Materials

Age Range 5-7Age Range 7-11

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  • Materials
  • Grouping Materials
  • Mission Materials Game
  • Teacher information

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Materials and their properties

Many different materials are found around us in everyday life. Knowing about the properties of different materials helps us choose the right material for the job.

A database of 31 everyday materials, man made and natural, solid and liquid, transparent and opaque, allow children to explore these and many other properties.

Materials on the databse may be grouped according to one or more of their properties. Children can easily group all the materials that have those properties. This helps them to see, for instance, that all metals conduct electricity, but not all metals are magnetic.

Once children are familiar with the properties of different materials they can play the game, Mission Material. This allows them to test their knowledge in a fun and challenging way. It reinforces information gathered from the database and also allows them to go back to check properties.