Producer, Consumer or Decomposer? is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on classifying living things by how matter enters them, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-LS2-1. 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.
1.Sort each one: Producer: makes its own food or Consumer: eats living things or Decomposer: rots dead things?
Sort: Bacteria in a compost heap, A frog, Grass
Producer: makes its own foodConsumer: eats living thingsDecomposer: rots dead things
2.Sort each one: Producer: makes its own food or Consumer: eats living things or Decomposer: rots dead things?
Sort: A mushroom, Pondweed, An owl
Producer: makes its own foodConsumer: eats living thingsDecomposer: rots dead things
3.Sort each one: Producer: makes its own food or Consumer: eats living things or Decomposer: rots dead things?
Sort: A sunflower, A person, An earthworm
Producer: makes its own foodConsumer: eats living thingsDecomposer: rots dead things
LessonPrint · 5-LS2-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Producer, Consumer or Decomposer?
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. A frog — Consumer: eats living things 2. Bacteria in a compost heap — Decomposer: rots dead things 3. Grass — Producer: makes its own food
2.1. A mushroom — Decomposer: rots dead things 2. An owl — Consumer: eats living things 3. Pondweed — Producer: makes its own food
3.1. A person — Consumer: eats living things 2. A sunflower — Producer: makes its own food 3. An earthworm — Decomposer: rots dead things
Questions about Producer, Consumer or Decomposer?
What does the Producer, Consumer or Decomposer? worksheet cover?
It practices classifying living things by how matter enters them — 3 questions for Grade 5, all on NGSS 5-LS2-1: Model how matter moves between plants, animals, decomposers and the environment. The instruction to students is “Sort each living thing into the right group”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Producer, Consumer or Decomposer? practice?
5-LS2-1, under Life Science for Grade 5. The published performance expectation reads: “Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Producer, Consumer or Decomposer? is written for Grade 5, typically ages 10-11. It is one of the sheets on 5-LS2-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Producer, Consumer or Decomposer? 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 Producer, Consumer or Decomposer? 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 Producer, Consumer or Decomposer? free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Producer, Consumer or Decomposer?, 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 5-LS2-1
Model how matter moves between plants, animals, decomposers and the environment.