Properties of Metalloids - Context Clues Activity

Metalloids are the "in-between" elements, and this one-page activity introduces the words that define them: metalloid, semiconductor, luster, and brittle. Every card uses a real element - silicon - so students see how one metalloid can be shiny like a metal, brittle like a nonmetal, and a semiconductor all at once. Students read each sentence, use the clues around the underlined word, and circle the best meaning. Print it as a bell-ringer, morning work, or a sub-plan slot.

What's Included

• 1 student page: 4 illustrated context-clue cards, each with three answer choices
• 1 teacher key page with the correct definition for every term
• Letter-size PDF, no prep

How It Helps You Teach

• Front-loads the vocabulary students need to classify metalloids under TEKS 6.6C
• The luster and brittle cards work as a pair, showing the "some metal, some nonmetal" identity at the heart of a metalloid
• Introduces "semiconductor" - the property that makes metalloids matter to modern life - in kid-friendly language

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 (Metal, Nonmetal, or Metalloid?). Check out our library for the other three and the full set.

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