Our Rock Collection is a free printable Grade 2 science worksheet on describing and sorting rocks by size, color and texture, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 2-PS1-1. It prints 7 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.
A table the class made of six rocks brought in from home, looked at with a hand lens.
SIX ROCKS
Rock 1: as big as a fist, gray, rough, with sparkly specks
Rock 2: as small as a grape, white, smooth and round
Rock 3: as flat as a cookie, dark gray, smooth, splits into layers
Rock 4: as big as an egg, pale gray, full of tiny holes, very light to hold
Rock 5: as big as a plum, red-brown, gritty like sandpaper
Rock 6: as small as a marble, black, smooth and shiny
We looked at the size, color and texture of every rock.
1. Which rocks were smooth?
2. What color was rock 5?
3. Why did the class use a hand lens?
4. Why did the class look at the same three things for every rock?
2.Which tool helps you see the tiny grains in a rock?
A.A hand lens
B.A ruler
C.A spoon
3.Which word describes how a rock feels?
A.Rough
B.Red
C.Big
4.Why are pebbles from a stream often smooth and round?
A.People polished them
B.The water has rolled them and worn their corners off
C.They grew that way
5.Which word describes a rock's color?
A.Gray
B.Smooth
C.Gritty
6.Which of these tells you a rock's size?
A.Bumpy
B.Shiny
C.As big as an egg
7.Two rocks are the same color. How else could you tell them apart?
A.By what day you found them
B.By how they feel, or by their size
C.You cannot tell them apart
LessonPrint · 2-PS1-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Our Rock Collection
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Rocks 2, 3 and 6. 2. Red-brown. 3. To see small details, like the sparkly specks in rock 1. 4. So every rock could be compared with the others and sorted.
2.A hand lens
3.Rough
4.The water has rolled them and worn their corners off
5.Gray
6.As big as an egg
7.By how they feel, or by their size
Questions about Our Rock Collection
What does the Our Rock Collection worksheet cover?
It practices describing and sorting rocks by size, color and texture — 7 questions for Grade 2, all on NGSS 2-PS1-1: Sort materials by what you can observe about them. The instruction to students is “Read the record, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Our Rock Collection 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?
Our Rock Collection 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 Our Rock Collection come with an answer key?
Yes. All 7 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 Our Rock Collection 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 Our Rock Collection free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Our Rock Collection, 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.