Rough, smooth, soft

Some things look soft but are not. Can you be fooled?

ScienceAges 3–415 minutes3 pagesEnglish textInk-light

Being written

This one is planned but not finished yet. Everything below is what it will contain.

Not drawn yet

I can sort things by how they feel, not how they look.

How the fifteen minutes go

The five steps on this sheet, in the order a child meets them. This is what you will actually be doing, not a description of the method.

Print the one that fits today. Same skill, three depths — and on this sheet they differ like this.

Support

Two categories: soft and hard.

Fewer items, more pictures, hints included, parent reads the instructions.

Core

Three categories, five objects.

The standard task, recognition, practice and explanation.

Challenge

Sort with eyes closed only, and be right.

Open-ended. Explain why, make your own example, use it somewhere new.

The same guide that is printed on the back page, so you can read it before you decide to print anything.

The answers

Depends on what you collect. Aim to include one deceiver, a shiny cushion that is scratchy, a matte stone that is smooth.

If they get stuck

Give two very different objects, a stone and a sock, and build up.

Common mistakes

Peeking. Eyes closed is the method.
Judging by sight from the picture. This sheet needs real objects; it does not work as paper alone.

When they finish early

Make a texture collage by gluing on real scraps.