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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 25 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. Which step was warmer?
  2. 2. What was kept the same in this test?
  3. 3. How warm was the step in the shade?
2.Why is a metal bench in the sun too hot to sit on?
  • A.Somebody heated it
  • B.Metal is always hot
  • C.Sunlight has been warming it
3.Why is the sand in the sun warmer than the sand under the tree?
  • A.The tree makes the other sand cold
  • B.Sunlight falls on it and warms it
  • C.It is a different kind of sand
4.A slide stands in the sun all morning. How does it feel at noon?
  • A.Wet
  • B.Warm, because sunlight has been falling on it
  • C.Icy cold
5.Snow melts first on one side of the yard. Which side?
  • A.The side the sun shines on
  • B.The side in the shade
  • C.Both sides at once
6.A cloud covers the sun for an hour. What happens to the ground?
  • A.It gets hotter
  • B.It warms less, because less sunlight reaches it
  • C.It gets wet
7.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

LessonPrint · K-PS3-1 · Set 25 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What the Sun Does to the Ground

Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The step in the sun, at 28 degrees. 2. Both steps are made of the same stone and were measured at the same time. 3. 19 degrees.
  2. 2.Sunlight has been warming it
  3. 3.Sunlight falls on it and warms it
  4. 4.Warm, because sunlight has been falling on it
  5. 5.The side the sun shines on
  6. 6.It warms less, because less sunlight reaches it
  7. 7.The middle of the playground, in full sun

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.