Curated OER
Burns
First graders classify and sort items into categories of things that can cause burns and not cause burns. In this burns lesson plan, the teacher facilitates a discussion of things that can burn students and not burn them. They then...
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
Classification
Young scholars investigate how different types of food can be classified then counted. In this sorting, arranging, and classifying lesson plan, students explore how to group foods based on commonalities. Young scholars are asked four...
Pyro Innovations
Beach Exploration
Little ones will absolutely love this lesson. It's all about the beach and what they can find while sifting through the sand. A large bucket of sand filled with hidden items is brought into the classroom. Learners will discuss what kinds...
Curated OER
Classifying Conundrum
Fourth graders identify plant characteristics from different environments and communicate that information in different ways. They use a simple scheme to classify Utah plants and animals and make observations and record them in a...
Curated OER
Car For Sale!
Car For sale! In this GED prep lesson, writers develop a classified advertisement to sell a car. After a discussion of precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language, sellers draft their ad for review, revision and...
Curated OER
"Finding Your Sweet Tooth"--An Introduction to the Dichotomous Key
Sixth graders classify candy according to observable characteristics. They use a dichotomous key to identify their bag of "treats." Thus, describe how dichotomous keys help to the identifying of organisms. Design a self-generated...
Curated OER
Bivalve or Univalve (Clam or Snail)?
Fourth graders explore the meaning of the prefixes "bi" and "uni." In groups, 4th graders observe pictures of shells and handle real shells. Students create a chart to classify each shell as a bivalve or univalve. They identify the...
Curated OER
Classification And Identification
Students explore diagrammatic and taxonomic keys and their application in the marine sciences. They sort and classify objects and organisms based on visual attributes.
Curated OER
Independent Investigation
Young scholars classify objects. In this math lesson, students sort and classify objects based on their characteristics. Young scholars identify characteristics of objects.
Curated OER
Insects!
Young scholars explore the diet of insects. In this "insects" biology lesson, students take a nature walk and collect various natural materials they think may be eaten by insects. Young scholars sort and classify these materials into...
Curated OER
Classifying Objects
Fourth graders work in small groups to sort and classify a variety of objects. They develop criteria for sorting and explain the characteristics they chose for classification. Groups record and share their classifications.
Curated OER
Electromagnetic Energy and Its Spectrum
Your older elementary students investigate electromagnetic energy and the electromagnetic spectrum. They will observe 7 items represented in the electromagnetic spectrum and make a poster of all the things the items have in common. After...
American Statistical Association
A Sweet Task
Candy is always an effective motivator! A fun math activity uses M&M's and Skittles to explore two-way frequency tables and conditional probability. The candy can serve a dual purpose as manipulatives and experimental data.
Curated OER
Classification Scheme
Fourth graders discuss different classification schemes for living organisms. They group common household items to discover many ways to classify organisms. Students compare/contrast characteristics of each classification.
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...
Curated OER
Plastics and Rubber: What's the Difference?
Young scholars observe how to classify things into groups based on physical properties. In this plastic and rubber lesson plan students group and sort items to help them to better identify properties.
Curated OER
Classification
Middle schoolers investigate how to classify items based on similar characteristics. They study the scientific system of classification.
Curated OER
Energy Consumption
Students investigate the power consumption of household objects by using a classification sheet. In this energy conservation instructional activity, students read through a list of household items and tools and organize them by...
Curated OER
What's the Difference?
Students analyze the similarities in different species. This lesson 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.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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.
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.
Curated OER
Classic Trash
Students investigate how trash is classified and the options to deal with it. In this trash and recycling lesson, students perform an activity to classify trash into organic, renewable/ recyclable, now renewable/recyclable and...