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Contributed by: RAND
Part I: Sorting People
The ways in which objects differ are called properties.
Properties can be used to sort objects into groups. Color is one
property you could use to classify cars. You might sort cars into
two groups based on their color: blue and not blue. Another car
property is speed. There could be two speed groups: fast and slow.
You also could classify cars by how many doors they have. One group
has two doors, another group has four doors and so on. There are
many different properties you could use to classify things.
- Take the pictures out of the envelope labeled "People."
- Look at pictures A and B. List two ways the people
in A and B are similar to each other:
- List one way A is different from B:
- Gender is one property. Every person is either male or female.
Gender could be used to sort people into two groups; one group
is males and the other is females.
Do A and B belong to the same gender group? (Circle
one answer)
- Another property is body position. You can use this property
to divide people into two groups: sitting and standing.
Do A and B belong to the same body position group?
(Circle one answer)
- A few students started to classify the people in the envelope.
First, they chose two properties. One property is gender.
It has two groups, male and female. They wrote this property
and its groups on top of the table below. The other property
is headwear. Headwear also has two groups, cap and no cap. The
students wrote these labels on the side of the table.
Second, they wrote labels inside each box. Box 1 is
labeled "male-cap" because it is under the male group and next
to the cap group. Box 2 is "female-cap" because it is under
the female group and next to the cap group. Box 3 is "male-no
cap" and box 4 is "female-no cap."
Third, they wrote "A" in Box 1 because picture A
is a male and wearing a cap. They wrote "B" in Box 4
because B is female and not wearing a cap.
YOUR JOB is to finish the table below. Write each person's
letter in the right box. Be sure to use all of the letters:
C, D, E, F, G, H.
- A second group of students started to sort the people using
different properties but ran out of time.
YOUR JOB is to finish labeling all of the properties,
groups, and boxes. Use the words below to do this.
| Properties |
Groups |
Boxes |
| age |
summer clothing |
child-summer |
| clothing |
winter clothing |
child-winter |
|
adult |
adult-summer |
|
child |
adult-winter |
Hint: Sort the pictures into the boxes on your placemat
so you can see the groups they made. Some of the labels have
been done already. The pictures in Box 4 have two things in
common; they both show a child wearing summer clothing. That
is why it has the "child-summer" label.
When you are finished, please put the figures back into the
"People" envelope.
Part 2: Sorting Animals
- Take the animals out of Envelope 1 and look at them carefully.
Think about the different properties you could use to sort these
animals into groups.
Sort the animals into the four boxes using whatever properties
and groups you want. Make sure to follow these rules:
- Each box must have at least one animal.
- You must use all eight animals.
YOUR JOB is to fill-in the table below. Be sure to label
the properties, groups, and boxes. Write the letters of the
animals in the boxes where they belong.
- Take the animal out of Envelope 2. Does this animal belong
in any of the boxes in the table you just made? In the space below,
describe which box this animal should be in and why. If the animal
does not belong in any of the boxes, be sure to explain why.
When you are finished, please put the animals back into the
envelopes.
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