Curated OER
Metals, Non-metals, Metalloids
Students discuss the physical and chemical properties of metals and non-metals. As a group, they classify items as a metal or non-metal. Using the periodic table chart, students discuss the characteristics of each metal. Based upon...
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Local Organism Sort
Students determine what characteristics are useful in classifying items. In this sorting organisms lesson students create and explain a classification scheme using familiar organisms.
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Hardware Sort
Young scholars classify various hardware items using the attributes of the objects. In this classification instructional activity, students group objects based on their attributes and explain their classification key.
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Local Animal Sort
Young scholars examine the concepts of sorting and classifying animal. They use familiar animals to determine the connections between physical characteristics and categorization.
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Classifying "Pastanimals"
Students explore biology by creating a poster presentation. In this animal classification lesson plan, students utilize a SMART board and practice organizing a group of animal shapes by placing them with similar animal families. Students...
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Summer Machines Activity: Cool Tools
Students examine and think about various tools in their surrounding environment to facilitate development of their primary observation and sorting skills. In this tool observation lesson, students first sort a variety of tools any way...
NOAA
Mud is Mud...or is it?
We know that the type of soil varies by location, but does the seafloor sediment also vary, or is it all the same? Scholars compare photos of the seafloor from two different locations: the Savannah Scarp and the Charleston Bump. Through...
Curated OER
Angles
Fourth and fifth graders investigate angles and name them according to the criteria for obtuse, acute, and right angles. They examine a human-made yarn pattern on the floor of their classroom and identify angles, vertices, and types of...
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Buying a Car
Eighth graders create spreadsheets to calculate payments. They create a list of items they would like to purchase that require monthly payments. They simulate buying a car and create a spreadsheet to determine the amount of the monthly...
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What's the Difference?
Students analyze the similarities in different species. This lesson plan is part of a multi-segmented unit on the diversity of life. In this segment, students classify shoes to mimic the scientific categories of the classification system.
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To Group of Not to Group - That is the Question!
Upper elementary and middle schoolers use their observation skills to group different kinds of candy by similar characteristics. They debate whether or not we should classify objects. Finally, they learn that biologists have developed a...
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Nutrition
Students determine which foods help keep our bodies healthy. They identify the six food groups and classify different food items into the correct categories of the food pyramid. They evaluate for one week the foods that they eat and...
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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...
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Biodiversity in Sixth Grade
Sixth graders explore the nature of habitats on an ABC hike. In groups, they collect items that make up habitats including plants, feathers, and leaves among other materials. Students then classify and organize the collected materials...
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Sink It
Introduce your class to the concept of sinking and floating. In groups, they classify objects after making predictions about which materials will sink or float. They record their results and create graphs and charts to share with the class.
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Matters of Milk and Marshmallows
Students observe a teacher demonstration o classifying matter by its physical properties of shape and size. After discussing the definition of matter, students describe the state of matter. They sing a song to the tune of "Bingo." In...
Curated OER
Sink/Float Discovery bottle
Investigate which items float and which ones sink using this resource. Learners participate in an activity in which they investigate this phenomena. Then they describe the experimental process, and learn how to display their results.
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Measurement: The Size is Right
Specific learning goals are grouped for different grade levels spanning pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. After preparing the questions and materials, you call a learner to come in front of the class and play the game. Young learners...
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Primary PE Lesson
Students work on balance, strategy, and movement while playing a beanbag game. They review high fat and low fat foods and classify these foods while they play a game of "Low Fat Locomotion."
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Tree-mendous Game
Pupils play a game where they classify the different characteristics of trees. In this tress lesson plan, students also use tree vocabulary and describe benefits of trees.
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Marvelous Magnets
Students identify and classify magnetic and nonmagnetic materials and metals. After determining which materials and metals are magnetic, students create a data table and classify items by two different criteria. Students e-mail various...
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Sorting Into Predetermined Groups
Sort pictures of items into categories of at school and at the grocery store in a classification lesson plan. Kindergartners start by sorting pictures into categories of in the sky and in the ocean. Use the lesson for any story or unit...
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Lesson 3: SortingInformation into Predetermined Categories
Second graders sort items into predetermined categories. In this sorting activity, 2nd graders learn the meaning of the word squirt before listening to a reading of the book, Splish! Splash! Animal Baths by April Pulley Sayre. They...
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Sorting into Three Groups
First graders discuss categorizing items into different groups. In this language arts lesson plan, 1st graders read a story, chart three categories from the book and describe examples from the book that fit in each category.