DTTP SHORT TERM PLAN 17
Reception / year 1- exploring through play Materials and Properties Sci 3
Year Group: Reception / Year 1 / Class Name / Number: 1 / Class size: 22 / Pupil Age: 4-5 / Date: 22.11.10Subject / Theme of Lesson: Science, properties of materials / NC References:
EYFS/Knowledge and Understanding of the world/exploration and investigation
KS1/SC3/1a, 1b, 1c
Links to PSHE, Citizenship or Global Citizenship:
Sharing
Group work
Sense of self
Understanding of the world / Links to ECM:
Enjoy and achieve
Economic wellbeing
Learning Objective(s):
EYFS (reception class)
1)To develop a greater understanding of materials and their properties through play (EYFS)
2)To explore features of materials and compare them with others (EYFS)
3)To investigate objects and materials by using all of their senses. (EYFS)
KS1 (year 1)
1)To use senses to explore and recognise similarities and differences between materials
2)To sort objects into groups on the basis of their properties
3)To recognise some common materials / Success criteria:
I can find out about materials by playing.
I can talk about the materials and why they are like or not like other materials
I can use my senses to find out about materials
I can use my senses to find out about materials, and compare them with others.
I can group objects by how they look and feel.
I can name and describe some materials.
How the learning will be assessed:
Observation of children whilst playing by teacher and TA. Information recorded on Post-It notes for assessment records later.
Questioning of children. Mostly open questions: ‘why do you think that happens?’, ‘what does it feel/look/sound like?’, ‘can you describe this for me?’, ‘can you put these into groups?’, ‘can you explain you have put those together?’, ‘do you know what this is made of?’ etc.
Push the HA/ Year 1 children to think in a more evaluative sense, ‘why?’, ‘can you explain?’ etc.
Photographs may be used to provide evidence against the EYFS scale.
A number of activities will be set up around the room for the children to play and explore. Teacher and TA will be circulating the room to help, monitor, question, observe and assess. Reception children will be encouraged to ask for help from the Year 1 children(low level differentiaion).
Resources are highlighted in pink.
Use of TA highlighted in yellow.
Differentiation in green.
I would allow 1 hour for the children to explore the activities. Adult supervision needed for certain activities. You may not be able to use all activities at the same time due to lack of adult support.
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:1 / Feeling tray / To use my sense of touch to explore objects and materials. / Rough
Smooth
Shiny
Heavy
Spikey
Light
Fluffy
Prickly
Squishy
…
Large tray or trough containing different items and materials, for example:
- Feathers
- Pebbles
- Pipe cleaners
- Cloths
- Wool
- Material
- Paperclips
- Blocks of wood
- Rubber
- Bread
- A CD
- Sponge
- Polystyrene
- Soap
- Paper
- (these are just some examples, the list is endless!)
Children are to shut their eyes and feel the objects and describe them and guess what they may be before opening their eyes and checking if they were right.Differentiation through outcome: HA to explain why they think it is a certain object and why it is useful for it’s purpose.
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:2 / Sinking and floating / To explore materials that sink and float / Sink
Float
Light
Heavy
Have various items on a table (rubber ball, blu-tak, plastic boat, lego, plastic bag, apple, can, paper etc), and a trough of water. Allow the children to try them all out to see if they sink or float. Extend the year 1 children- “can you change the shape of the material so that it floats?”, “does it make a difference?”, “what do you notice about the materials that sink?”.
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:3 / Sand tray / To explore the properties of sand / Sand
Fine
Grains
Pour
Solid
Move
Squish
Bend
This activity will involve the children ‘playing’ in the sandpit. Their ‘task’ is to see if it pours (leave some jugs in there), if it squashes, if it bends? Use buckets and moulds. Y1 children could be extended- does it change if you addwater?
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:4 / Toy sorting / To sort a selection of toys out according to what they are made from / Wood
Metal
Plastic
Rubber
Cloth
Using a range of toys in a toybox (lego, doll, teddy bear, tractor, car, train, ball, marbles etc), allow children to describe their appearance and guess what they are made of. Then ask them to sort them out according to what they are made of- put into ‘hula hoops’ with a label- wood, metal, plastic. Then come back to them to question why it’s hard to group ‘doll’, as it has more than one material (plastic, hair, cloth for clothes).HA children to consider changes in materials for toys over time.
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:5 / Wooden hunt / To find objects in the class and playground that are made of wood / Wood
Gate
Table
trees
Small groups of children with a parent helper / TA, to explore the classroom and playground / field for things that are made of wood. Using a ‘toughcam’ or other child friendly digital camera, take photographs which will later be printed and put on a display.
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:6 / Make a ‘den’ / To explore the best material to use to make a den / Cotton
Cloth
Cardboard
Table
Set out a range of materials for the children to use to make a den (cloths, towels, cardboard boxes, table, chairs, tinfoil, string etc). Questions like: “why is this the best material to use?”, “why didn’t that one work?”, “which is the lightest material?”, “what would you need to make it better?”.
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:7 / Role play area: Workshop / To explore properties of materials for construction / Tall
Hard
Wobbly
Smooth
Which material is best to make a tower out of? Use a range of materials (building blocks, multilink cubes, bouncy balls, pebbles, cardboard etc) and see if they can make a tall tower. Can be done in the role-play area as a workshop.
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:8 / Slippery slope / To explore which materials slide down a ramp the quickest / Shiny
Smooth
Rough
Cloth
Fastest
ramp
Create a ramp using a plank of wood / bench. Cover shoeboxes (of same shape and size) in various materials (brown paper, shiny wrapping paper, silk, hessian, thick cotton, tin foil etc), to see which slides down the ramp the fastest. If using Y1 children, you could even get them timing using a stop watch and recording in a table.
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:9 / Water area / To investigate properties of water / Water
Wet
Runny
pours
Water area (trough) with plenty of toys, jugs, buckets, water mill, cups. Question the children: “can you catch water in your hands?”, “what can you do with the water?”, “why does it do that?”, “can you squish it?”.
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:10 / Ice bucket / To discover what happens to ice when left out of the freezer / Ice
Frozen
Water
Cold
Have children look at ice cubes and discuss what they think will happen. Let them see it melt, hold it, put it on a paper towel. Probe questions, ‘what’s it changed into?’, ‘why do you think that?’, ‘what happens in the freezer?’.HA children: start discussing changes of state.
Activity: / Description: / Learning Objective: / Vocabulary:11 / Solution / To discover ways to separate solids and liquids / Water
Sand
Sieve
Magnet
Create a bucket of ‘dino swamp’ water! Use water, sand, paperclips, marbles, salt, ground, pasta etc. Leave out various equipment (sieves, magnets, filter paper, muslin) to see what the children can find out about separating the things from the solution.
PLENARY ACTIVITIES:
(Children to sit at carpet to wind down after activities)
Read a ‘big book’ about materials to calm them down.
Can you tell me what you have been doing?
What did you learn?
What was your favourite activity? Why?
Which material is the …. (smoothest, wettest, hardest etc).
Finish by looking at the pictures taken from the ‘wooden walk’ on the projector / IWB.
NEXT STEPS:
These activities would not all take place at the same time, as it would be chaotic! You would be unable to keep an eye on all the activities, there will be limits on resources and the teacher and TA would be over-stretched! So the next lesson would be to go through the other activities.
From there, I would spend a lot of time evaluating what they had found out, and clarify any confusions, misconceptions or things they had got wrong. It is pointless spending ages setting up interactive play activities if you do not draw a purpose from them.
I would make sure some of the more simple activities would be left available for their ‘golden time’ or play time, so that they can spend more time investigating through play.
Following the play activities, I would run a slightly more structured lesson about solutions- dissolving coffee /salt /sugar in water and showing what happens, and then trying to dissolve insoluble solids (marbles, sand etc).