Science // Matter & Materials

Choosing the Right Material

Identify and compare the suitability of everyday materials for particular uses, explaining why specific materials are chosen for specific purposes

Ages
6 to 8
Type
Concept
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
2 topics
Standards
2 codes

Quick check

Can the learner explain why windows are made of glass and not wood, or why wellies are made of rubber and not paper?

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.
  • Explain why a specific material is chosen for a purpose based on its properties (e.g. glass for windows because it's transparent)
  • Compare two materials and decide which is more suitable for a given use with reasoning
  • Suggest an alternative material for an object and explain why it would or wouldn't work

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
  • Grouping MaterialsRequired

    Matter & Materials // Ages 5 to 6

    Must group materials by properties before evaluating suitability for purposes

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Choosing the Right Material

Ages 6 to 8 // Concept

Leads to

2 topics
  • Advanced Material PropertiesRequired

    Matter & Materials // Ages 9 to 11

    Must understand material suitability before testing advanced properties like conductivity and solubility

  • Material Properties VocabularyHelpful

    Matter & Materials // Ages 9 to 11

    Applying technical property terms to justify material choices refines the everyday reasoning about which material suits which purpose learned earlier

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 ages 6–8, teach children to justify material choices by the PROPERTY the job needs, not by habit or appearance: glass for windows because it is transparent and waterproof; boots from waterproof, flexible plastic/rubber; wood for a chair because it is hard and rigid. Move from naming a property to using it as a REASON, comparing two candidate materials head-to-head for one job, running the reasoning both ways (why this suits / why an alternative fails), and recognising that many objects need SEVERAL properties at once so 'best' means best-on-balance. Absurd-material provocations (chocolate teapot, glass hammer) and inventor case studies (Dunlop, Macintosh, McAdam) make the property→purpose reasoning explicit. Aligns to DfE KS1 Y2 'Uses of everyday materials' and NGSS 2-PS1-2.

Common misconceptions

  • Choosing a material by familiarity or appearance ('cups are usually plastic') rather than by the property the job needs.
  • Believing there is one 'best' material for everything (often metal or plastic), instead of best-for-this-purpose.
  • Failing to link the property to the function — naming a material as suitable without saying which property makes it so.
  • Ignoring that objects often need SEVERAL properties at once, so judging on a single property and missing trade-offs.
  • Assuming a material's suitability is fixed by what it 'is' rather than reasoned from tested behaviour (a Y2→Y5 fair-test bridge).

Useful representations

  • A property→purpose match board (materials ↔ jobs, justified by a property word)
  • Head-to-head 'which is better for this job?' comparison cards
  • Absurd-object provocations (chocolate teapot, glass hammer) for reasoning discussion
  • Real everyday objects labelled with the property that earns their material its job (wellies = waterproof; window = transparent)
  • Inventor mini-stories linking a new material to the problem it solved (Macintosh → waterproof coat)

Teaching practices

  • Always tie the choice to a property REASON ('glass because it is transparent'), never to familiarity or appearance alone.
  • Use head-to-head comparisons for a single purpose so children weigh one material against another rather than judging in isolation.
  • Deploy absurd-material provocations (chocolate teapot, paper umbrella, glass hammer) to make the property-suitability reasoning explicit and memorable.
  • Run the reasoning both ways — why a material suits a use AND why an alternative would fail — to deepen the property→function link.
  • Acknowledge that most objects balance SEVERAL properties (a saucepan must conduct heat, be hard, and not melt), so 'best' means best-on-balance, not perfect.
  • Use the inventor case studies (Dunlop, Macintosh, McAdam) to frame material choice as real problem-solving, per the DfE non-statutory guidance.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Kit out the job: choose a material and see if it works

    Why it works: The right material rescues a job and the wrong one visibly lets it down, so a property is a REASON for a choice, not just a label; some jobs demand more than one property at once.

    1. Pick an everyday object with a clear job — a rainy-day coat, an umbrella, a saucepan, a window, a boot.
    2. Choose a material for it from a small set (e.g. paper, plastic, glass, cardboard, metal).
    3. State out loud, before testing, which property you think matters and why you picked that material.
    4. Observe or act out what happens when the object is used: pour water on the coat, let 'rain' hit the window. Any test involving heat (a saucepan near a hob, warm water on chocolate) is run by an adult as a demonstration, or acted out in pretend play — children do not hold materials near real heat.
    5. Compare the result to your prediction: did the paper coat let the rain soak through? Did the plastic coat bead the drops off? Name the property that decided the outcome.
  2. 2

    Real objects and their earning property (reveal scene)

    Why it works: Every object around us was made from a material chosen for the property its job needs, and swapping in the wrong material reveals why that property mattered.

    1. Look at real everyday objects or an illustrated home/street scene (window, coat, saucepan, book, wellies).
    2. For each object, name the one property that earns its material its job — e.g. 'wellies — plastic — WATERPROOF so your feet stay dry'.
    3. Then consider 'what if it were made of paper?' and say why that would fail.
    4. Handle or examine the real objects where possible to connect the property word to how the material behaves.
  3. 3

    Which is better for this job — and why? (head-to-head)

    Why it works: Judging two materials against each other for one purpose forces you to weigh a property against a need, which is stronger than judging a single material in isolation.

    1. Take one job (a raincoat, a drinking cup, a hammer) and two candidate materials.
    2. Decide which material is better for that job and SAY the property that makes it win.
    3. Run the reasoning in reverse: explain why the other material would be a poor choice.
    4. Sort a small set of materials into 'suitable' and 'unsuitable' for a named job, giving a property reason for each.
    5. Spot the silly material in a set (e.g. a glass hammer among metal tools) and explain what would go wrong.

Topic // Standards

Curriculum standards

Codes for the curriculum statements this topic maps to. Each publisher owns its standard text.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) K-5
2-PS1-2
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
Y2.Sci.UEM.1

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