Science Worksheet · Grades 3–5
Pollution Worksheet
A printable science worksheet for grades 3-5 about pollution. Students sort examples into air, water, and land pollution and answer short-response questions about causes, effects, and solutions. A complete answer key is included.
Subject
Science
Grades
Grades 3–5
Skill Focus
Pollution, earth science
Lesson Length
20 minutes
Lesson Overview
About this worksheet
Pollution is harmful material that gets into the places living things depend on – the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land we share. Sorting pollution into air, water, and land helps students recognize it in the world around them and connect each kind to its causes, from car exhaust to spilled oil to dropped litter.
Section A gives students 8 real-world examples and asks them to label each one air, water, or land pollution. Section B asks four short-response questions: define pollution, name the three kinds with a cause of each, suggest two ways people could make less pollution, and explain how water pollution harms living things.
The reference box on page 1 defines pollution and describes the three kinds with examples of their causes. It deliberately leaves out a list of solutions so that Section B’s question about reducing pollution calls for the student’s own thinking. Section A is on page 1, Section B is on page 2, and page 3 is a complete answer key with the kind of pollution for each Section A example and sample answers for Section B.
How to Use This Lesson
Read the reference box aloud and ask students for an example of pollution they have seen.
Work Section A independently; have students name where each kind of pollution ends up (air, water, or land).
Move to Section B and brainstorm ways people could create less pollution before students write.
Use the answer key on page 3 for self-check or aide spot-check.
Pair with the Natural Resources Worksheet or Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources Worksheet for more environmental-science practice.
Printable Resource
A classroom-ready PDF with everything in one printable resource.
Full Member Resource · Printable PDF · 3 pages · Answer Key
Pollution Worksheet
A printable science worksheet for grades 3-5 about pollution. Students sort examples into air, water, and land pollution and answer short-response questions about causes, effects, and solutions. A complete answer key is included.
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