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

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One paper per student

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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 would the shady step do if the shade moved away?
  2. 2. What was kept the same in this test?
  3. 3. Why was one step warmer than the other?
2.Snow melts first on one side of the yard. Which side?
  • A.The side the sun shines on
  • B.Both sides at once
  • C.The side in the shade
3.Ice cubes are put on a sunny step and a shady step. Which melt first?
  • A.The ones on the sunny step
  • B.The ones on the shady step
  • C.They never melt
4.Why is a metal bench in the sun too hot to sit on?
  • A.Sunlight has been warming it
  • B.Metal is always hot
  • C.Somebody heated it
5.Which spot would be warmest at lunchtime on a sunny day?
  • A.The middle of the playground, in full sun
  • B.Under the shelter
  • C.Behind the wall in the shade
6.What does sunlight do to the things it lands on?
  • A.It cools them
  • B.It warms them
  • C.It makes them heavier
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 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What the Sun Does to the Ground

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

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