My Favourite Material

Overview

In this final lesson of Discovering Materials Around Us, students consolidate their learning by presenting a favourite material or object. They identify what it is made from, describe observable properties and explain why they like it, building on earlier sorting, observing and describing activities.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• identify the material or materials that make up a familiar object
• describe observable properties such as colour, texture, hardness, flexibility and shine
• share an observation and a reason with a group
• listen respectfully and notice similarities and differences between objects

Success criteria

• I can name what my object is made of.
• I can describe at least one property of its material.
• I can explain why I like the object or why its material is useful.
• I can listen and ask or answer a question.

Curriculum links

• Science understanding — recognising that objects can be composed of different materials and describing observable properties.
• Science inquiry — representing observations in a provided template and identifying patterns with guidance.
• Science inquiry — sharing questions, predictions, observations and ideas with others.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and safety. Open with the hook and learning intention slides and remind students that objects must be safe, clean and small enough to hold; provide a classroom object or photograph for anyone who has not brought one. Students sit in a circle, look at the teacher’s example and suggest what it is made of.

2. 5–10 min · Revisit material language. Use the materials and properties picture slides to revise materials such as wood, metal, plastic, glass, paper, fabric and rubber, and properties including smooth, rough, hard, soft, bendy, stiff, shiny and waterproof. Students use actions or partner talk to practise a sentence such as, “My object is made of ___. It feels/looks ___.”

3. 10–15 min · Prepare to share. Distribute the favourite material show-and-tell recording sheet and model completing it with the teacher’s object: drawing the object, naming its material, circling or drawing a property, and finishing “I like it because ___.” Students draw or label their object and rehearse their explanation with a partner.

4. 15–32 min · Small-group show and tell. Display the show-and-tell instructions and sentence-starter slides and place students in five groups of five. Each student has up to two minutes to show the object, share the material, describe one property and give a reason; group members listen, then ask one simple question or identify a similar object.

5. 32–39 min · Class pattern discussion. Bring students together and use the comparison and discussion prompt slides to collect examples on the board. Students help group objects by material or property and discuss patterns, such as several objects being plastic or many soft objects being made from fabric.

6. 39–45 min · Plenary and assessment. Return to the recap and exit prompt slide. Students complete the final sentence on their worksheet or tell a partner: “A material I noticed today was ___. It was ___.” Invite three students to share, then collect worksheets as students pack away safely.

Resources

• the complete show-and-tell slide deck
• the favourite material show-and-tell recording sheet
• Student-brought safe objects or teacher-provided classroom objects and photographs
• Whiteboard and markers
• Pencils, crayons and clipboards or hard writing surfaces
• Clearly labelled tables or tubs for objects
• Hand sanitiser or wipes

Assessment

• During rehearsal and group sharing, listen for students naming a material rather than only naming the object, and prompt with “What is it made from?”
• Use the recording sheet and observation checklist to note whether each student identifies a material, describes a property and communicates a reason.
• Use the final oral or written sentence to check whether students can connect a material with an observable property.

Differentiation

• Provide picture and word choices for materials and properties, sentence starters, adult scribing or the option to point, draw and dictate rather than write.
• Pair students carefully for rehearsal and allow students who are anxious about presenting to share with the teacher, present jointly with a partner or show a photograph.
• For EAL learners, explicitly model vocabulary with real objects, gestures and repeated sentence frames; accept home-language discussion before sharing an English response.
• Extend confident students by asking whether the object contains more than one material and why each material may have been chosen for that part.
• Check brought objects before the lesson; exclude sharp, breakable, valuable, very small or allergy-sensitive items and offer safe alternatives.