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Uses of Everyday Materials

Pupils should be taught to:
• 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.

Y2 Properties of Materials

Resource Details

Pupils look at and feel a range of materials given to them by their teacher. They have to investigate each material and find a way of sorting their materials into two or more groups? Pupils have to explain how they decided to group their materials.





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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard
  • NaG - 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
  • WS - identifying and classifying

Y2 Everyday Materials

Resource Details

Pupils look at a selection of everyday common items and objects and have to identify whether the materials used to make them are natural materials or manufactured materials.


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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard
  • NaG - 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
  • WS - identifying and classifying

Y2 Materials, Material Properties and their Uses

Resource Details

Pupils predict then investigate whether a range of materials will stretch, bend, squash or remain rigid. Pupils are also asked to provide some examples of what each material could be used for.

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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard
  • NaG - 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
  • WS - identifying and classifying

Y2 Describing Different Materials (blank)

Resource Details

Pupils look at and touch a range of materials and try to describe what you can see and feel. They fix a small piece of each material to each page of a materials booklet and describe what they looked and felt like.



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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard
  • NaG - 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
  • WS - identifying and classifying

Y2 Describing Different Materials

Resource Details

Pupils look at and touch a range of materials and try to describe what you can see and feel. They fix a small piece of each material to each page of a materials booklet and describe what they looked and felt like.



View Resource

Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard
  • NaG - 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
  • WS - identifying and classifying

Y2 Choosing Materials for Certain Jobs

Resource Details

Pupils have to identify the main material a number of common day items are made from. They also have to identify the material properties each material needs if they are to do their job properly e.g. An umbrella is made from plastic because plastic is impermeable (waterproof), light weight, flexible and can also be transparent.



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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard
  • NaG - 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
  • WS - identifying and classifying

Y2 Using Different Materials to Make Different Things

Resource Details

Pupils look at a range of items given to them by their teacher. They are asked to investigate them and talk to a partner (or group) and suggest ways that you could group these items depending on what they are made from. Pupils then group their materials.



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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard.
  • NaG - 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.
  • WS - identifying and classifying.

Y2 Materials, Material Properties and their Uses

Resource Details

Pupils predict whether a range of materials will stretch, bend, squash or remain rigid when investigated by hand. They investigate their predictions and provide some examples of what each material could be used for.

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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard.
  • NaG - 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.
  • WS - identifying and classifying.

Y2 Describing Different Materials

Resource Details

Pupils look at and touch a range of materials and try to describe what they can see and feel. They fix a small piece of each material to a page of their materials booklet and record what they saw and felt.


View Resource

Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard.
  • NaG - 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.
  • WS - identifying and classifying.

Y2 Describing Different Materials (blank)

Resource Details

Pupils fix small pieces of different materials to each page of a materials booklet. They look at and touch each of the materials and try to describe what they can see and feel.





View Resource

Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard.
  • NaG - 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.
  • WS - identifying and classifying.

Y2 Common Materials and their Uses (2)

Resource Details

Pupils identify the main materials used to make a number of common items and then say why they think they were selected for that job.



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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard.
  • NaG - 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.
  • WS - identifying and classifying.

Y2 Choosing Materials for Certain Jobs

Resource Details

Pupils investigate the main materials a number of everyday items are made from and identify the properties that these materials must have if they are to do their job properly.

View Resource

Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and compare the uses of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard
  • NaG - 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.
  • WS - identifying and classifying.