Types of Things
In this lesson, students do a fun materials recognition activity ("Monkey Made!") and comparison activity (“Size Them Up!).
OBJECTIVE
Understanding the difference between natural and people-made objects; learning different properties of objects and make comparisons.
MATERIALS
Reproducible 3, scissors, glue, pen/pencil
REPRODUCIBLES
DIRECTIONS
Steps:
- Write the words natural and people-made on the board. Say the words aloud and have students repeat them. Explain that items found in nature, such as trees, are natural. Items that are built by people, such as chairs, are people-made. Explain that people-made items are made of parts. On the poster, point out the parts that George uses for his bridge.
- Direct students to look outside and name things that they see. Write these things on the board under either natural or people-made. Review the lists as a class.
- Distribute Reproducible 3. Read the instructions for “Monkey Made” aloud. Direct students to complete the activity, then review the answers.
- Tell students that people-made things can be all sizes, from big to small. Explain that size affects how something is used and who can use it. Place a student chair next to your teacher chair in the front of the room. Have a student sit in the big chair while you sit in the small one. Students will see that you can’t quite fit in the small chair and their classmate is too small for the big chair.
- Hand out safety scissors. Tell students to cut along the dotted lines around each image in “Size Them Up!” Then have them glue the objects on paper from smallest on the left to biggest on the right.
- Once students have completed the activity, review the order as a class. Ask students what kind of objects these are: people-made or natural? Review the definition of each word.
LESSON EXTENSION
Tell students that objects have many properties, such as size, weight, shape, color, and texture. Select four objects (chair, book, etc.). Ask students to determine which object is biggest, heaviest, darkest, and smoothest. Continue exploring properties using other objects in the classroom.
ARTICLE
UNIT PLAN
ONLINE ACTIVITY
