First Sorting 

Objectives:  
- Students are able to identify properties.  
- Students understand sorting. 
 
 
Engage:  
- Let’s think about the word properties.   
- What does the word properties mean?   
- Properties are things that we know by looking at them or 
feeling them.  
- Properties are similar to characteristics or character traits like 
we are talking about in Reading.  
- For example: If I was describing the properties of a 
basketball. I would say it is hard, round, bouncy, and 
sometimes bright. 
- Let’s look at my Tiger!  
- What are some properties of my tiger?  
- Talk with the people at your table for 30 seconds 
about some properties of my tiger.  
- Great Work! These are all fantastic ideas of a property of 
my tiger.  
- Let’s review one more time. 
- What is a property? 
Explore:  
- Today, we are going to explore River Rocks.  
- River rocks are rocks that you would find on the bottom of the 
river. Hence, their name river rocks.   
- Are focus question for today is:  
- How are river rocks the same?  
- As we explore this question, you are each going to get a bag of 
river rocks to share with a partner. Make sure you and your 
partner have a fair share of rocks.  
- Go over who partner is. Keira and Brogan and Adrian 
and Jack!  
- When you get your materials, I want you to begin making 
observations of your rocks. Remember you can use your 
magnifying glasses.  
- Boys and Girls! 
 - Let’s discuss what types of observations you are seeing.  
- Student response. 
- Great observations! 
- Now, are next step is to sort the rocks! When sorting the rocks, you 
are putting rocks into groups. What are some properties that you 
might use to help you make rocks into groups? 
- Texture, size, shape, color. These are all great ideas! Try to 
only use one property to sort your rocks.  
- You may begin sorting with your partner. 
 
Explain:  
10 minutes 
- 1,2,3 eyes on me! 
- Boys and Girls, I would like you to talk with the people at your table 
about how you and your partner sorted your rocks. If you are sitting 
where, Adrian and Jack are sitting you will share first. My friends 
who are like Adrian and Jack, you have one minute to share and 
then we will switch to my other group.  
- Alright, boys and girls!  
- What properties were we sorting by? 
- When you sorted by ________ property which group had more?  
- Why do you think that? 
- Would weathering play a factor into how you sorted your 
rocks? 
- I love how you were thinking about this sort boys and girls.  
 
Extend:  
- Sorting rocks by more than one property.  
- Texture and color 
 
Evaluate:  
- I would like you to grab out your packets and turn to the page 1.3.  
- On page 1.3, there are two boxes that say Sort #1 and #2. In those 
boxes, I want you to draw out how you sorted your rocks.  
- Remember you can add detail words like rough, soft, what 
color the rocks were, and other descriptive words to help the 
viewer understand what you are drawing.  
- Below, I want you to write at least complete sentence as to how you 
sorted your rocks.  
 - When you are finished, begin to think about whether all river rocks 
are the same.  
- As students wrap up, I will look at their worksheets.  
- Boys and Girls! Let’s revisit our focus question:  
- Are all river rocks the same? 
- What do we think? Yes or no?  
- Why or Why not! 
Clean up rocks/materials! 
 
 
   
 1.3 First Sorting with Water 
 
Objectives:  
- Students are able to sort rocks via their properties.  
 
 
Engage:  
- Review properties!  
- Do you think we can change properties based on rocks being wet?  
- Student response/prediction.  
Explore:  
10 minutes 
- Today, we are going to explore whether or not water will change how 
we sort rocks.  
- Pass out water 
- No touch until I saw so.   
- If you put your rock in the water before direction is given, I will 
take it away. 
- Your job right now is to get out your rocks and make sure you and 
your partner have an even amount of rocks. 
- As you dip your rocks into the water, I want you to consider what 
properties may be changing. Observe the changes in the rocks.  
- When I say so, you are going to pick which person’s rocks you are 
going to dip into water. You will only dip TEN rocks into the water. 
How many rocks? 10! 
- When your rocks are all wet, you are going to resort the rocks 
by a property. 
Explain: 
- 1,2,3 eyes on me! 
- Boys and Girls, I would like you to talk with the people at your table 
about how you and your partner sorted your rocks. If you are sitting 
where, Adrian and Jack are sitting you will share first. My friends 
who are like Adrian and Jack, you have one minute to share and 
then we will switch to my other group.  
- Alright, boys and girls!  
- What properties were we sorting by? 
- When you sorted by ________ property which group had more?  
- Why do you think that? 
 - Would weathering play a factor into how you sorted your 
rocks? 
- I love how you were thinking about this sort boys and girls.  
Extend:  
- Sorting rocks by more than one property.  
- Texture and color 
 
Evaluate:  
- I would like you to grab out your packets and turn to the page 1.3.  
- On page 1.3, there are two boxes that say Sort #1 and #2. In those 
boxes, I want you to draw out how you sorted your rocks.  
- Remember you can add detail words like rough, soft, what 
color the rocks were, and other descriptive words to help the 
viewer understand what you are drawing.  
- Below, I want you to write at least complete sentence as to how you 
sorted your rocks.  
- When you are finished, begin to think about how the rock sort 
changed based off of the rocks being wet verse being dry.  
- As students wrap up, I will look at their worksheets.  
- Boys and Girls! Let’s think about my question: How are the river 
rocks sorted differently when they are wet? 
- Did it have a change? 
- What types of change? 
- Why do you think it made a change? 
Clean up rocks/materials!