California Academy of Science
Sorting the Solar System
Scientists are always sorting and classifying objects based on their characteristics. In a hands-on learning activity, young space explorers work together to categorize solar system cards based on their properties. It is up to the...
Illustrative Mathematics
3-D Shape Sort
From the apple on your desk and the coffee cup in your hand, to the cabinets along the classroom wall, basic three-dimensional shapes are found everywhere in the world around us. Introduce young mathematicians to the these common figures...
Curated OER
Classifying Deep-Sea Organisms
Young scientists access the EARTH Web site in order to engage in this lesson life forms found in the ocean. Student groups of 3 - 4 choose one set of deep-sea organism images. The groups decide how they would classify their organisms and...
Curated OER
Classifying Rocks
A well-designed lesson plan on rock classification awaits you. In it, fifth graders are divided into groups. Each group is given a box of rocks which they must sort into two categories. They use the "Rock 'n Roll Rule," in making their...
Curated OER
Moh's Hardness Test
Young geologists utilize Moh's hardness scale to help them correctly sort and classify different types of rocks. This lesson plan has everything you need, including an excellent example of the Mohs' Hardness Test, to successfully...
Science 4 Inquiry
All the Small Things
Scholars use sorting cards to try to define a pure substance versus a mixture. Risk becomes reward as they observe the differences and create a flowchart sorting matter into mixtures and pure substances (elements and compounds).
Curated OER
Exploring Polygons and The Greedy Triangle
Excellent instructional activity! Anne Linehane's geometry story, The Greedy Triangle, offers an opportunity to practice forming various types of polygons with your learners. Using elastic bands (or Chinese jump...
Berkshire Museum
Backyard Rocks
You don't have to travel far to learn about rocks, just step outside, pick up a stone, and begin investigating. After taking a class walk around the school grounds collecting rocks, young scientists practice their skills of observation...
Science 4 Inquiry
The Classification of Living Things
It's a classification sensation! Demystify why we classify using an inquiry activity that helps your class sort things out. Groups begin by classifying a variety of shoes before they research organisms and design their own dichotomous...
Generation Rx
Medication Safety Patrol: Is It Candy or Medicine? Game
Scholars play a sorting game designed to encourage safe medication handling. They browse pictures of candy and medication, then decide which of the two they're looking at by raising a card labeled candy or medicine.
EngageNY
Arithmetic and Geometric Sequences
Arithmetic and geometric sequences are linear and geometric patterns. Help pupils understand the relationship and see the connection with an activity that asks them to write the rules and classify the patterns correctly. A sorting...
K-5 Math Teaching Resources
Triangle Pack
With so many different types of triangles, it can be a challenge for young mathematicians to keep them all straight. Luckily this set of printable triangles is here to engage children in comparing and sorting triangles by their...
Discovery Education
Clutter Cutter
Challenge young learners to cut the clutter with this fun engineering project. As employees of a home and office supply company, young engineers are asked to develop devices that organize everyday items. After participating in a...
Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning
A Foundation for Implementation
Color is the focus of this amazing resource packed with math, social studies, science, and language arts activities. Kids create a color word wall and post symbols, graph the number of objects they find of each color while on a...
Captain Planet Foundation
Which Plant Is Which?
Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a instructional activity that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that...
PBS
Accessible Shapes
All the 2-D and 3-D measurement work you need is in one location. Divided into three sections, the geometry lesson plans consist of visualization of three dimensions, classifying geometric figures, and finding surface area and volume....
NASA
Mystery Planet
What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them.
Curated OER
Insects A-Z!
Alphabet insects! Who has ever heard of such a thing? Get ready because your class is going to research insects that start with a specific letter of the alphabet. In small groups, they'll use the Internet and reference texts to locate...
Space Awareness
Coma Cluster of Galaxies
Scientists classify everything from the smallest cells to the largest galaxies, but how do they decide on a classification system? Scholars use 40 pictures of galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope to sort and try creating their...
Shodor Education Foundation
Sets and the Venn Diagram (Beginner)
Venn diagrams are helpful in understanding the idea of a set and using attributes to sort items. This basic plan is an introduction with an added bonus of an applet that can be used to demonstrate the activity. If a classroom of...
Skyscraper Museum
What is a Skyscraper?
Skyscrapers are amazing feats of architectural design that create the iconic skylines of the world's biggest cities. Young architects explore the defining characteristics of these monstrous towers with the first activity in this...
August House
Stone Soup
Sharing and cooperation are difficult skills for kindergartners to grasp. Using the story Stone Soup and a series of activities, kids learn about the benefits of working together, categorizing and comparing items, and eating...
Illustrative Mathematics
What Shape Am I?
Sharpen your pencil and grab a ruler, it's time to draw some quadrilaterals! Given the definition of a parallelogram, rectangle, and rhombus, learners draw examples and nonexamples of each figure. The three definitions are...
Curated OER
Recycle Relay
Here is a quick activity intended to get little learners ready to conserve. They classify trash for recycling by placing items in the categories reduce, recycle and reuse. In teams the sort real life trash items into the best...