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Texas Grab-and-Go Substitute Packet

Sorting Matter by Its Properties

Grade: 3 Subject: Science Time: ~45 min + ~15 min extra Work mode: By yourself · pencil only Science

Start Here

This is a paper science activity. You will look at a picture and a chart, then answer with a pencil. You do not need a computer or any supplies. Work by yourself. Do your best. If a question is hard, skip it and come back. You may read the words out loud to yourself.

Start Notice & Wonder 5 min

Think about how you clean up and put things where they go.

1You dump out a box of things: a rock, a spoon, a crayon, and a ball. You want to sort them into groups. Write one way you could group them.

2Look around the room. Pick two things. Write one thing you wonder about how they are the same or different.

Build Read the Science 5–10 min

Ways to describe matter

Everything around you is made of matter. We can describe matter by its properties. A property is something you can see, feel, or measure. Here are ones you will use:

  • Mass — how much stuff is in it. We weigh it on a balance. Heavy or light.
  • Temperature — how hot or cold it is. We measure it with a thermometer.
  • Magnetic? — Does a magnet pull it? We hold a magnet near it and watch.
  • Sink or float? — We drop it in water and look. Does it go down or stay up?
  • State — Is it a solid (keeps its shape), a liquid (pours and takes the cup's shape), or a gas (spreads out to fill space, like air)?

Word Bank

matter
anything that takes up space, like a rock, water, or air.
property
something you can see, feel, or measure about matter.
mass
how much stuff is in an object; we find it by weighing.
magnetic
able to be pulled by a magnet.
solid
matter that keeps its own shape, like a block.
liquid
matter that pours and takes the shape of its cup, like water.
gas
matter that spreads out to fill space, like air.
A property chart showing five ways to observe and measure matter Five labeled boxes in a row. Box one, Mass, shows a balance scale and says we weigh it. Box two, Temperature, shows a thermometer and says we read hot or cold. Box three, Magnetic, shows a magnet pulling an object and says a magnet pulls it. Box four, Sink or Float, shows a cup of water with one shape at the bottom and one shape at the top. Box five, State, shows a solid block, a liquid in a cup, and dots for gas. Pictures use patterns and outlines, not colors. FIVE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MATTER MASS weigh it: heavy or light TEMPERATURE read it: hot or cold MAGNETIC? a magnet pulls it SINK / FLOAT up drop in water: down or up? STATE solid liquid gas (spread out)
Figure 1. A property chart. Each box shows one property and how we observe or measure it. The pictures use outlines and patterns (hatching and dots), not colors, so they are clear in black and white.

3Look at Figure 1. Which tool do we use to find temperature? Write your answer.

Apply Use the Data 20 min

A class tested five objects and wrote down what they saw. Read Table 1, then answer.

Table 1. Five objects and what the class observed (original class data).
Object Magnetic? (magnet pulls it) Sink or float in water? State
1. Steel paper clipYesSinksSolid
2. Wood blockNoFloatsSolid
3. Penny (copper coin)NoSinksSolid
4. Plastic capNoFloatsSolid
5. Cup of waterNo—Liquid

4Sort by magnetic. Write the number of each object a magnet pulls. Then tell how the table helped you know.

Objects a magnet pulls: __________________________

How the table told me:

5Sort by sink or float. Write the numbers of the objects that float. Write the numbers of the objects that sink.

Float: __________________________

Sink: __________________________

6Observation or good guess? An observation is something you see or measure. A good guess is an idea you figure out. Write O or G for each.

____ a) The wood block stayed on top of the water.

____ b) The wood block would also float in a bigger tub.

____ c) The magnet pulled the paper clip.

7Tell them apart. The penny (3) and the plastic cap (4) are both solids that are not magnetic. Which property in the table tells these two apart? Write it, and tell what each one does.

Explain Claim–Evidence–Reasoning 5–10 min

Question 8. Ana says the steel paper clip (1) is the only object in the table a magnet will pull. Is she right? Use Table 1 to explain.

Sentence starters you may use: "My claim is…" · "My evidence from Table 1 is…" · "This shows that…"

Claim (is Ana right?)
Evidence (from Table 1)
Reasoning (why the evidence shows it)

Close ACE Wrap-Up 5 min

Articulate

In your own words, what is a property of matter?

Connect

Point to one row of Table 1 that floats. Write its number and how you know.

Extend

Name one thing at home and one property you could test on it.

Continue Early Finisher optional · ~15 min

If you finish early (no new supplies needed):

Pick one property (magnetic, floats, or solid). On the back of this page, write the property you picked. Then list 3 objects from your room or home that have that property. Draw a small picture next to each one.

Turn in: Hand in this whole packet with your name, class, and date filled in. Make sure questions 1–8 and the ACE box are answered. The early-finisher list is optional — turn it in too if you did it.
G03_SCI_MatterProperties_01 — Sorting Matter by Its Properties Student Packet