Science // Matter & Materials

Changing Shapes of Solids

Investigate how the shapes of solid objects can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting, and stretching

Ages
6 to 7
Type
Method
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
1 topic
Standards
1 code

Quick check

Can the learner show you how to change the shape of clay by squashing it, twist a pipe cleaner, and explain that some materials bend while others snap?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Demonstrate four ways to change the shape of a solid: squashing, bending, twisting, stretching
  • Compare how different materials respond to these forces (e.g. clay squashes easily, wood does not)
  • Explain that the material itself stays the same even when the shape changes

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic

You are here

Changing Shapes of Solids

Ages 6 to 7 // Method

Leads to

1 topic
  • Solids, Liquids & GasesHelpful

    Matter & Materials // Ages 8 to 9

    Changing shapes of solids provides context for understanding solid properties

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For children aged 6-7, teach how the shapes of solid objects can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching, with the key insight that materials respond DIFFERENTLY: some spring back (elastic), some keep the new shape (plastic/permanent), and some barely change this way (rigid). Keep the enquiry on the MATERIAL an object is made from, and make explicit that changing the shape does not change what the material is and makes no new material. The central misconception to confront is over-generalised elasticity (expecting everything to spring back). The strongest activity lets children apply a force first-hand and then release to witness the spring-back-vs-stay contrast; a hands-on tray of real dough, elastic and sponge is the natural companion, with a screen or picture version as a scaffold that offers a different experience.

Common misconceptions

  • Over-generalised elasticity — assuming ALL objects that can be squashed/bent/twisted/stretched will spring back to their original shape (the central Y2 misconception).
  • Believing a physical shape change cannot be undone at all — or conversely that it always can.
  • Thinking that changing an object's shape changes the material it is made of (it does not — no new material forms).
  • Testing the OBJECT rather than the material, so results are attributed to the item ('the spoon') not the substance ('metal').
  • Assuming a rigid material (wood, stone) simply hasn't been pushed hard enough, rather than that some materials do not change shape this way.

Useful representations

  • A varied materials tray: playdough, sponge, elastic band, paper, wooden stick, stone, soft wire
  • Embodied action cards for squash / bend / twist / stretch
  • A predict-then-test recording grid (material down the side; springs back? stays changed? can't change?)
  • Side-by-side contrast of an elastic band (returns) and a lump of dough (stays)
  • A 'same material, new shape' before/after pair emphasising the material is unchanged

Teaching practices

  • Define each action precisely and let children embody it (turn their hands to 'twist', pull to 'stretch') before testing materials.
  • Use predict-then-test: children predict how each material will respond, then test by hand, so the misconception surfaces and is confronted by evidence.
  • Deliberately include BOTH spring-back materials (elastic band, sponge) and stay-changed materials (dough, soft wire) so 'everything is elastic' cannot survive.
  • Keep the enquiry framed on the MATERIAL, not the object — 'we are testing what it is made of' — reinforcing objects-vs-materials.
  • Make the identity point explicit: changing the shape does not change what material it is; no new material is made.
  • Record results in a simple table (material × does it keep its shape?) to support the classify/compare Working Scientifically skill.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Materials deformation bench: apply a force, then let go

    Why it works: Materials respond differently to the same action: squeeze a sponge and it springs back, squeeze dough and it stays flattened, and squeeze a thick wooden stick or a stone and it barely changes. Likewise, a stretched elastic band snaps back while twisted soft wire stays twisted. So 'everything springs back' is not true, and the result can depend on the action as well as the material. Across all of this, the material itself is unchanged.

    1. Choose a material from a varied set — playdough/plasticine, an elastic band, a sponge, a thick wooden stick or block, a stone, soft wire, paper.
    2. Pick one of the four actions and apply it: press/squeeze to squash, curve it to bend, hold each end and turn opposite ways to twist, pull to stretch.
    3. Watch the material deform as the force is applied (dough flattens, wire coils, elastic thins).
    4. Release ('let go') and observe what happens: does it snap back to its old shape, stay in the new shape, or barely move?
    5. Record the result for each material and the action you used in a comparison grid: springs back / stays changed / won't change this way.
  2. 2

    Embody and define the four actions

    Why it works: Squashing, bending, twisting and stretching are four distinct actions, not one generic 'push'. Being able to produce each one distinctly is needed before comparing how materials respond.

    1. Learn each action with a precise, embodied definition: squash = press/squeeze; bend = curve so it is not straight; twist = hold each end and turn opposite ways; stretch = pull to change its shape.
    2. Perform each action with your own hands first (turn your hands to twist, pull to stretch) before touching a material.
    3. Match each action word to a demonstration or picture of that action.
    4. Say the definition aloud (with audio support for pre/early readers).
  3. 3

    Predict, then test, and sort by how materials respond

    Why it works: Predicting first surfaces your idea so the evidence can confirm or overturn it; recording in a table supports comparing and classifying materials by how they respond.

    1. Before handling each material, predict how it will respond to a chosen action: will it spring back, stay changed, or barely change?
    2. Test your prediction by hand and compare what happened to what you expected.
    3. Sort the materials into three groups for the action you tested (a different action can give a different result): springs back (e.g. squeezed sponge, stretched elastic band), stays changed (e.g. squashed dough, bent soft wire), won't change this way by hand (e.g. squeezed thick wood, stone).
    4. Build a simple table with the material down the side and columns for 'springs back?', 'stays changed?', 'won't change?'.

Topic // Standards

Curriculum standards

Codes for the curriculum statements this topic maps to. Each publisher owns its standard text.
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
Y2.Sci.UEM.2

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