Criteria Builder

This worksheet helps students in Grades 5, 6, and 7 strengthen analytical thinking by learning how categories are defined through clear criteria. Students examine two distinct categories-Renewable Energy Sources and Fictional Antagonists-and develop specific characteristics that determine what belongs in each group. They then evaluate sample items, decide whether each one fits the category, and justify their decisions using evidence-based reasoning.

Learning Goals

• Building and Applying Criteria (Grades 5-7) – Create clear rules that define category membership and apply them consistently.
• Evidence-Based Reasoning – Support yes/no decisions with logical explanations and relevant evidence.
• Understanding Renewable Energy Concepts – Identify defining features of renewable energy sources.
• Character Role Identification in Literature – Analyze traits that define antagonists in fictional narratives.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to support higher-level reasoning across content areas.
• Cross-Disciplinary Thinking – Integrates skills from ELA, science, and literature in one activity.
• Emphasis on Justification – Reinforces that strong thinking requires explanation, not just answers.
• Flexible Classroom Use – Works well for small-group discussion, independent practice, enrichment, or assessment.

This printable worksheet helps students understand that classification depends on clearly defined criteria and thoughtful application. By creating rules and evaluating examples in both scientific and literary contexts, learners build confidence in critical thinking, academic vocabulary, and evidence-based explanation. It is a simple, no-prep resource for classroom and homeschool settings that strengthens reasoning, categorization, and analytical writing skills.

This worksheet is part of our Classifying and Categorizing Information Worksheets collection.