2-PS1-1: Sorting Materials by Their Properties
Also called NGSS 2-PS1-1 · Topic: Structure and Properties of Matter · Physical Science
The Official Wording
Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.
Clarification statement: Observations could include color, texture, hardness, and flexibility. Patterns could include the similar properties that different materials share.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What 2-PS1-1 Means in Plain English
Second graders plan and run simple tests to describe what different materials are like, then sort them into groups. They look, touch, bend and scratch things made of wood, metal, plastic, rubber and cloth, and notice that very different objects can share a property.
The properties here are ones children can find with their senses and quick hands-on tests, not with measuring tools. This builds toward choosing the best material for a job (2-PS1-2) and, in 5th grade, identifying materials by their properties (5-PS1-3).
2-PS1-1 I Can Statements
- I can test materials by bending, scratching and feeling them.
- I can describe a material by its color, texture and hardness.
- I can sort objects into groups that share a property.
2-PS1-1 Worked Example
A sorting test a class can run with one paper bag of everyday objects.
Do the objects in the mystery bag bend or stay stiff?
Set It Up: A paper bag holding a wooden block, a paper clip, a rubber band, a felt square, a drinking straw and a crayon, plus two paper plates for Bends and Stiff.
- Take out each object and tell its color and how it feels.Felt is soft, the block is smooth
- Gently try to bend each object with two hands.Rubber band, felt, straw and clip bend
- Press a fingernail into each one to see if it leaves a mark.Marks on crayon and felt only
- Sort the objects onto the two plates.Bends: 4 objects. Stiff: 2 objects
- Look for what else the bendy objects share.Bendy things are thin or soft
Things made of different materials can still behave alike, like the paper clip and the rubber band both bending.
Why it works: Every material has its own mix of look and feel, and sorting by one test at a time shows what different materials share.
Common Mistakes with 2-PS1-1
Sorting by use instead of by property
“The crayon goes with the art supplies”
Try this: Sort by one property you can test, like bends or stays stiff, and ignore what the object is used for.
Mixing up the object and the material
“It’s made of paper clip”
Try this: Ask what the object is made of, like metal, wood or plastic, then describe that material's color, texture and hardness.
Using vague words
“It feels weird”
Try this: Use property words such as smooth, rough, soft, hard, bendy or stiff so a classmate could find the same object.
Where 2-PS1-1 Fits
Practice 2-PS1-1
Quick Check
- A rubber band and a metal paper clip both bend. Are they made of the same material?
- What is one quick way to test if a material is hard?
- Name two properties you can find just by touching.