What the Structure Is For is a free printable Grade 4 science worksheet on how internal and external structures support survival, growth and reproduction, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 4-LS1-1. It prints 2 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.
LessonPrint · 4-LS1-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — What the Structure Is For
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. A bird's hollow bones — D (Keep it light enough to fly) 2. A cactus's thick waxy stem — C (Stores water and stops it drying out) 3. A heart — A (Pumps blood around the body) 4. A seed's hard coat — B (Protects the tiny plant inside until it sprouts)
2.1. Lungs — B (Take in oxygen from the air) 2. A rose's thorns — D (Stop animals eating the stem) 3. Tiny tubes inside a stem — C (Carry water up to the leaves) 4. A skeleton — A (Holds the body up and lets it move)
Questions about What the Structure Is For
What does the What the Structure Is For worksheet cover?
It practices how internal and external structures support survival, growth and reproduction — 2 questions for Grade 4, all on NGSS 4-LS1-1: Argue that inside and outside body parts help a living thing survive and grow. The instruction to students is “Draw a line from each structure to what it does”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does What the Structure Is For practice?
4-LS1-1, under Life Science for Grade 4. The published performance expectation reads: “Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
What the Structure Is For is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on 4-LS1-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does What the Structure Is For come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 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 What the Structure Is For 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 What the Structure Is For free to print and photocopy?
Yes. What the Structure Is For, 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 4-LS1-1
Argue that inside and outside body parts help a living thing survive and grow.