What Is It Made Of? Everyday Materials

Student Task

• Put a few real objects on a tray (a spoon, a wooden block, a plastic cup, a sock, a book). Ask children to touch them and describe them.
• Teach the material names, then do activities 1 and 2 together.
• Children complete activities 3 to 5; answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

• Mystery bag: a child feels an object in a bag and describes it (hard, smooth, cold) while the class guesses.
• Material hunt: in pairs, children find and list one object for each material in the classroom.
• Waterproof test: drip water onto paper, fabric, plastic and foil and see which ones let the water through.

Differentiation

Support: use real objects for every question and give a word bank. Challenge: ask children to explain why each object is made of its material.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activities 1 to 4 check material names and properties (answer key included). Activity 5 checks reasoning.

Learning Objectives

• Name seven everyday materials: wood, metal, plastic, glass, fabric, paper and rubber.
• Say what everyday objects are made of.
• Describe materials using property words such as hard, soft, bendy and see-through.

Teacher Tips

Separate the object from the material: "The spoon is the object. Metal is the material." Children often mix up the two words.

What's Included

• 6-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
• Key vocabulary list (4 words with meanings and examples)
• Student worksheet (5 activities)
• Editable Word version of the worksheet
• Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)

Additional Files

• Editable Worksheet (Word) (DOCX)
• Answer Key (PDF) (PDF)

Teacher Reviews