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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 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.

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. Why was one step warmer than the other?
  2. 2. How warm was the step in the shade?
  3. 3. How warm was the step in the sun?
2.How could you find out whether sunlight warms the ground?
  • A.Measure one patch in the morning only
  • B.Measure a sunny patch and a shady patch at the same time
  • C.Look at the sky once
3.A cloud covers the sun for an hour. What happens to the ground?
  • A.It gets wet
  • B.It gets hotter
  • C.It warms less, because less sunlight reaches it
4.What does sunlight do to the things it lands on?
  • A.It cools them
  • B.It warms them
  • C.It makes them heavier
5.Ice cubes are put on a sunny step and a shady step. Which melt first?
  • A.They never melt
  • B.The ones on the sunny step
  • C.The ones on the shady step
6.Which spot would be warmest at lunchtime on a sunny day?
  • A.Under the shelter
  • B.The middle of the playground, in full sun
  • C.Behind the wall in the shade
7.A puddle in the sun dries up before a puddle in the shade. Why?
  • A.Puddles in the sun are smaller
  • B.The shady puddle is deeper
  • C.Sunlight warms the sunny puddle, so it dries faster

LessonPrint · K-PS3-1 · Set 22 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What the Sun Does to the Ground

Set 22. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Sunlight fell on it, and sunlight warms what it lands on. 2. 19 degrees. 3. 28 degrees.
  2. 2.Measure a sunny patch and a shady patch at the same time
  3. 3.It warms less, because less sunlight reaches it
  4. 4.It warms them
  5. 5.The ones on the sunny step
  6. 6.The middle of the playground, in full sun
  7. 7.Sunlight warms the sunny puddle, so it dries faster

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.