Helping and Harming
A 45-minute Kindergarten lesson on communicating solutions that reduce what people do to the land, water and living things nearby.
Helping and Harming is a free 45-minute Kindergarten science lesson plan for Common Core standard K-ESS3-3 — share ways people can do less harm to the land, water, air and living things nearby. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Kindergarten
- Length:
- 45 minutes
- Standard:
- K-ESS3-3
Kindergarten · Earth and Space Science
K-ESS3-3
Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
Objective
Students will be able to name something that harms living things nearby and a solution that reduces it.
Students are successful when they can
- Sorts an action into helping or harming.
- Names who or what is harmed.
- Gives one solution and says who it is for.
What you need
- The class litter count from the field
- Gloves and a litter picker
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — what we picked up
5 min- Read the litter count: 14 crisp packets, 11 paper, 8 bottles, 3 cans.
- Ask what there was most of.
Teach — who it harms, and what would help
12 min- Ask who is harmed by litter on the field: the birds, the worms, the grass.
- Sort three actions aloud: bin it, plant a tree, pour paint down a drain.
- Ask what makes the third one harmful even though nobody sees it.
- Take the biggest number, crisp packets, and ask what would reduce it.
- Say the last step, which is the standard: a solution has to be told to somebody.
- Ask who needs to hear it: the class, the school, the people who drop it.
“Who does it harm, and who needs to hear the solution?”
Investigate — a litter walk
15 min- With gloves and pickers, pairs collect litter from a marked area for ten minutes.
- They tally what they find by kind.
- They compare with last time's count and say whether it has got better.
- Each pair writes or draws one solution on a card for the school noticeboard.
Independent practice
10 min- Students complete the 'Helping and Harming' page.
- Check the harmful column names the living things affected.
Close
3 min- Put the solution cards on the noticeboard and agree who will read them.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Says litter is bad only because it is untidy.
Why: Untidiness is the visible problem.
Fix: Ask what a bird does with a crisp packet. The harm is to living things.
Thinks harm has to be deliberate.
Why: Harm sounds like meanness.
Fix: Leaving a tap running harms nobody on purpose and still wastes water.
Gives a solution and tells nobody.
Why: Having the idea feels like the job.
Fix: K-ESS3-3 says communicate. Who is going to hear it?
If they are not there yet
- Six cards rather than twelve.
- Sort with pictures and two labelled hoops.
If they finish early
- Say which solution would reduce the biggest number.
- Design a poster for the people who drop the litter.
- Count again in a month and compare.
Exit ticket
Name one thing that harms living things near the school, and one solution. Who needs to hear it?
What to look for: A named harm, a solution, and somebody to tell. A solution with no audience means the communicate step is missing.
Printable practice for K-ESS3-3
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Helping and HarmingSort each one into helps or harms.
Questions about Helping and Harming
How long does the Helping and Harming lesson take?
45 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 12 min, investigate 15 min, independent practice 10 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Helping and Harming teach?
K-ESS3-3 — K-ESS3-3, Earth and Space Science for Kindergarten: “Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.” In plain terms, share ways people can do less harm to the land, water, air and living things nearby.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
The class litter count from the field, gloves and a litter picker and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: says litter is bad only because it is untidy; thinks harm has to be deliberate and gives a solution and tells nobody. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Name one thing that harms living things near the school, and one solution. Who needs to hear it?.” A named harm, a solution, and somebody to tell. A solution with no audience means the communicate step is missing. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Helping and Harming?
Yes — 1 printable K-ESS3-3 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Helping and Harming free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 8 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-08. Aligned to K-ESS3-3 of the Next Generation Science Standards.