Sorting Classroom Objects by Material
About this lesson
Children find small objects around the classroom and sort them into groups for wood, metal, plastic and paper. They practise naming materials and using their senses to explain how they know. You only need four headings on the board and everyday classroom items. It takes about 12 minutes.
- Grade
- 1
- Subject
- Science
- Time
- 12 min
- Prep
- 2 min
Objective
Students will identify whether common objects are made of wood, metal, plastic or paper and give one sensory clue (look, feel, sound) for their choice.
Prep
2 min: draw four columns on the board labelled Wood, Metal, Plastic and Paper, with a quick sketch beside each word
Materials
- Whiteboard and marker
- Everyday classroom objects (pencils, rulers, paper clips, scissors, books, blocks, lids)
Steps
- Hold up a pencil and say, 'Things are made of materials. This part is wood. How can I tell?' Model one clue, such as the wood grain you can see or how it feels.
- Give each pair 60 seconds to find one small object in the room that they are allowed to touch and bring it back to the carpet.
- Pairs tap their object, look at it closely and feel it. Then they whisper to each other which material they think it is and why.
- Call pairs up one at a time to place or hold their object under the right column and finish the sentence, 'I think it is ___ because it feels or looks ___.' Write their object's name in the column.
- Point to the board and ask, 'Which column has the most? Did anything not fit?' Set aside any tricky objects to discuss together.
Quick Check
Hold up three new objects one at a time (a paper clip, a sheet of paper, a plastic lid) and have children point to the matching column on the board.
Differentiation
Make it easier: Use only two columns, Wood and Plastic, and hand each pair an object instead of having them search.
Make it harder: Ask pairs to find an object made of two materials, such as scissors with metal blades and plastic handles, and explain where each material is.
Good For
- Transition time
- Before lunch
- Supply teacher
- Review
