Year 1 science · Key Stage 1 · Everyday materials

Year 1 everyday materials and their properties: parent guide

In Year 1, children learn that an object (such as a chair or a window) is made from a material (such as wood or glass). They name everyday materials, describe their properties using words like hard, soft, shiny, bendy and waterproof, and sort materials into groups. The topic gives children the vocabulary they will use for the rest of primary science.

Everyday materials and properties, explained

The first idea in this topic is a small but important one: an object is not the same as the material it is made from. A spoon is an object, and it might be made from metal, wood or plastic. A window is an object, and it is usually made of glass. The national curriculum asks Year 1 children to distinguish between an object and the material it is made from, and teachers often use sentences such as “The spoon is made of metal” so that children hear and use the pattern.

Children learn to identify and name a variety of everyday materials. The curriculum names wood, plastic, glass, metal, water and rock, and expects children to meet others too. Schools choose which, and the programme of study gives examples such as brick, paper, fabrics, elastic and foil. Water is included in the list because it is a material even though it is not solid, which sometimes surprises parents.

Next come simple physical properties, which means describing what a material is like. The programme of study suggests pairs of words such as hard and soft, stretchy and stiff, shiny and dull, rough and smooth, bendy and not bendy, waterproof and not waterproof, absorbent and not absorbent, and opaque and transparent (you cannot see through opaque materials, and you can see through transparent ones). Children get to know these words by touching, looking, squeezing and testing real materials, often in a “feely bag” or on a sorting tray.

The last part is comparing and grouping materials by their properties. A class might sort materials into those that are waterproof and those that are not, or those that are see-through and those that are not. Children are then encouraged to link a property to a use: “A raincoat is waterproof, so the water slides off.” Schools often try a simple test, such as asking what the best material would be for an umbrella, which gives the topic a practical, working-scientifically feel. Children might compare the results using a table or a tick chart, with help.

There is no science test at this age, and the emphasis is on talking, touching and testing rather than writing. Children who can say in a sentence what a material is called, what it is like and what it is used for have understood what is needed.

Words your child will hear

Object: A thing, such as a cup, a chair or a window.
Material: What something is made from, such as plastic, wood or glass.
Property: A word that describes what a material is like, such as hard or smooth.
Transparent: You can see through it, like clear glass.
Opaque: You cannot see through it, like wood.
Waterproof: Water cannot go through it, like a plastic raincoat.
Absorbent: It soaks up water, like a sponge or kitchen paper.

What the National Curriculum says

In Year 1, pupils should be taught to:

Distinguish between an object and the material from which it is made
Identify and name a variety of everyday materials, including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water, and rock
Describe the simple physical properties of a variety of everyday materials
Compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of their simple physical properties

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: choosing a material for a playhouse window

A class is making a playhouse for a toy and needs a window. They have scraps of wood, paper, foil and clear plastic, and they also think about the glass in the classroom window. Which material should the toy’s window be made of?

Think about the job the window has to do. A window lets you see through it, so the material needs to be transparent. The class say the property they are looking for out loud.
Test each material. Children hold each scrap up and try to see a picture on the wall through it. They record in a table: wood, no; paper, no; foil, no; clear plastic, yes. They look through the classroom window and add glass, yes.
Sort into two groups: transparent (clear plastic and glass) and opaque (wood, paper and foil). They check each result by looking again, and talk about why a wooden or foil window would not work.
Choose between the two transparent materials using more properties. Glass is hard and smooth, but it can break into sharp pieces. Clear plastic is smooth and does not shatter, so it is safer for a toy’s playhouse.

“The window should be made of clear plastic. It is transparent, so we can see through it, and it does not break easily. Glass is transparent too, but it can break, so plastic is a safer choice.”

Common mistakes and how to help

Giving the name of the object when asked what it is made of (“What is the cup made of?” “A cup.”)

In everyday speech the two ideas blur together: we say “a wooden chair”, or call a bottle “the plastic”. Children also tend to think each material belongs to one object, so that glass is “window stuff”.

What helps: Use the sentence “The ___ is made of ___” in daily life: “The cup is made of plastic.” Ask, “What else could a cup be made of?”

Thinking that water is not a material because you can’t pick it up

Young children link materials with solid things they can hold, like wood or metal.

What helps: Point out that water has properties too: it is runny, clear and you can see through it. It is a material that changes shape to fit its container.

Using “hard” to mean “strong” or “soft” to mean “weak”

In daily talk the words overlap, and children assume a hard material cannot break. Yet glass is hard and breaks easily, and rubber is soft and tough.

What helps: Test it: squeeze a sponge, a piece of plastic and a piece of wood, and then talk about hard or soft separately from whether something breaks.

Thinking that a transparent material has to be colourless

The clearest examples children meet, such as a window pane, have no colour, so they link “see-through” with “colourless”. Coloured plastic or coloured glass is still transparent.

What helps: Hold up a piece of coloured clear plastic, such as a see-through folder or sweet wrapper, and ask whether you can see through it. Then compare it with a piece of card.

How to help at home

Material hunt. Pick a room and find five objects. For each one, say what it is and what it is made of: “The window is glass.” Then ask what else it could be made of, and why that would or wouldn’t work.
Feely bag. Put safe objects in a bag, such as a spoon, a sponge, a wooden block, a piece of fabric, and let your child describe them by touch only, using words like smooth, rough, hard and bendy.
Which is waterproof? Drip a little water on a few scraps, such as foil, paper, a sponge, cloth and a plastic bag, and watch what happens. Do it over a tray, sort them into waterproof and not waterproof, and notice which ones soak the water up (absorbent). Ask which would make the best coat.
Sorting in the kitchen. Help put away the washing up or the shopping, and talk about what each item is made of, and which are see-through. Sorting the recycling is a good way to practise material names.
Ask why a thing is made of that. Why are pans metal, windows glass, and bike tyres rubber? Linking the property to the use is the most useful thinking in this topic. Keep all tests free of anything sharp or hot.

Leads on to

Year 2: Uses of everyday materials

Everything in Year 1 science

Updated 20 October 2026.