Excellent lesson! 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 ropes),...

Students discover what compost is. In this composting lesson, students view a sample of a compost bin and define what the purpose of compost is. Students discuss what the compost bin consists of and sort the compost bin into the green...

Introduce the logic behind a dichotomous key or administer a group performance assessment with a fun and challenging classification lesson. With explicit instructions for the teacher and for collaborative groups, as well as engaging...

Sorting objects by properties is a lesson in justification. Learners begin by studying different types of properties of materials, including those based on appearance and texture. They examine the properties of specific items and use...

A lesson on classification and sorting is here for you. Elementary schoolers participate in an interactive computer game in which they sort books by theme. They take a trip to the library to observe and discuss how books are sorted, and...

Written to examine seeds that grow in Kansas, you can adapt this lesson to anywhere you live. Learners sort a mixture of five different seeds to by any characteristic of their choice. When your budding scientists are exploring the life...

Get that energy flowing while classes study conductors and insulators. Using a simple circuit, learners test different materials to determine the strength of conductivity. They use their results to classify materials as conductors or...

Geology geniuses analyze sediment samples with a hand lens and sort according to physical characteristics. They also learn about the processes of cementation, compaction, and lithification within the rock cycle. The lesson plan is...

Students examine seeds from various plants. For this science lesson, students cut open fruits and vegetables in order to see the seeds. Students describe each type of seed and classify the seeds.

Take young geologists on an exploration of the collection of rocks and minerals that we call Earth with an upper-elementary science instructional activity. Through a series of class discussion and hands-on investigations, students...

First graders examine how to sort concrete objects by their attributes. In this sorting lesson, 1st graders listen to Gray Rabbit's Odd One Out by Alan Baker, and discuss the actions of the main character. They practice sorting objects...

Second graders examine the seeds in fresh fruit. In this seeds lesson, 2nd graders view different seeds and tell how they are alike and different. Students separate the seeds into groups according to their characteristics.

Students explore acids and bases. In this lesson about acids and bases, students do an experiment to test certain items to determine what they are. Students use cabbage and litmus paper as indicators. Students understand how to sort the...

Students observe and record botanical details from the plant specimens. They identify plants using sorting key and field guide and classify specimens for preservation and display purposes.

Fourth graders review by sorting and classifying minerals. They describe the composition of a mineral and use rules to classify that mineral. They complete a mineral scratch test and place the results in a table in the second activity.

Students examine collections. In these real-world collections lessons, students examine and describe buttons and shells. Students will then sort, classify, and graph items according to various indicated descriptors.

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...

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...

Explore the unique characteristics of polymers. A complete lesson plan begins with a presentation introducing polymers. Following the presentation, young scientists develop a laboratory plan for creating substances using polymers....

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...

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...

Young scholars analyze rocks. In this geology lesson, students collect rocks from the schoolyard and sort them according to various characteristics, such as color, size, and weight.

Students examine and sort seeds. In this life science lesson, students make general observations of a tub of seeds, then develop sorting criteria for sorting the deeds. Lesson includes extension activities.

Students use their Halloween candy to practice sorting and classifying. They compete a Venn diagram comparing their candy wrappers. They develop ways as a class to catorgize the candy in different ways.