Fresh or Salty? is a free printable Grade 2 science worksheet on identifying where fresh water and salt water are found, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 2-ESS2-3. It prints 3 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 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Sort: A very salty lake in a hot desert, The open ocean, A spring bubbling out of a hillside, A chunk of ice broken off a glacier
Fresh waterSalt water
2.Sort each one: Fresh water or Salt water?
Sort: Waves breaking on the shore, Raindrops falling on a window, The water in a seaside bay, A cloudy brown river after a storm
Fresh waterSalt water
3.Sort each one: Fresh water or Salt water?
Sort: A garden pond, A rock pool on the beach, Sea spray on a windy beach, A lake in the hills
Fresh waterSalt water
LessonPrint · 2-ESS2-3 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Fresh or Salty?
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. A chunk of ice broken off a glacier — Fresh water 2. A spring bubbling out of a hillside — Fresh water 3. A very salty lake in a hot desert — Salt water 4. The open ocean — Salt water
2.1. A cloudy brown river after a storm — Fresh water 2. Raindrops falling on a window — Fresh water 3. The water in a seaside bay — Salt water 4. Waves breaking on the shore — Salt water
3.1. A garden pond — Fresh water 2. A lake in the hills — Fresh water 3. A rock pool on the beach — Salt water 4. Sea spray on a windy beach — Salt water
Questions about Fresh or Salty?
What does the Fresh or Salty? worksheet cover?
It practices identifying where fresh water and salt water are found — 3 questions for Grade 2, all on NGSS 2-ESS2-3: Find where water sits on Earth, and whether it is solid or liquid. The instruction to students is “Sort each one into fresh water or salt water”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Fresh or Salty? practice?
2-ESS2-3, under Earth and Space Science for Grade 2. The published performance expectation reads: “Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Fresh or Salty? is written for Grade 2, typically ages 7-8. It is one of the sheets on 2-ESS2-3, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Fresh or Salty? come with an answer key?
Yes. All 3 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 Fresh or Salty? can I print?
25 — one per student, 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 Fresh or Salty? free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Fresh or Salty?, 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.
More practice for 2-ESS2-3
Find where water sits on Earth, and whether it is solid or liquid.