Year 2: Everyday materials
Uses of Everyday Materials
Curriculum Requirement
- identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard for particular uses
- find out how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching
Pupils should identify and discuss the uses of different everyday materials so that they become familiar with how some materials are used for more than one thing (metal can be used for coins, cans, cars and table legs; wood can be used for matches, floors, and telegraph poles) or different materials are used for the same thing (spoons can be made from plastic, wood, metal, but not normally from glass). They should think about the properties of materials that make them suitable or unsuitable for particular purposes and they should be encouraged to think about unusual and creative uses for everyday materials. Pupils might find out about people who have developed useful new materials, for example John Dunlop, Charles Macintosh or John McAdam.
Pupils might work scientifically by: comparing the uses of everyday materials in and around the school with materials found in other places (at home, the journey to school, on visits, and in stories, rhymes and songs); observing closely, identifying and classifying the uses of different materials, and recording their observations.
National Curriculum in England: primary curriculum, Section: "Science", p. 153.
Nature’s Amazing Materials
Every material we use—from the bricks in our walls to the plastic in our pens—originally comes from the Earth. Nature designs materials for very specific jobs, like keeping a tree standing or protecting a hidden fossil!
From the Ground Up
Wood: The Flexible Pipe
Wood is a natural material that is both strong and "bendy." It’s a tree's way of staying safe and well-fed.
Why it is suitable:
Trees need to be tall to reach the sunlight for energy. Wood provides the strength to grow high, but it is also flexible enough to bend in a gale without breaking.
💡 Fun Facts
- Inside wood are thousands of tiny tubes that act like drinking straws, transporting water and nutrients from the soil to the leaves.
- Because wood is strong but can be "bent" into shapes, humans have used it for centuries to make everything from curved boat hulls to telegraph poles.
- Wood is a "carbon store," meaning it helps the planet by keeping carbon trapped inside its trunk as it grows.
Plastic: A Limited Gift from the Deep
Plastic is a man-made material, but its secret ingredient is millions of years old!
Where it comes from:
Most plastic is made from oil. This oil formed from the remains of microscopic plants and sea creatures that died and were squashed under the ocean floor long before dinosaurs existed!
💡 Fun Facts
- Because oil takes millions of years to form, it is a limited resource. Once we use all the Earth's oil to make plastic, it's gone!
- Plastic is waterproof and can be "stretched" or "squashed" into almost any shape, which is why it's used for everything from raincoats to computer parts.
- Because plastic is so tough, it doesn't rot away in nature, which is why recycling is so important to protect our oceans.
Rock and Brick: The Earth’s Armour
Rocks are natural solids, while bricks are made by humans from clay, a special type of wet soil found in the ground.
Why they are suitable:
They are incredibly hard and do not change shape when you "squash" them. This makes them perfect for holding up the heavy weight of a roof.
💡 Fun Facts
- Some rocks, like slate, can be split into thin, flat sheets that are perfect for keeping rain off our roofs.
- Clay is very "squashy" and "twistable" when wet, but it turns into a rock-hard brick after being baked in a very hot oven called a kiln.
- Over millions of years, giant movements in the Earth can "bend" layers of solid rock into huge mountain ranges!
Changing Shapes for a Job
We can change the shape of some solid objects to help them do their jobs. Nature does this too!
Material Masters
Stretchy and Squashy Science
Some materials are great because they can change shape and then go back to how they were.
The Inventors:
- Charles Macintosh used a "squashy" layer of rubber between cloth to make the first waterproof coats.
- John Dunlop used "stretchy" rubber filled with air to create the first comfortable bike tyres.
💡 Fun Facts
- Rubber originally comes from the "latex" sap of a tropical tree!
- If a material stays "bent" after you move it, it is called "malleable." Many metals are malleable when they are hot.
- John McAdam found that using small, jagged rocks that "interlock" made a road surface that wouldn't "squash" or sink into the mud.
Activities & Reflections
Activities
The Tree Strength Test
Give pupils a dry twig (representing old wood) and a fresh green stem or "bendy" willow branch. Ask them to see which one "bends" and which one "snaps." Discuss why a living tree needs to be able to bend in the wind to survive.
Material Scavenger Hunt: The "Why" Hunt
Find three objects in the classroom. Identify the material and explain why it is suitable using a "Nature Connection." (e.g., "The desk is wood because it is strong like a tree trunk.")
The Great Plastic Debate
Look at a plastic bottle. Use a diagram to show how it came from ancient sea creatures and oil. Discuss: if it takes 100 million years to make the oil, is it fair to use the bottle for only 10 minutes?
Reflections
Suitability Check
Imagine if your school shoes were made of glass. Why would that be a terrible idea? Which material from our list would be the most suitable for running on a playground?
Bending vs. Snapping
Think about a tall skyscraper. Does it stay perfectly still, or do you think it needs to be able to "bend" slightly in the wind like a tree? Why?
Conservation Reflection
Since plastic comes from oil (a limited resource), how can we be "Ecology Heroes" in our own classroom to make sure we don't waste it?
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