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Science lesson plan · 2nd grade (Year 3 in England) · 60 minutes

Natural or human-made materials?

Materials and their properties

CCSS NGSS.2-PS1-1England: KS1 Y2 Uses of everyday materialsEngland: KS2 Y3 Rocks

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Natural or human-made materials?.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Everyday materials

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: A tray of everyday objects, Sorting hoops, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 6 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Everyday materials). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. What is a jam jar usually made from? (wood / metal / fabric / glass) → glassPrompt: Is it hard or soft? Shiny? Can you see through it?
  2. Which object is usually made of wood? (a sock / a garden shed / a toy brick / a key) → a garden shedPrompt: Picture each object. What does it feel like?
  3. A spoon can be made of metal, plastic or wood. What does this show? (Only metal is a material. / The same object can be made from different materials. / All materials are the same. / Spoons are not objects.) → The same object can be made from different materials.Prompt: Think about spoons you have seen.

Hook · 6 min

  • Pass round objects made of different materials and ask why each one was chosen.
  • Share the objective: Natural or human-made materials?. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 12 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Is this material natural or human-made: concrete?
  • Step 1: Human-made materials are made by people changing other materials, often with heat.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: human-made
  • Answer: human-made
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 12 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Is this material natural or human-made: wood? (natural / human-made) → naturalPrompt: Could you find it like that in nature, or does a factory have to make it?
  2. Where does this material come from: paper? (oil from under the ground / clay baked in a kiln / a sheep's fleece / wood from trees) → wood from treesPrompt: Every human-made material starts as something natural.

You do: independent practice · 17 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Is this material natural or human-made: cotton? (natural / human-made) → naturalPrompt: Could you find it like that in nature, or does a factory have to make it?
  2. Where does this material come from: glass? (sand heated until it melts / the fluffy seed pods of a cotton plant / clay baked in a kiln / a sheep's fleece) → sand heated until it meltsPrompt: Every human-made material starts as something natural.

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Everyday materials.
  • Use concrete materials: a tray of everyday objects.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-2.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Natural or human-made materials?

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Is this material natural or human-made: concrete?

    • A. natural
    • B. human-made

  2. Question 2

    Where does this material come from: glass?

    • A. oil from under the ground
    • B. wood from trees
    • C. sand heated until it melts
    • D. a sheep's fleece

  3. Question 3

    True or false? Wool comes from sheep.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  4. Question 4

    Is this material natural or human-made: stone?

    • A. natural
    • B. human-made

  5. Question 5

    Where does this material come from: plastic?

    • A. clay baked in a kiln
    • B. oil from under the ground
    • C. sand heated until it melts
    • D. a sheep's fleece

  6. Question 6

    True or false? Human-made materials do not come from nature at all.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  7. Question 7

    Is this material natural or human-made: wool?

    • A. natural
    • B. human-made

  8. Question 8

    Where does this material come from: paper?

    • A. clay baked in a kiln
    • B. wood from trees
    • C. sand heated until it melts
    • D. a sheep's fleece

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Answer key: Natural or human-made materials?

  1. 1. B. human-made

  2. 2. C. sand heated until it melts

  3. 3. A. True

  4. 4. A. natural

  5. 5. B. oil from under the ground

  6. 6. B. False

  7. 7. A. natural

  8. 8. B. wood from trees