Turning Once a Day is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on explaining day and night and the sun's daily path by Earth's spin, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-ESS1-2. 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.
1.When it is noon on one side of Earth, what time is it on the opposite side?
A.Early morning everywhere
B.About midnight
C.Also noon
2.Why does a stick's shadow swing around during the day?
A.The sun's position in the sky changes as Earth turns
B.The ground moves under the stick
C.The stick bends in the heat
3.Why are some star patterns seen only in winter?
A.Clouds hide them all summer
B.As Earth travels around the sun, its night side faces different stars
C.Those stars switch off in summer
4.Early in the morning, which way does a stick's shadow point?
A.Toward the west, away from the rising sun
B.Toward the east, at the sun
C.Straight down
5.Why is it night in Australia while it is day in Britain?
A.They are on opposite sides of the spinning Earth, so one faces the sun and one faces away
B.Australia is further from the sun
C.The sun switches off over Australia
6.Why is a shadow shortest around the middle of the day?
A.The sun is at its highest in the sky
B.The sun is smallest then
C.The sun is furthest away
7.If Earth spun around faster, what would happen to the length of each day and night?
A.Days and nights would be shorter
B.They would be longer
C.Nothing would change
8.The sun rises earlier in a town far to the east than in a town far to the west. Why?
A.The eastern town is closer to the sun
B.The sun rises twice
C.Earth turns toward the east, so eastern places turn into sunlight first
LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-2 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Turning Once a Day
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.About midnight
2.The sun's position in the sky changes as Earth turns
3.As Earth travels around the sun, its night side faces different stars
4.Toward the west, away from the rising sun
5.They are on opposite sides of the spinning Earth, so one faces the sun and one faces away
6.The sun is at its highest in the sky
7.Days and nights would be shorter
8.Earth turns toward the east, so eastern places turn into sunlight first
Questions about Turning Once a Day
What does the Turning Once a Day worksheet cover?
It practices explaining day and night and the sun's daily path by Earth's spin — 8 questions for Grade 5, all on NGSS 5-ESS1-2: Graph data on shadows, day and night, and the stars across a year. The instruction to students is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Turning Once a Day practice?
5-ESS1-2, under Earth and Space Science for Grade 5. The published performance expectation reads: “Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Turning Once a Day is written for Grade 5, typically ages 10-11. It is one of the sheets on 5-ESS1-2, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Turning Once a Day 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 Turning Once a Day 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 Turning Once a Day free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Turning Once a Day, 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 5-ESS1-2
Graph data on shadows, day and night, and the stars across a year.