Exploring Material Properties

Overview

In this second lesson of Discovering Materials Around Us, students investigate how materials look and feel. They handle safe classroom objects, describe properties such as hard, soft, smooth and rough, and complete a supervised sensory scavenger hunt. The lesson builds on recognising that familiar objects are made from different materials.

Learning intentions

• Students will identify observable properties of materials.
• Students will use their senses of touch and sight to make observations.
• Students will describe materials using the words hard, soft, smooth and rough.
• Students will record observations in a provided table and notice patterns.

Success criteria

• I can look at and safely touch an object to observe it.
• I can describe a material as hard, soft, smooth or rough.
• I can find classroom objects with different properties.
• I can record or communicate what I observed.

Curriculum links

• Recognising that objects can be composed of different materials and describing observable properties.
• Representing observations in provided templates and identifying patterns with guidance.
• Using tools, such as a magnifying glass, to make more detailed observations.
• Sorting and grouping materials according to observed properties.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and recall. Display the opening question and object photographs and ask, “How could we describe this object without saying what it is?” Students turn and talk, then share words they already know from the previous lesson.

2. 5–12 min · Explicit teaching and modelling. Teacher introduces the four focus words—hard, soft, smooth and rough—using safe objects such as a wooden block, fabric, a plastic lid and sandpaper. Model looking first, touching with one finger, and describing only what can be observed; record examples on the board and in the property teaching slides. Students copy the actions and practise saying a sentence such as, “The fabric feels soft.”

3. 12–17 min · Guided classification. Place four or five objects where all students can see them. Invite students to explain which property best describes each object, reminding them that one object may have more than one material or property. Students use hand signals or move to a labelled area of the room to show whether an example is hard, soft, smooth or rough.

4. 17–32 min · Sensory scavenger hunt. Explain the rules using the scavenger hunt instruction slide: remain with the assigned adult-approved area, walk, touch gently, do not taste or put objects near faces, and ask before touching anything unfamiliar. In groups of four or five, students search the classroom for one object that is hard, soft, smooth and rough, using sight and touch; they record a drawing, object name or teacher-scribed word on the sensory scavenger hunt recording sheet. Provide magnifying glasses for closer looking where appropriate.

5. 32–40 min · Share and identify patterns. Groups place their worksheet where others can see it and share one finding. Teacher creates a class chart with the headings Hard, Soft, Smooth and Rough, adding student examples and discussing overlaps, such as a hard object that is also smooth. Students compare their findings and identify which properties appeared most often.

6. 40–45 min · Review and exit response. Revisit the review and reflection slides and ask, “What is one material property you can observe?” Each student tells a partner or draws an object and completes the sentence, “It is ___ because it feels/looks ___.” Collect worksheets and listen for accurate use of property vocabulary.

Resources

• the complete material properties slide deck
• the sensory scavenger hunt recording sheet
• Safe classroom objects made from wood, fabric, plastic, metal, paper and rubber
• Four property word cards or signs: hard, soft, smooth and rough
• Magnifying glasses
• Pencils, crayons and clipboards
• Class chart paper and markers
• Optional gloves for students who prefer not to touch selected textures

Assessment

• During modelling and classification, check whether students can match an object to an observable property and explain their choice.
• During the scavenger hunt, circulate with a simple checklist: observes safely, uses property vocabulary, identifies an object and records or communicates an observation.
• Use the worksheet and final oral or drawn response as evidence of whether each student can describe a material using an observable property.

Differentiation

• Support students with real objects, picture cues, gestures and repeated sentence frames: “The ___ is ___” and “It feels ___.” Accept drawings, pointing, oral responses or teacher scribing instead of written words.
• Pair students strategically and assign roles such as finder, toucher, recorder and reporter. Limit the search area and offer a smaller choice of objects for students who need reduced sensory or movement demands.
• For EAL learners, preview the four property words with actions and objects, and invite home-language discussion before sharing in English.
• Extend confident students by asking them to find an object with two properties, compare two objects using “same” or “different”, or explain why an object may be made from more than one material.