GRADE 1 | UNDERSTANDING STRUCTURES AND MECHANISMS
MATERIALS, OBJECTS, AND EVERYDAY STRUCTURES
OVERVIEW
We are surrounded by a wide variety of common objects and structures that have distinctive shapes, patterns, and purposes. There are different categories of structures and different materials from which structures are made. This topic focuses on helping students to make the distinction between objects and materials through investigation of the observable characteristics of objects and the specific properties of the materials from which the objects are made. Students will learn that a structure is not only an object in itself but also the supporting framework that holds an object together. They will also investigate how the materials and structure of an object determine its purpose and how choices of materials for objects and structures have a direct effect on the environment.
For students in Grade 1, things are either right or wrong, good or bad, with little middle ground. This is a good time to begin to ask them to consider viewpoints other than their own. Asking them to think about the issue of classroom waste from the point of view of the people most directly involved can help them to see that every issue has several perspectives.
In their explorations of materials and objects, students in Grade 1 should be able to identify practices that ensure their personal safety and the safety of others and to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of these practices. This includes knowing why spills of any kind should be cleaned up immediately, and why it is important to put all tools, equipment, and materials away where they belong at the end of their explorations.
Fundamental Concepts: Structure and Function
Big Ideas: • Objects have observable characteristics and are made from materials.(Overall expectation 3)
Fundamental Concepts: Matter
Big Ideas: • Materials have specific properties. (Overall expectations 2 and 3)
• An object is held together by its structure. (Overall expectation 2)
• The materials and structure of an object determine its purpose. (Overall expectations 1 and 3)
• Humans make choices related to their use of objects and materials that have a direct effect on the environment. (Overall expectation 1)
OVERALL EXPECTATIONS
By the end of Grade 1, students will:
1. assess the impact on people and the environment of objects and structures and the materials used in them;
2. investigate structures that are built for a specific purpose to see how their design and materials suit the purpose;
3. demonstrate an understanding that objects and structures have observable characteristics and are made from materials with specific properties that determine how they are used.
SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
By the end of Grade 1, students will:
1. Relating Science and Technology to Society and the Environment
1.1 identify the kinds of waste produced in the classroom, and plan and carry out a classroom course of action for minimizing waste, explaining why each action is important
Sample prompts: Many children in our class bring their lunch to school, and after lunch our garbage can is full of soft-drink cans, tinfoil, plastic wrap, apple cores, and orange rinds. Where else might we put some of these things? Our class likes to do cut-andpaste activities, and we all like the fresh new sheets of paper. How else might we find the paper that we need? When we tidy up, we put all of the scraps in the garbage pail. What else might we do with them?
1.2 assess objects in their environment that are constructed for similar purposes (e.g., chairs at home and at school; different kinds of shoes; different kinds of floor coverings) in terms of the type of materials they are made from, the source of these materials, and what happens to these objects when they are worn out or no longer needed
Sample guiding questions: What is the purpose of the objects you have chosen? In what ways are your objects the same? In what ways are they different? Where might someone get the materials from which one of your objects is made (e.g., wood from trees, cotton from plants)? In what ways is each of your objects well suited for the place it is in or the task that it does? What happens to your object when it can no longer do the job it was designed to do? What might be some alternative ways of "disposing" of your object (e.g., shoes that no longer fit can be given to a younger sibling or to a community group for distribution to someone who can use them; the wood from an old chair might be used to build a play table and chairs)?
2. Developing Investigation and Communication Skills
By the end of Grade 1, students will:
2.1 follow established safety procedures during science and technology investigations (e.g., wear safety goggles when using saws and hammers)
2.2 investigate characteristics of various objects and structures, using their senses
2.3 investigate, through experimentation, the properties of various materials (e.g., the best materials for absorbing or repelling water, for flexibility, for strength: the flexibility of plastic makes plastic wrap useful for covering food in order to keep it fresh; the impermeability of rubber enables rubber boots to keep feet dry)
2.4 use technological problem-solving skills (see page 16), and knowledge acquired from previous investigations, to design, build, and test a structure for a specific purpose (e.g., a tent, a model of a swing set or other playground equipment, a bird feeder, a wigwam for people who need to move throughout the year)
Sample guiding questions: What is the purpose of your structure? What materials did you use to build your structure? Why did you choose those materials instead of _____ to build your structure? What did you use to fasten your structure together? What might happen to the materials in your structure when it is no longer being used?
2.5 use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including experiment, explore, purpose, rigid, flexible, solid, and smooth, in oral and written communication
2.6 use a variety of forms (e.g., oral, written, graphic, multimedia) to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes (e.g., orally explain their choices of materials and design decisions when presenting their structures)
3. Understanding Basic Concepts
By the end of Grade 1, students will:
3.1 describe objects as things that are made of one or more materials
3.2 describe structures as supporting frameworks
3.3 describe materials as the substances from which something is made
3.4 describe the function/purpose of the observable characteristics (e.g., texture, height, shape, colour) of various objects and structures, using information gathered through their senses (e.g., sandpaper is rough to help take the rough edges off wood; a traffic light is tall so it can be easily seen; a stop sign is the same shape and colour in many countries around the world to make it easily recognizable)
3.5 identify the materials that make up objects and structures (e.g., wood, plastic, steel, paper, polystyrene foam, cloth)
3.6 distinguish between objects (including structures) and materials found in nature (e.g., tree: sap) and those made by humans (e.g., toy: plastic)
3.7 describe the properties of materials that enable the objects and structures made from them to perform their intended function
3.8 list different kinds of fasteners (e.g., tape, glue, button, zipper), and describe the uses of each
3.9 identify the sources in nature of some common materials that are used in making structures (e.g., paper and rubber come from trees; plastic comes from petroleum; steel comes from metals and minerals in the ground)