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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 3 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. Why was one step warmer than the other?
  2. 2. How warm was the step in the sun?
  3. 3. Which step was warmer?
2.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
3.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
4.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
5.Why is a metal bench in the sun too hot to sit on?
  • A.Sunlight has been warming it
  • B.Somebody heated it
  • C.Metal is always hot
6.What does sunlight do to the things it lands on?
  • A.It cools them
  • B.It makes them heavier
  • C.It warms them
7.Which spot would be warmest at lunchtime on a sunny day?
  • A.Under the shelter
  • B.Behind the wall in the shade
  • C.The middle of the playground, in full sun

LessonPrint · K-PS3-1 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What the Sun Does to the Ground

Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Sunlight fell on it, and sunlight warms what it lands on. 2. 28 degrees. 3. The step in the sun, at 28 degrees.
  2. 2.Sunlight warms the sunny puddle, so it dries faster
  3. 3.It warms less, because less sunlight reaches it
  4. 4.The side the sun shines on
  5. 5.Sunlight has been warming it
  6. 6.It warms them
  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.