Strand: Learning Outcome 2
How do we stay alive?
4.6.4 I can classify materials as natural or man-made.
Learning Objective:
By the end of the lesson, children can classify materials as natural or man-made and
make connections to materials in everyday life.
Lesson activity: Is it natural or man-made?
Resources:
Video – How Its Made Silk
PPT – Jamie’s map
Card with different materials (natural and man-made), magnifying glass and magnet.
ENGAGE
Present the video ‘How Its Made Silk’. After watching the video discuss other materials and
classify under natural or man-made (or synthetic).
Ask the children to look around the classroom and identify different materials. They may
draw up a list and discuss in their group. Which materials do they predict are natural and
which are man-made?
Elicit what do they understand by a natural material and what do they understand by a
man-made material?
INQUIRE
Show the PPT – Jamie’s map. Elicit that natural materials are found around us. These may
have to be dug out of the ground (oil, coal, iron) grown (cotton and silk),
PRIMARY SCIENCE | Year 4
or taken them from living things (leather and wood). Man-made materials are very often
made from natural materials (a natural material is changed into a man-made material), for
example:
Oil (natural) being changed into nylon or plastic (man-made).
Sand (natural) being heated and made into glass (man made).
Wood (natural) being made into paper (man-made).
Give each group a card with different materials (natural and man-made materials) fixed on
the card. Alternatively, pictures of the materials may be used. If real materials are used,
each group may also have a magnifying class (to have a close-up look at the different
materials) and a magnet (to test for any metals). Each group will then investigate the
materials on the card and try to guess what each material is. Then they will classify the
materials as natural or man-made.
ASSESS and EVALUATE
Individually or in groups, children will choose a material and compile a fact file on the
material stating whether it is natural or man-made; where it is found; a brief on how it’s
made and what it is used for.
Cross-Curricular Links:
 Literacy:
 Research on different materials.
 Fact file on natural or man-made materials.
 Mathematics:
 Sorting and classifying
 Physical Education:
 Scavenger hunt game looking for different materials (in the school garden /
public garden).
 Social Studies:
 Natural resources.
 Digital Literacy:
 Conducting research on tablet.
PRIMARY SCIENCE | Year 4