This 2nd grade states of matter sheet gives students 15 labeled pictures to sort into a three-column SOLID, LIQUID and GAS chart. The items run from a rock, a pencil and an ice cube to milk, honey and rain, then steam from a kettle and the air in a balloon. Page 2 asks for one more solid, liquid and gas, plus a question about an ice cube. It matches NGSS 2-PS1-1, and page 3 holds the answer key with sample answers.
2-PS1-1
“Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.”
Page 1 asks students to classify 15 everyday materials as solid, liquid or gas, and question 4 on page 2 has them name the state of an ice cube.
Fifteen small pictures sit above a chart with five dotted lines under each heading. Students write each item, such as honey, apple or ice cube, in the column where it belongs.
Three prompts ask for one more solid, one more liquid and one more gas, each with two writing lines. A fourth asks whether an ice cube is a solid or a liquid.
The sorted chart with five items per state, sample answers for the open prompts such as desk, soup and wind, and a one-line reason for the ice cube.
Before the unit
Hand it out cold and see how many students put steam or the air in a balloon in the gas column. The answers show which ideas to teach first.
Partner sort
Pairs agree on each item before they write it down. Honey and shampoo usually start an argument, which is a good moment to talk about pouring.
Exit question
Use the ice cube question on page 2 as a quick check on the way out the door. Students who write liquid often have the melted puddle in mind.
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