ACARA v9 CONTENT DESCRIPTION “recognise that objects can be composed of different materials and describe the observable properties of those materials”
Builds on noticing and naming the things around us. Here we look closer: every object is made of a material, and each material is something we can describe by looking and feeling.
Things are made of materials
Look around the room. A spoon, a cup, a window and a chair are all made of something. The stuff an object is made of is called its material. Metal, plastic, glass and wood are all materials.
What is it made of?
Tap an object. It changes colour and tells you the material it is made of.
Each thing around us is made of a material. Tap one to find out which.
We can sort by material
Some objects are made of the same material. We can put them in groups. All the wooden things go together, all the glass things go together. Sorting helps us see what is the same and what is different.
Sort by material
Choose a material. The objects made of it move up; the rest fade away.
We can put things into groups by the material they are made of.
Materials have properties we can notice
A property is something we can see or feel. A material can be hard or soft, bendy or stiff, see-through or not, smooth or rough. We find out by pressing it, bending it, looking through it and feeling it.
Test a material
Pick a test. See what we can find out about a material by looking and feeling.
Properties are things we notice with our eyes and hands. A material can be hard or soft, bendy or stiff, see-through or not, smooth or rough.
We choose materials by their properties
We pick a material for a job because of its properties. A window is made of glass because glass is see-through. A raincoat is made of plastic because plastic keeps the water out. The right property does the job.
Which material is right for the job?
Read the job. Tap the material that does it best.
A window, so we can see outside. We choose a material by its properties.
The same shape can be a different material
Two things can be the same shape but made of different materials. A metal spoon is hard and heavy. A plastic spoon is light and bendy. The material is what makes them feel different.
Same shape, different material
Two spoons, the same shape. Switch the material and see how it changes.
Two spoons can be the same shape but made of different materials. The metal one is hard and heavy. The plastic one is light and can bend. The material gives each one its properties.
Why this matters
Everything we use is made of a material, and each material has properties we can see and feel. When we know the properties, we can choose the best material for the job and understand the things around us a little better.
Quick self-check
1. A window lets us see outside. What material is it made of?
2. Which word tells us about a material we can bend easily?
3. A chair is made of wood. Wood is best described as...
4. Why do we make a raincoat out of plastic?
5. A metal spoon and a plastic spoon are the same shape. What makes them different?