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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 6 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. How warm was the step in the sun?
  3. 3. Which step was warmer?
2.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
3.A puddle in the sun dries up before a puddle in the shade. Why?
  • A.The shady puddle is deeper
  • B.Sunlight warms the sunny puddle, so it dries faster
  • C.Puddles in the sun are smaller
4.Snow melts first on one side of the yard. Which side?
  • A.Both sides at once
  • B.The side the sun shines on
  • C.The side in the shade
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.Behind the wall in the shade
  • B.The middle of the playground, in full sun
  • C.Under the shelter
7.A cloud covers the sun for an hour. What happens to the ground?
  • A.It gets wet
  • B.It warms less, because less sunlight reaches it
  • C.It gets hotter

LessonPrint · K-PS3-1 · Set 6 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What the Sun Does to the Ground

Set 6. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It would get warmer, because sunlight would fall on it. 2. 28 degrees. 3. The step in the sun, at 28 degrees.
  2. 2.Sunlight falls on it and warms it
  3. 3.Sunlight warms the sunny puddle, so it dries faster
  4. 4.The side the sun shines on
  5. 5.The ones on the sunny step
  6. 6.The middle of the playground, in full sun
  7. 7.It warms less, because less sunlight reaches 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.