VC2S4U05

the properties of natural and made materials, including fibres, metals, glass and plastics, influence their use and re-use

• exploring vocabulary for describing properties; observing different fibres, metals, glass and plastics; and using appropriate terms to describe, compare and contrast the materials’ properties
• investigating familiar objects such as shoes, drink containers and backpacks, examining the combination of materials used to make them and suggesting reasons for those combinations based on properties of materials
• considering how Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples have used and continue to use materials, such as those used to make tools, clothes and shelter, for different purposes, based on a material’s properties
• investigating how changes of state in some materials used by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples, such as beeswax and resins, are important for the materials’ uses
• designing, building and testing an object or structure such as a tent, lunch box or bird-feeder for a specific purpose
• investigating which materials can be recycled, and researching alternatives for materials such as single-use plastics