Science Lesson Analysis & Adaptation
Process Skill: Classifying
Suggested Length of Lesson: 30 minutes
Lesson Objective:
Students will sort objects into two groups then
explain why they classifies the objects the way
they did. Students will explain how objects are
alike and how they are different.
*Explaining how groups are different is a more
complex skill than explaining how they are alike.
Essential Question:
How can you classify groups of objects? How is
this relevant to NOS? I would make this focused
to a minor science content so that it becomes
more of doing science.
Brianna Burt
Grade Level: First Grade
Cognitive Complexity: Moderate
Benchmark:
SC.1.N.1.2 Using the five senses as tools, make
careful observations, describe objects in terms of
number, shape, texture, size, weight, color, and
motion, and compare their observations with
others. Other nature of science standards like
SC.1.N.1.1 and SC.1.N.1.3 could be incorporated.
Key Vocabulary: *What are these? What am I
expecting my students to get?
Classify, classifying=how scientists sort and
organize their findings.
Different=not the same characteristics
Alike=similar or same characteristics
Procedure:
Materials:
1. 3-5 min: Pose the essential question and
-National Geographic Scientific Methods and
allow the students to share ideas.
Process Skills big book (SMPS)
2. 3-5 min: Read aloud and discuss SMPS p. 26- -Objects to sort such as buttons, shells, rocks,
27 Explain: “When scientists sort things they coins, attribute blocks, beans, or any other small
often call it classifying”. Have children come objects students can sort. (You can replace the
up with this idea, not just explicitly give
work “object” in the lesson with the name of the
them the information. Perhaps guide them
object you use.) Change materials for different
to this understanding if needed.
specific content of science.
3. 15-20 min: Group students into pairs. Give
-crayons
each pair a copy of the classifying worksheet -Classifying worksheet – or just use science
and a handful of small objects to sort. Forget notebooks.
the worksheet and allow them to sort their
manipulatives then write observations in
Questions:
their science notebooks.
- How did you classify your objects?
4. Ask students to discuss with their partner
-Are there any other ways you could classify
how to sort the objects. Ask students to sort them?
objects into 2 groups and place them on the -How are your groups different from each other?
circles. Think-pair-share might be more
- How are both groups alike?
applicable for those students who need a
-Did another group come up with a way to sort
few extra minutes to get an idea of how to
that you had not thought of?
sort them rather than the higher group
-Could you group the objects a different way?
jumping in and justifying their answer first.
-Why would scientists classify things? Maybe add
5. Ask students to label the groups. Remind
more questions that relate to that new EQ of a
them that labels should tell how the objects specific content.
are sorted, such as big and small, blue and
not blue, etc. Accept any answer, help
students to write labels as needed. Students
should label their drawings because that is
how scientists use their process skill of
communication. Although for those
Science Lesson Analysis & Adaptation
enrichment students, the teacher might
need to challenge their thinking.
6. Give them time to trace and color the
objects. Rather than give the students time
to make a more elaborate picture, ask them
what would happen if we add one more
species or object to their classifications. Ask
“would it change or shift your groups or
could you put it in one of your groups?”
7. Allow students to gallery walk the other
groups.
8. Allow students to get to this question during
final discussion. Ask “ How are the objects in
each group alike?” Allow students to share
out and explain then to write their answers.
9. Allow students to get to this question during
final discussion. Ask “ How are the objects in
each group different?” Allow students to
share out and explain then to write their
answers.
10. To end the lesson, have students discuss
different objects that can be sorted and how
they would classify them. (This should
before asking how everything is different
and alike so the students are developing
these wonderings themselves.
Brianna Burt
Science Lesson Analysis & Adaptation
Brianna Burt
Classifying
I would change is entire page because students should
be the ones to explore, and make their own number of
groups with circles to fully group them after they are
done. Students should also be able to document these
recordings in their science notebook to reference
rather than on a worksheet that is framed for them.
Name ____________________________
1. Sort objects into 2 groups in the circles below.
__________________________
Label
__________________________
Label
2. Label each group. The label should tell how you sorted them.
3. Trace around each object and color them.
4. How are the objects in each group alike?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________
5. How are the objects in each group different?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________
Science Lesson Analysis & Adaptation
Brianna Burt
***This lesson would not configure to the end of my document, so that is why it is first. Everything in red I
would adapt based on my knowledge of the readings, and class activities.
This lesson was from the Hillsborough County Inquiry Mondays for first grade. As I began to search for
a lesson for this assignment, I ran across this classifying lesson. It caught my attention based on the Seindnacs
Activity that we had first hand in our science course.
Science Content:
For this Inquiry Monday lesson, students were asked to classify as part of the content and process skills
combined. This lesson specifically focuses on the content of classifying with high regards to the similarities and
differences in their classifications. The content of this lesson helps to students understand that there are a variety
of different ways to classify objects in the scientific world. This lesson has a strong sense of why the process
skill and the content is the same, but it is weak in how to relate the content back to how scientists would use this
in the real world. Students need to know what they are trying to understand and how to relate it to science just
like Sullenger was presenting in her article. “Moreover, we have a responsibility for passing on this
understanding to our students (Sullenger 24).” If I was to do this lesson I might want to adapt it to a more
specific part of science rather than just objects in general, similarly to only having candy as sorting material in
the seidnacs activity.
Science Process Skills:
It is very evident that the process skill is the key to this lesson because it is combined with the content of
science as well. This lesson is based on the process skill classifying. Although this skill is key, using other
processing skills during this lesson is evident such as observing, describing, and discussing. If a student does
this lesson, they might be able to tell what classifying is afterwards, but do they really understand why it is
critical for scientists? This quote from Harlen sums up how this lesson makes me feel, “But taking in
information by observation is not like soaking up water into a sponge (Harlen Ch.7 85-86)”. Students are using
the process skill of classify just like in this chapter with the process skill of observing. They might see it, but are
they connecting that classifying these random objects is similar to how a scientist classifies “species” in the real
Science Lesson Analysis & Adaptation
Brianna Burt
world? This baffles me that we have such great tools and resources and we are not using them to our fullest
potential in such “great county curriculum”! Inquiry Mondays only help so much if we do not connect it to the
content for our students to grasp that understanding.
The Nature of Science:
Honestly, after how challenging this semester has been with pushing my knowledge and understanding
of what science is and how to teach it, I do not know where to begin with the NOS. This lesson does allow for
student to utilize their time for inquiry and be creative with their outcomes of how they classified these objects
just like in the Shiland article. What comes to mind is how McComas pointed out, “NOS should be a central
instructional purpose rather than an optional prelude (McComas 27)”. This lesson would be a great place to
make sure to hit the following points from our Nature of Science chart: Scientific ideas are subject to change;
yet scientific knowledge is durable (if we add a “new species” like with the seidnacs activity), science cannot
provide complete answers to all question (not right or wrong way to classify in the lesson), science demands
evidence (observations and evidence to prove you can justify why you think your classification is correct), and
science is a blend of logic and imagination (students are designing their own classifications based on what they
know and what they think could be done).
Resources:
Sullenger, K. (1999). How do you know science is going on?. Science and Children. 22-26.
Harlen, W. (1998). Primary science: helping children to observe. Chapter 7.
McComas, W. (2004). The keys to teaching the nature of science. The Science Teacher: University of
Southern California. 24-27.