.Same storm and same river, so only the willow differed

More practice for 5-ESS2-1

Model one way that land, life, water and air affect each other.

Teaching this next? Four Systems, One Storm is the 60-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-ESS2-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.