Skip to content
LessonPrint

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 3 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next set

One paper per student

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

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

Turning Once a Day

5-ESS1-2

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.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 furthest away
  • C.The sun is smallest then
2.How long does Earth take to spin around once?
  • A.About a week
  • B.About 24 hours
  • C.About a year
3.Why does a stick's shadow swing around during the day?
  • A.The stick bends in the heat
  • B.The ground moves under the stick
  • C.The sun's position in the sky changes as Earth turns
4.Why are some star patterns seen only in winter?
  • A.As Earth travels around the sun, its night side faces different stars
  • B.Those stars switch off in summer
  • C.Clouds hide them all summer
5.The sun rises earlier in a town far to the east than in a town far to the west. Why?
  • A.The sun rises twice
  • B.The eastern town is closer to the sun
  • C.Earth turns toward the east, so eastern places turn into sunlight first
6.Why does the sun seem to cross the sky from east to west each day?
  • A.The sun travels around Earth each day
  • B.Clouds push the sun along
  • C.Earth spins toward the east, once about every 24 hours
7.In the evening, which way does a stick's shadow point?
  • A.Toward the east, away from the setting sun
  • B.Straight up
  • C.Toward the west, at the sun
8.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

LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-2 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Turning Once a Day

Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The sun is at its highest in the sky
  2. 2.About 24 hours
  3. 3.The sun's position in the sky changes as Earth turns
  4. 4.As Earth travels around the sun, its night side faces different stars
  5. 5.Earth turns toward the east, so eastern places turn into sunlight first
  6. 6.Earth spins toward the east, once about every 24 hours
  7. 7.Toward the east, away from the setting sun
  8. 8.Days and nights would be shorter

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-ESS1-2 of the Next Generation Science Standards.