Is That Design Worth It? is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on judging the merit of a design that reduces a weather hazard, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 3-ESS3-1. 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 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
A survey of the school grounds the morning after a gale, with the weather record for that week.
THE WEEK AND THE DAMAGE
Mon-Thu: light wind, no damage
Friday: gale, gusts to 70 mph
Damage: 3 fence panels down, 1 tree branch broken, trash cans across the yard
The trash cans in the sheltered corner did not move.
The fence on the sheltered side did not fall.
1. Why did the sheltered fence stay up?
2. What claim does this survey support?
2.A design works in a light gale but not a severe one. What should you say?
A.It does not work
B.It reduces some damage but not all, and say at what strength it fails
C.It works perfectly
3.Which evidence would best judge a windbreak?
A.Damage before and after it was built, in similar gales
B.Its color
C.How tall it is
4.What should a claim about a design's merit include?
A.Only how it looks
B.Only what it cost
C.Evidence of what it reduced, and what it cost
5.What makes a hazard design worth its cost?
A.It reduces damage by more than it costs to build
B.It looks impressive
C.It is quick to make
6.A flood barrier protects one street and floods the next. How do you judge it?
A.Count the harm it moves as well as the harm it stops
B.Ignore the second street
C.Only count the street it saved
7.Trash cans in the sheltered corner did not move in the gale. What design does that suggest?
A.A windbreak around the trash can area
B.Moving the trash cans into the wind
C.Heavier trash can lids only
LessonPrint · 3-ESS3-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Is That Design Worth It?
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. It was out of the gale, so less wind pushed on it. 2. Shelter reduces the damage a gale does.
2.It reduces some damage but not all, and say at what strength it fails
3.Damage before and after it was built, in similar gales
4.Evidence of what it reduced, and what it cost
5.It reduces damage by more than it costs to build
6.Count the harm it moves as well as the harm it stops
7.A windbreak around the trash can area
Questions about Is That Design Worth It?
What does the Is That Design Worth It? worksheet cover?
It practices judging the merit of a design that reduces a weather hazard — 7 questions for Grade 3, all on NGSS 3-ESS3-1: Judge a design meant to reduce the damage from a weather hazard. The instruction to students is “Read the survey, then answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Is That Design Worth It? practice?
3-ESS3-1, under Earth and Space Science for Grade 3. The published performance expectation reads: “Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Is That Design Worth It? is written for Grade 3, typically ages 8-9. It is one of the sheets on 3-ESS3-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Is That Design Worth It? come with an answer key?
Yes. All 7 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 Is That Design Worth It? 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 Is That Design Worth It? free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Is That Design Worth It?, 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 3-ESS3-1?
Yes — “Is That Design Worth It?” is a 55-minute Grade 3 plan for 3-ESS3-1, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Is That Design Worth It? is the practice that follows it.
More practice for 3-ESS3-1
Judge a design meant to reduce the damage from a weather hazard.
Teaching this next? Is That Design Worth It? is the 55-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.