4.3 The use of materials in our houses

Natural sciences

Grade 4

Matter, substances and materials

Module 53

The use of materials in our houses

Activity:

To discus the use of materials in our houses, especially plastics

[lo 1.1.1]

Plastic

Think of any use for a plastic bag. Don’t just think of normal, everyday uses. Be creative and think of unusual uses. How many uses could your group find? Report to the class.

Try the following :

Take a yoghurt container, a rubber band and some of the following materials: grease-proof paper, cardboard, wool, cotton cloth, tin foil, cling wrap and a paper serviette. In turn fix each one over the open end of the container with the rubber band. Drip a teaspoon of water onto each piece of material and see what happens. Does the water filter through?

Which material was the best at keeping water out of the container?

Try the following :

Let’s make a parachute. Make parachutes from each of the following materials: newspaper; plastic bag; cotton handkerchief; cardboard; tissue; writing paper. Drop each parachute from the same height. Which material made the best parachute?

adNot at all2. Plastic bag.GoodNot badNot at all3. Cotton handkerchief.GoodNot badNot at all4. Cardboard.GoodNot badNot at all5. Tissue.GoodNot badNot at all7. Writing paper.GoodNot badNot at all

Plastic is used for many items in the home, as it is cheap but durable. It is also more easily disposed of than, for example, glass. Think of a picnic. One takes a heavy hamper full of cold drink bottles. It’s nice to be able to throw away the empty bottles (in a rubbish bin, of course!) at the end of the picnic and not to carry them home again.

Write the names of the members of your family one beneath the other. Make a list of the plastic items that they use every day next to each one’s name. Who uses the most plastic items in the home each day?

Unfortunately it takes a long time for plastic to decompose. The government has banned all free plastic bags in shops. Customers now have to take their own shopping bags when they go shopping.

Hold a debate to discuss this.

Design a new shopping bag to solve the problems that have been discussed.

M y own design

Paste all the types of plastic that you can find in your kitchen in the spaces below.

Until recently plastic bags were a big problem in our beautiful country because they littered the countryside. Think of all the places where these bags could be seen and think of all the things that they could have been used for.

You pick up a plastic bag in the street. It is dirty, torn and full of rubbish. The bag’s name is Baggie. Draw a comic strip about the life of Baggie – a life full of danger, with many experiences, but still a useful life in which he served a good purpose.

Assessment

LEARNING OUTCOME 1: SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS

The learner will be able to act confidently on curiosity about natural phenomena, and to investigate relationships and solve problems in scientific, technological and environmental contexts.

Assessment Standard

We know this when the learner

plans investigations:

• suggests actions to try with the materials.

Memorandum

Try the following (6)

• Have learners do the experiment themselves.

Try the following (7)

• Have learners do the experiment themselves.