Everyday Materials

Year 1

Unit Overview

In the Everyday Materials project, your child will learn that materials are what objects are made from. They will observe and identify objects made from different materials in places familiar to them, such as their home and school. They will name and use their senses to explore a range of natural materials using hand lenses, learning that natural materials come from the world around us, including the ground, plants and animals. They will name and use their senses to explore a range of objects made from human-made materials, learning that they are new materials made by people from natural materials. They will write scientific questions about a chosen object made from a human-made material, its features and its use in the object, revisiting their questions during the project to see if they can identify the answers as their knowledge builds over time. They will compare a range of objects made from different materials, putting them into groups according to their similarities and differences and explaining their groups. They will identify the properties of a range of materials, learning that materials can be described by their properties and that a property is a quality a material has that makes it suitable for a particular use. They will follow instructions and conduct various tests to determine different materials' properties. They will complete Venn diagrams, sorting objects according to the properties of their materials. They will complete their learning by investigating materials to determine which have suitable properties to make bunting, which will be used to decorate the school grounds.

❇ MEMORABLE MOMENT

The children will explore the school looking for different materials and take photographs of their findings.

️✏️ WRITING OPPORTUNITIES

Children will gather and record results in a range of ways.


🌳 LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Children will investigate which materials will keep them dry


Unit Sequence: Learning Intentions

  1. What are materials? - To use observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.

  2. introducing natural materials - To observe closely using simple equipment.

  3. Human made materials - To ask simple questions and recognise that they can be answered in different ways.

  4. Identification and classification -To gather and record data to help in answering questions.

  5. Properties of materials - To compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of their physical properties.

  6. Venn diagrams -To gather and record data to help in answering questions.

  7. Testing and recording materials' properties - To perform simple tests.


Scientific Enquiry: Investigations

  1. How does it feel?

    • Distinguish between an object and the material from which it is made.

    • Identify and name what an object is made from

  2. Can you be a superhero?

    • Know that some metal objects are magnetic.

    • Magnetic objects will be attracted to a magnet.

  3. What keeps us dry?

    • Know that everyday materials have properties suited to certain situations.

    • Waterproof materials are good at keeping us dry.

🏁 BIG FINISH

We will make bunting for indoors and outdoors and compare which bunting survived the best after observing it for a week.

📖 FOCUS TEXT(S)

We will look at a range of Non Fiction texts.