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Protecting What We Depend On is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on how communities use science to protect Earth's resources and environment, aligned to Common Core standard 5-ESS3-1. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 15 of them with 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.

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One paper per pupil

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15 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two pupils have the same paper in front of them.

Protecting What We Depend On

5-ESS3-1

NameDate

Write your answer. Use the checklist.

1.A community wants to cut the energy it uses. Propose a measure and say how you would check it worked.
  • Name the measure
  • Say what you would measure
  • Say over what period
2.A community wants to protect its river from soil washing in. Propose a way, using evidence.
  • Name the measure
  • Use evidence about soil and plants
  • Name who has to act

LessonPrint · 5-ESS3-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Protecting What We Depend On

Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.An energy-saving measure with a stated measurement and a period over which it would be checked.
  2. 2.A measure such as planting the bank, justified by evidence that roots hold soil, naming who has to act.

Questions about Protecting What We Depend On

What does the Protecting What We Depend On worksheet cover?

It practises how communities use science to protect Earth's resources and environment — 2 questions for Grade 5, all on Common Core 5-ESS3-1: Gather information on how communities use science to protect resources. The instruction to pupils is “Write your answer. Use the checklist”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.

Which Common Core standard does Protecting What We Depend On practise?

5-ESS3-1 — 5-ESS3-1, in the Earth and Space Science domain for Grade 5. The published standard reads: “Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.

What age or grade is this worksheet for?

Protecting What We Depend On is written for Grade 5, typically ages 10-11. It is one of the sheets on 5-ESS3-1, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.

Does Protecting What We Depend On 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 Protecting What We Depend On can I print?

25 versions, of which 15 ask genuinely different questions — this skill does not have 25 distinct questions to give, so the rest reorder them and no two pupils still share a paper. Set 1 downloads all 25 as one PDF.

Is Protecting What We Depend On free to print and photocopy?

Yes. Protecting What We Depend On, 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 5-ESS3-1?

Yes — “Protecting What We Depend On” is a 60-minute Grade 5 plan for 5-ESS3-1, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Protecting What We Depend On is the practice that follows it.

More practice for 5-ESS3-1

Gather information on how communities use science to protect resources.

Teaching this next? Protecting What We Depend On is the 60-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-ESS3-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.