Metal, Nonmetal, or Metalloid?

A three-way element sort - the activity that pulls the whole periodic-table unit together. Eight illustrated cards give real elements (silicon, boron, germanium, copper, iron, gold, oxygen, sulfur) with their physical properties, and students decide: metal, nonmetal, or metalloid? The metalloid cards show the tell-tale mix - shiny but brittle, conducting only a little - so students learn that some elements are a true blend of both families.

What's Included

• 1 student page: 8 illustrated element cards (3 metalloids, 3 metals, 2 nonmetals) with three choices each, plus a Sum It Up fill-in with word bank
• 1 teacher key page with the answer and a one-line property-based reason for every element, plus a Big Idea box

How It Helps You Teach

• Directly practices TEKS 6.6C: identify elements on the periodic table as metals, nonmetals, or metalloids based on their physical properties
• The three-way choice forces students to notice the in-between metalloids instead of defaulting to metal or nonmetal
• The Big Idea connects metalloids to the "zigzag line" of the periodic table and to why silicon runs every chip

Pair It With

This sheet is part of a four-activity Properties of Metalloids set: Context Clues, Inferences, Science in the News (silicon and computer chips), and Science Sort. Check out our library for the other three and the full set.

Standards: TEKS 6.6C; NGSS MS-PS1-3. Part of the Daily Science series by Workybooks.