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What the Sun Does to the Ground is a free printable Kindergarten science worksheet on observing the effect of sunlight on a surface, aligned to NGSS performance expectation K-PS3-1. 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.

Set 20 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.

What the Sun Does to the Ground

K-PS3-1

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

The Sunny Step and the Shady Step

What we measured on two steps at noon, on a sunny day in June. TWO STEPS AT NOON Step in the sun ...... 28 degrees. It felt hot. Step in the shade .... 19 degrees. It felt cool. Both steps are made of the same stone. We measured both at the same time.

  1. 1. What was kept the same in this test?
  2. 2. Why was one step warmer than the other?
  3. 3. What would the shady step do if the shade moved away?
2.Which spot would be warmest at lunchtime on a sunny day?
  • A.Behind the wall in the shade
  • B.The middle of the playground, in full sun
  • C.Under the shelter
3.Why is a metal bench in the sun too hot to sit on?
  • A.Metal is always hot
  • B.Somebody heated it
  • C.Sunlight has been warming it
4.Why is the sand in the sun warmer than the sand under the tree?
  • A.It is a different kind of sand
  • B.Sunlight falls on it and warms it
  • C.The tree makes the other sand cold
5.How could you find out whether sunlight warms the ground?
  • A.Measure one patch in the morning only
  • B.Look at the sky once
  • C.Measure a sunny patch and a shady patch at the same time
6.Ice cubes are put on a sunny step and a shady step. Which melt first?
  • A.They never melt
  • B.The ones on the shady step
  • C.The ones on the sunny step
7.A slide stands in the sun all morning. How does it feel at noon?
  • A.Wet
  • B.Icy cold
  • C.Warm, because sunlight has been falling on it

LessonPrint · K-PS3-1 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What the Sun Does to the Ground

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Both steps are made of the same stone and were measured at the same time. 2. Sunlight fell on it, and sunlight warms what it lands on. 3. It would get warmer, because sunlight would fall on it.
  2. 2.The middle of the playground, in full sun
  3. 3.Sunlight has been warming it
  4. 4.Sunlight falls on it and warms it
  5. 5.Measure a sunny patch and a shady patch at the same time
  6. 6.The ones on the sunny step
  7. 7.Warm, because sunlight has been falling on it

More practice for K-PS3-1

Find out what sunlight does to the ground.

Teaching this next? What the Sun Does to the Ground is the 45-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

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Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to K-PS3-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.