What We Picked Up is a free printable Kindergarten science worksheet on using a litter count to choose a way to reduce litter, aligned to NGSS performance expectation K-ESS3-3. 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 count of the litter our class picked up from the school field in one morning.
LITTER FROM THE FIELD
Chip bags ....... 14
Paper ............... 11
Plastic bottles ..... 8
Cans ................ 3
We wore gloves and used a picker.
1. What was there most of on the field?
2. Why does litter on the field matter?
3. How many plastic bottles were picked up?
2.A trash can is full and overflowing. What should happen?
A.It should be emptied so trash does not blow away
B.Push it over
C.Pile more on top
3.Most of the litter was chip bags. Where would a new trash can help most?
A.Behind the shed
B.Where children eat their chips
C.On the roof
4.Why did the class wear gloves to pick up litter?
A.To keep their hands safe and clean
B.To make the litter heavier
C.To keep warm
5.What is the best way to stop litter on the field?
A.Put trash in a trash can, or take it home
B.Drop it near the fence
C.Leave it for the wind
6.Why count each kind of litter?
A.Because counting is noisy
B.So the litter looks tidy
C.So we know which kind to stop first
7.The class makes a poster about litter. What should it say?
A.Drop your trash here
B.Litter is fun
C.Please put your trash in the trash can
LessonPrint · K-ESS3-3 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — What We Picked Up
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Chip bags, with 14. 2. Litter can harm the animals and plants living on the field. 3. 8 plastic bottles.
2.It should be emptied so trash does not blow away
3.Where children eat their chips
4.To keep their hands safe and clean
5.Put trash in a trash can, or take it home
6.So we know which kind to stop first
7.Please put your trash in the trash can
Questions about What We Picked Up
What does the What We Picked Up worksheet cover?
It practices using a litter count to choose a way to reduce litter — 7 questions for Kindergarten, all on NGSS K-ESS3-3: Share ways people can do less harm to the land, water, air and living things nearby. The instruction to students is “Read the record, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does What We Picked Up practice?
K-ESS3-3, under Earth and Space Science for Kindergarten. The published performance expectation reads: “Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
What We Picked Up is written for Kindergarten, typically ages 5-6. It is one of the sheets on K-ESS3-3, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does What We Picked Up 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 What We Picked Up 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 We Picked Up free to print and photocopy?
Yes. What We Picked Up, 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 K-ESS3-3
Share ways people can do less harm to the land, water, air and living things nearby.