Science // Matter & Materials

Objects vs Materials

Distinguish between an object and the material from which it is made, understanding that objects can be made from different materials

Ages
5 to 6
Type
Concept
Builds on
0 topics
Leads to
2 topics
Standards
1 code

Quick check

If you hold up a wooden spoon and a metal spoon, can the learner explain that both are spoons (the object) but made from different materials?

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 the difference between an object (e.g. a chair) and the material it is made from (e.g. wood)
  • Give examples of the same object made from different materials (e.g. plastic cup, glass cup)
  • Identify what material a given object is made from by looking at and touching it

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

0 topics

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Objects vs Materials

Ages 5 to 6 // Concept

Leads to

2 topics
  • Naming Everyday MaterialsRequired

    Matter & Materials // Ages 5 to 6

    Must distinguish objects from materials before naming specific materials

  • Taking Apart & RebuildingRequired

    Matter & Materials // Ages 7 to 8

    Must understand objects vs materials before reasoning about reassembling pieces

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 5–6 year olds, teach the object/material distinction (UK KS1 Y1 'Everyday materials') through hands-on naming and sorting of real objects: name the thing, then separately ask 'what is it MADE OF?'. The core insight is that the same kind of object can be made from different materials (three bottles of the same kind, one plastic, one glass, one metal), and that one object can be made from several materials (a typical pencil with an eraser = wood + graphite core + metal + rubber). Keep talk grounded in touch-and-look evidence, not definitions, and overcome the everyday blocker that 'material' means only cloth.

Common misconceptions

  • Children conflate the object with the material, treating 'rock' or 'chair' as if the name of the thing and the name of the stuff are one and the same (an explicit KS1 statutory hurdle).
  • 'Material' means only fabric/cloth — so children think building materials, glass or water are not 'materials'.
  • An object can only be made from one material (a pencil is 'wood', ignoring the graphite, metal ferrule and rubber).
  • A given object is always made from the same material — e.g. 'all spoons are metal', 'all cups are the same'.
  • When reasoning about objects, children fixate on salient surface features (size, weight, shape) rather than material kind, even though they can usually name the material (Hardy et al. 2020).

Useful representations

  • Real everyday objects to handle: chair, cup, spoon, window, pencil, shoe
  • The 'same object, different material' trio — three identical water bottles in plastic, glass and metal
  • Sorting mats / frequency tables that pair each object with its material
  • A two-column 'object | material' talk frame that keeps the two ideas visibly separate
  • One-object-many-materials exemplars (a pencil labelled wood + graphite + metal + rubber)

Teaching practices

  • Ask the two questions separately and explicitly — "What is this?" (object) then "What is it made of?" (material) — so children learn the words 'object' and 'material' name different things; the everyday sense of 'material' as only cloth/fabric is a known blocker to overcome.
  • Use plentiful real objects to handle and sort, not pictures alone; concrete exploration is the KS1 norm and lets children reason from touch and sight.
  • Show the same object in different materials side by side (three water bottles: plastic, glass, metal) so children abstract that the object stays the same while the material changes.
  • Present objects made from more than one material (a pencil, a shoe, a window frame) to break the 'one object = one material' rule.
  • Use comparison of two same-material examples of different shape/size (per Hardy et al. 2020) to help children attend to material kind rather than to size, weight or shape.
  • Elicit ideas first with questioning or Concept Cartoons before correcting, treating a misconception as 'a concept in embryo' rather than simply wrong.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Two questions: 'What is it?' then 'What is it made of?'

    Why it works: The name of a thing and the name of the stuff it is made from are two different words answering two different questions; 'material' means whatever something is made of — wood, metal, glass, plastic and cloth are all materials.

    1. Handle real classroom objects (cup, spoon, pencil, shoe on a tray; touch and look at a chair and a window frame where they are).
    2. For each object, first answer out loud 'What is this?' (name the object), then answer the separate question 'What is it made of?' (name the material).
    3. Use a two-column 'object | material' talk frame or sorting mat so the two answers are placed in visibly different spots.
    4. Sort the objects into material bins (wood, plastic, metal, glass, fabric, rubber/other), saying the object name and material name for each as you place it; an object made of more than one material (e.g. a pencil or a shoe) can go in more than one bin, or be talked through part by part.
  2. 2

    Same object, different material

    Why it works: The same object can be made from different materials — the object stays the same while the stuff changes.

    1. Examine three bottles that look like the same object but are made of different materials — one plastic, one glass, one metal — handling and looking at each.
    2. Answer the pair of questions: 'Are these the same object?' (yes, all bottles) and 'Are they the same material?' (no — plastic, glass, metal).
    3. Do the same with a spoon that could be metal, wood or plastic.
    4. Suggest a fresh example of one object that could be made from more than one material (e.g. a cup, a chair).
  3. 3

    One object, many materials

    Why it works: One object can be made from more than one material, so you cannot assume 'one object = one material'.

    1. Look closely at a pencil and find each separate part: the wooden body, the graphite core, the metal ferrule, the rubber eraser.
    2. Name the material of each part, discovering this pencil is made from several materials (four here: wood, graphite, metal, rubber), not one.
    3. Try the same with a shoe or a window frame, listing every material you can find in it.
    4. If using a sorting activity, place a multi-material object (the pencil) into more than one material bin — 'this one needs more than one bin!'

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
Y1.Sci.EM.1

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