Lab Safety Scenario Worksheets for Upper Elementary Scientists

Give your students the chance to think like real scientists with this printable set of Lab Safety Scenario Worksheets for Grades 3–5!

Designed to strengthen students’ understanding of safe practices during hands-on investigations, this resource helps young learners read, analyze, and respond to realistic science lab scenarios in which something has gone wrong. Students must identify the safety mistake and explain what should have been done to make the experiment safer, an essential skill for building strong scientific habits.

Identify and Correct Lab Safety Mistakes

This lab safety resource includes two double-sided worksheets, each featuring short, engaging science lab scenarios for students to analyze and write about.

What’s Included

• Worksheet for Grade 3
  • 6 total scenarios (3 per side)
  • Simplified situations with clear, easy-to-identify mistakes
  • Short writing space designed for developing writers
• Worksheet for Grades 4–5
  • 6 total scenarios (3 per side)
  • More complex situations that require deeper reasoning
  • Prompts that encourage students to explain safer choices in detail

Each scenario describes a student making a lab safety mistake, like skipping goggles, spilling materials, or misusing equipment. Students must identify the error and write an explanation of what the student should have done instead to ensure a safer investigation.

Download Your Lab Safety Scenario Worksheets

With just one click, you’ll have everything you need to encourage students to think critically about lab safety.
Your download includes:

• 1 double-sided worksheet for Grade 3 (one-star)
• 1 double-sided worksheet for Grades 4–5 (two stars)
• Answer suggestions for quick review or modeling

This resource is available in both PDF and editable Google Slides format.  To get your copy, click the dropdown arrow on the download button and choose your preferred file type.

This resource was created by Brittany Kellogg, a teacher in Ohio and Teach Starter Collaborator.

More Lab Safety Activities for Elementary Students

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Lab Safety Teaching Slides

Teach your students about the important of science safety before conducting experiments with this 18-slide instructional slide deck.