Grade by Grade
D. Structures and Mechanisms · Materials, Objects, and Everyday Structures

Objects and the Materials They Are Made Of

D2.1 D2.3 D2.4 A1.1 A1.5About 30 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can tell the difference between an object and a material.
  • I can name materials like wood, metal, plastic, glass, fabric, paper and rubber.
  • I can find objects made of one material and objects made of more than one material.
  • I can use my senses to describe how an object looks, feels and sounds.

Words to know

object
A thing you can see and touch, like a spoon, a chair or a mitten.
material
What an object is made of, like wood, metal, plastic or fabric.
senses
The ways your body learns about the world: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting.
observe
To look at something carefully and notice details, using your senses.
fabric
Cloth, like the material in your shirt, toque or blanket.

Let's start with a mystery

Put your hand on the table. Now touch a spoon. Now touch your sleeve.

Do they all feel the same? No! The table might feel hard and smooth. The spoon might feel cold. Your sleeve feels soft.

That is because they are made of different stuff. Today you will be a scientist and find out what things are made of.

Objects and materials

An object is a thing. A spoon is an object. A chair is an object. A mitten is an object.

A material is what the object is made of. A spoon can be made of metal. A chair can be made of wood. A mitten can be made of wool, which is a kind of fabric.

So we can say: "The spoon is an object. It is made of the material metal."

A metal spoon, a red knitted mitten and a wooden block on a wooden table.
Three objects made of three materials: the spoon is metal, the mitten is wool and the block is wood. AI-generated image
🥄🪑🧤🥛📕
Objects all around us: a spoon, a chair, a mitten, a glass of milk and a book.
MaterialObjects often made of it
woodchairs, tables, pencils, blocks, doors
metalspoons, forks, keys, pots, coins
plastictoy bricks, water bottles, buckets, lunch boxes
glasswindows, jars, drinking glasses, mirrors
fabric (cloth)shirts, toques, mittens, blankets
paperbooks, boxes, napkins, envelopes
rubbererasers, rubber boots, balloons, bike tires
Common materials and objects made from them

One material or more than one?

Some objects are made of just one material. A metal spoon is all metal. A wooden block is all wood.

Many objects are made of more than one material. Look at a pencil!

woodgraphitemetalrubber
A pencil is one object made of four materials: wood, graphite (the grey part you write with), metal and rubber.

Use your senses

Scientists observe. That means they look carefully and notice things. You can observe with your senses:

  • See: What colour is it? Is it shiny or dull? Can you see through it?
  • Touch: Is it hard or soft? Smooth or bumpy? Warm or cold? Heavy or light?
  • Hear: What sound does it make when you tap it gently?
  • Smell: Some materials, like wood or rubber, have a smell.

These clues help you guess what material something is made of.

Safe scientists

Only taste things when a grown-up says it is food. Never put objects or materials in your mouth to test them. Seeing, touching, hearing and gently smelling are the safe senses for this lesson.

Just for fun

Funny but true: The "lead" in a pencil is not lead at all! It is graphite mixed with clay. So a "lead pencil" is really a graphite pencil in disguise.

Worked example

Let's observe a mug together

Your grown-up hands you a mug. What can we observe? What is it made of?

  1. See: It is white and shiny. I cannot see through it.
  2. Touch: It feels hard, smooth and cool. It is a bit heavy.
  3. Hear: When I tap it gently with my fingernail, it goes tink.
  4. Think: Hard, shiny, smooth, a tink sound and I cannot see through it. It is probably not glass, because most glass is see-through. A grown-up tells me it is made of ceramic (baked clay).
  5. Count the materials: The whole mug is one material.

The mug is an object. It is made of one material: ceramic. It is hard, smooth, shiny and cool.

Worked example

Let's look at a winter boot

Is a winter boot made of one material or more than one?

  1. Look at the bottom. It is bendy and grippy. That is rubber.
  2. Look inside. It is soft and fuzzy. That is fabric (a cozy lining).
  3. Look at the laces or the zipper. The zipper pull might be metal or plastic.
  4. Count: rubber, fabric, and metal or plastic. That is more than one material.

A winter boot is one object made of several materials.

Hands-on activity

Material scavenger hunt

You need: a paper and a pencil, and a grown-up helper.

  1. Walk around your kitchen or bedroom.
  2. Find one object made of each material: wood, metal, plastic, glass, fabric, paper and rubber. (Ask a grown-up to hold anything made of glass.)
  3. Draw or write each object on your paper next to its material.
  4. Pick your favourite object. Tell your grown-up three things you observed with your senses. Use words like hard, soft, smooth, bumpy, shiny, heavy, light, warm, cold.
  5. Find one object made of more than one material. How many materials can you find in it?

Science talk: "How did you know it was metal and not plastic?" (Metal often feels cold and heavy and makes a ringing sound when tapped.)

Your turn

1

Is a spoon an object or a material?

2

Is wood an object or a material?

3

Name a material that a window is made of.

4

A mitten is soft and fuzzy. What kind of material is it most likely made of?

5

Name one object made of rubber.

6

Is a pencil made of one material or more than one?

7

Tap a metal pot gently with a spoon. What sense are you using?

More practice: warm-up

1

Name 3 materials.

2

What material is a book's page made of?

3

Which sense do you use to find out if a blanket is soft?

4

Which sense do you use to find out what colour a block is?

5

Is a chair an object or a material?

More practice: on your own

1

Sort these into objects and materials: key, metal, toque, fabric.

2

Name an object made of only one material.

3

A juice box is made of paper, plastic and a thin layer of metal foil. How many materials is that?

4

Describe a rock using two senses.

5

Why should you not use taste to test materials?

Challenge

1

Two cups look the same. One is glass and one is plastic. How could you tell them apart without breaking them?

2

Look at your shoe. Name all the materials you can find.

3

Mila says, "Wood is an object." Is she right? Explain.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which one is a material?

2.

What material is a key usually made of?

3.

Which object is made of more than one material?

4.

Which sense tells you that a pillow is soft?

5.

A toque is made of which material?

6.

Which word describes how something feels?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: An object is a thing; a material is what the thing is made of. Children often mix these up ("What is it made of?" "A chair!"). Keep asking two questions: What is it? and What is it made of?

How to help: Play "What's it made of?" while cooking, dressing or tidying. Count materials in everyday objects (a jacket, a toy car, a lunch bag). Encourage describing words for each sense: hard, soft, smooth, rough, shiny, dull, heavy, light, warm, cold, see-through.

Common difficulties:

  • Naming the object instead of the material. Model full sentences: "The bowl is made of plastic."
  • Thinking every shiny thing is metal. Some plastics are shiny. Combine clues: metal usually feels cold and heavy.
  • Ceramic, foil and leather are less familiar materials. It is fine to tell your child the name.

Safety: Handle glass objects yourself. Remind your child that we do not taste materials.

Curriculum note: This lesson covers D2.1 (objects are made of one or more materials), D2.3 (materials used in everyday objects) and D2.4 (describing characteristics using the senses), with observing and communicating skills from Strand A.