Lesson Three: 

Categorizing, Classifying, Organizing,  My Own Collection, 

• Students demonstrate a working knowledge for alternative criteria when sorting and describing their collections.

• Students begin to discriminate and refine their collections to meet their specific criteria.

• Third Grade Speaking Standards: "Make descriptive presentations that use concrete sensory details to set forth and support unified impressions of people places thing, and experiences"

• Writing for a specific purpose, an invitation

Time Required

• One class period for investigating student collections and discovering how they might be sorted and described.

Advance Preparation

• Send home parent letter, Creating our Classroom Museum describing how to participate with collections from home.
• Creating classroom space for displays
• Vocabulary review for describing and assigning attributes to objects

Materials / Resources Required  

• Students' collecting boxes, field logs and/or collections from home
• Display space for students to sort and manipulate their individual collections
• Chart paper for recording students' ideas
• Internet Access

Vocabulary

• A few vocabulary, terms and categories, (add to list as students generate additional adjectives): manmade, from nature, shape, color, texture, soft, round, hard, flat, rough, smooth, metallic, plastic, fragile, ceramic, plant material, valuable, things found at school, things found at home, shiny, bumpy, smooth, etc...

• Identify the difference between vocabulary used for naming categories and the vocabulary used for describing items within categories. 
• The chart created in lesson two "found a peanut" steps #20-21 is a vocabulary review resource 
  

• Unit Vocabulary, from lesson one

  antique	discover	junk	precious
  artifact	discriminate (sort by criteria)	label (n. v.)	precious metal
  attributes	display	log	precious stone
  categorize	document (n. v)	manmade	record (n. v.)
  category	features	map (v, n)	rock
  characteristics	floor plan	material	sort
  classify	fossil	metal	texture
  collect	gather	museum	treasure
  collection	heirloom	natural	unique
  criteria	illustrate	nature	valuable
  curator	item	object
  decorate	journal	organize
  define

Concepts

• Developing and asking meaningful questions
• Collecting data
• Sequencing and prioritizing information
• Observing patterns 
• Students learn to "jury" or refine their collections based on target criteria.  

Focus Questions (and responses)

?    How are the items in my collection alike/different... (manmade, from nature, shape, color, texture, etc.)

?    What are some attributes I can assign to my items... (soft, round, hard, flat, plant material, valuable etc,.)

?    What are some ways my treasures can be sorted... (things found at school, things found at home etc.)

?    What is my criteria for sorting groups the ways I chose to sort them... (shiny rocks, bumpy rocks, smooth rocks, rocks with holes, flat rocks)

?    How do I feel about some of my items...    ? Is there a value I can assign to each item...

?    Are some of my items less interesting to me than others... 

?    Which items belong in my collection and which ones should I discard or save for later consideration...

?    Would I be interested in trading some items with another student...

? What are some other objects that could fit in my collection that I don't have yet, that I have yet to find...

Procedures   

• Review active listening skills
• Allow time for the "ooo's and aha's of seeing others collections for the first time
• Chart student generated categories to assist in sorting collections
• Post previously created vocabulary charts  related to collecting, sorting and describing objects.  
• Suggested chart would contain word, rebus and definition.

(reminders of gathering procedures)

• Explain the norms for what is appropriate and not appropriate for gathering items.
• Instruct students to gather only objects that are safe to handle. (No living plants or animals, no dead animal parts where evidence of hair or tissue is present.)  When collecting feathers or skeletal remains they should wash their hands immediately after handling. 

Activities

1. Students are given 10 minutes to examine and begin sorting items from their collection box. 

2. Use Focus Questions one through four, listed above, to facilitate student discoveries. 

3. Items are to be sorted on student desks into a minimum of two groups. 

4. Hold a five minute class discussion of patterns, categories and criteria students are using to identify their groups. 

5. After the class discussion, allow 10 minutes for students to modify and re-group, and finalize their sort.

6. Give each student approximately 15 seconds to share their categories with the class.

7. Replace and store items in students' collection boxes.

Extensions 

• Visit: Virtual Museum Canada, www.virtualmuseum.ca/English/index_flash.html

This website allows students to create a "personal museum" where they chose a theme or just thier favorite pieces.  They add descriptions and choose a layout to make it personalized.

• Students are encouraged to add to their collections and Collector's Field Log, in preparation for their final Mini Museum display in Lesson 5
• Students should develop a more extensive vocabulary and be given the opportunity to verbally justify how they refined and became more focused when sorting their items in preparation for the Mini Museum exhibition.

Homework

• Ongoing    Assign homework: complete student field logs when adding items found at home to their boxes.

Evaluation  

• Teacher Observation Evaluation of Ability to Sort and Classify Items in a Collection:

Collector's Field Log Evaluation*:

Complete Collector's Field Log, complete page for each  item in collection box, detailed illustrations and descriptions.	Exceeds Expectations	50-46 Points	A+
Complete Collector's Field Log, page for each item collected, basic illustrations and descriptions, no evidence of detail.	Meets Expectations	41-45 Points 40-36 Points	A B
Partially completed Collector's Field Log, missing information on log sheets, all objects represented in log.	Minimal Effort	31-35 Points	C
Incomplete Collector's Field Log, log pages incomplete, pages do not match items in collection box.	Needs Improvement	30  Points or less	D

                        *(Points are suggested, may be modified as necessary)

	Outline Time Line		Introductory Lesson "My Gatherings" Creating a Collection
Lesson Two Vocabulary Treasure Hunt Digital Reference Desk		Lesson Three  Organizing My Collection Sort and Classify
	Lesson Four "Virtual Museum Tour" On-Line Dig		Lesson Five Classroom Mini Museum Showcasing Collections

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