Sorting the Rock Tray is a free printable Grade 2 science worksheet on classifying rocks and soils by how they look and feel, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 2-PS1-1. It prints 3 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
1.Sort each one: Rough to touch or Smooth to touch or Made of tiny loose grains?
Sort: A jagged chunk of pink granite, A flat dark gray slate tile, A spoonful of red desert sand
Rough to touchSmooth to touchMade of tiny loose grains
2.Sort each one: Rough to touch or Smooth to touch or Made of tiny loose grains?
Sort: A lump of sandstone that feels like sandpaper, A scoop of dark crumbly garden soil, A small round pebble from a stream
Rough to touchSmooth to touchMade of tiny loose grains
3.Sort each one: Rough to touch or Smooth to touch or Made of tiny loose grains?
Sort: A sharp little chip of gravel, A pinch of fine gray clay powder, A polished white marble egg
Rough to touchSmooth to touchMade of tiny loose grains
LessonPrint · 2-PS1-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Sorting the Rock Tray
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. A flat dark gray slate tile — Smooth to touch 2. A jagged chunk of pink granite — Rough to touch 3. A spoonful of red desert sand — Made of tiny loose grains
2.1. A lump of sandstone that feels like sandpaper — Rough to touch 2. A scoop of dark crumbly garden soil — Made of tiny loose grains 3. A small round pebble from a stream — Smooth to touch
3.1. A pinch of fine gray clay powder — Made of tiny loose grains 2. A polished white marble egg — Smooth to touch 3. A sharp little chip of gravel — Rough to touch
Questions about Sorting the Rock Tray
What does the Sorting the Rock Tray worksheet cover?
It practices classifying rocks and soils by how they look and feel — 3 questions for Grade 2, all on NGSS 2-PS1-1: Sort materials by what you can observe about them. The instruction to students is “Sort each one into the right group”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Sorting the Rock Tray practice?
2-PS1-1, under Physical Science for Grade 2. The published performance expectation reads: “Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Sorting the Rock Tray is written for Grade 2, typically ages 7-8. It is one of the sheets on 2-PS1-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Sorting the Rock Tray come with an answer key?
Yes. All 3 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Sorting the Rock Tray can I print?
25 — one per student, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Sorting the Rock Tray free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Sorting the Rock Tray, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for 2-PS1-1
Sort materials by what you can observe about them.