Properties of Nonmetals - Context Clues Activity

Before students can classify elements, they need the words. This one-page activity introduces dull, insulator, brittle, and nonmetal through four quick scenarios (a dull lump of carbon, the rubber around a wire, a snapping stick of chalk, and a chunk of sulfur). 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

How It Helps You Teach

• Front-loads the physical-property vocabulary of TEKS 6.6C so students can classify elements as nonmetals with confidence
• Sets nonmetal properties directly against their metal opposites (dull vs. shiny, insulator vs. conductor, brittle vs. bendable)
• Takes only a few minutes, so it fits at the start of class without eating into the lesson

Pair It With

This sheet is part of a four-activity Properties of Nonmetals set: Context Clues, Inferences, Science in the News (hydrogen as a clean fuel), and Science Sort (Nonmetal or Metal?). 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.