Getting a Message Across is a free printable Grade 1 science worksheet on designing a device that sends a message with light or sound, aligned to Common Core standard 1-PS4-4. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
1.You must send a message in the dark. What works best?
A.Waving a card
B.A torch flashing
C.Pointing
2.You must send a message across a noisy playground. What works best?
A.Tapping two sticks
B.Something seen, like a bright waved card
C.Whispering
3.Why agree what each flash means before you start?
A.So the other person can work out the message
B.So it looks tidy
C.So it takes longer
4.Your partner cannot see your signal. What should you change?
A.Send it more quietly
B.Make it bigger or brighter
C.Send it faster
5.What must a device do to count as solving the problem?
A.Look impressive
B.Get the message across the distance
C.Be quick to build
6.Your sound signal works close up and not far away. What does that show?
A.The sound is too quiet to carry that far
B.Sound cannot travel
C.The partner is not listening
7.Which message could a torch send most easily?
A.One flash for yes, two for no
B.A list of names
C.A whole story
8.Why test the device before using it for real?
A.To find out whether the message actually gets through
B.To make it look used
C.To use up time
LessonPrint · 1-PS4-4 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Getting a Message Across
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.A torch flashing
2.Something seen, like a bright waved card
3.So the other person can work out the message
4.Make it bigger or brighter
5.Get the message across the distance
6.The sound is too quiet to carry that far
7.One flash for yes, two for no
8.To find out whether the message actually gets through
Questions about Getting a Message Across
What does the Getting a Message Across worksheet cover?
It practises designing a device that sends a message with light or sound — 8 questions for Grade 1, all on Common Core 1-PS4-4: Build something that sends a message across a distance using light or sound. The instruction to pupils is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Getting a Message Across practise?
1-PS4-4 — 1-PS4-4, in the Physical Science domain for Grade 1. The published standard reads: “Use tools and materials to design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Getting a Message Across is written for Grade 1, typically ages 6-7. It is one of the sheets on 1-PS4-4, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Getting a Message Across come with an answer key?
Yes. All 8 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Getting a Message Across can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Getting a Message Across free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Getting a Message Across, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach 1-PS4-4?
Yes — “Getting a Message Across” is a 50-minute Grade 1 plan for 1-PS4-4, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Getting a Message Across is the practice that follows it.
More practice for 1-PS4-4
Build something that sends a message across a distance using light or sound.
Teaching this next? Getting a Message Across is the 50-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.