# Week 6 — Materials that help **Foundation / Prep · five school days · development draft** **Question:** Which material helps a useful thing do its job? **Classroom challenge:** make a holder that keeps **five large classroom cards** in place while an adult counts to five. The cards can be number, story, art or game cards chosen by the children. **Status:** human educator, local-syllabus, tool safety and accessibility review pending. Pair with daily English and mathematics Weeks 5–6; this guide supplies the integrated science/design blocks. **National ACARA v9 links, partial practice:** Science AC9SFU03 (objects and their materials/properties), AC9SFI01, AC9SFI02, AC9SFI03, AC9SFI04 and AC9SFI05 (question, safe test, record, compare, share); Design and Technologies AC9TDEFK01 (people design familiar products) and AC9TDEFP01 (generate, communicate, evaluate and safely make a solution). One tested holder is a beginning, not complete achievement of these descriptions. Check local implementation before making a curriculum judgement. ## Prepare once - Put out **adult-checked** large offcuts of cardboard, ordinary paper and fabric; low-tack tape; blunt child-safe scissors if school-approved; five large cards; and a stable tray. No staples, hot glue, craft blades, sharp wire, small magnets or swallowing-size parts. The teacher handles any tool or material not approved for children. Reuse clean offcuts; a family should not have to buy anything. - Show one familiar **composite object** such as an empty, lidded plastic tub with a paper label. Ask children to notice which part is plastic and which part is paper. Do not assume every classroom object has the same materials. A child may observe without touching or use a tactile/description route checked with them. - Make a **test place** on a flat table. Mark the card footprint. The same five large cards and a spoken/visible count to five are used for every first test. If a holder collapses, that is useful evidence, not a child's failure. Do not judge neatness or adult help as a design property. - Print or copy the [design-and-test card](#copy-ready-design-and-test-card). Have large print, high-contrast or tactile alternatives ready. Offer objects, paper symbols, AAC, signing, speech and adult scribing; note what each route shows. - Keep the separate daily English and maths 25-minute lessons, movement, rest/food and child-led play. Run one 30–40 minute integrated block below per day. Split it to fit the class routine. ## Day 1 — One thing, more than one material (35 minutes) **Goal:** identify a familiar designed object's purpose, its different materials and a visible or touchable property. **Links:** AC9SFU03, AC9TDEFK01, AC9SFI02 and AC9SFI05. 1. **Notice a need, 6 min.** Put five large cards on a table; gently blow or move the tray so one shifts. Ask: “If we wanted these cards to stay together, what could help?” Accept a pile, clip, tray or invented idea. Keep the challenge open. 2. **Investigate a product, 10 min.** Show the teacher-owned lidded tub with paper label. “Someone designed this to hold things. Which parts can we see? Are the lid and label the same material?” Model: “The lid is plastic and feels stiff. The label is paper and bends.” Confirm by adult-led demonstration; do not pull off the label. 3. **Find a second example, 12 min.** Children choose a teacher-approved room object with at least two visible materials, or revisit the tub with a different question. Ask them to point, move a material card, describe or draw two parts and one property. “Smooth,” “bends” or “holds its shape” are observable; “the best material” needs a purpose and test. 4. **Close, 7 min.** Ask why a designer might use two materials. Record the child's reason, including “I am not sure.” Show the five-card holder challenge for tomorrow. **Evidence:** two correctly observed material parts and one property. A child who names only a colour needs another invitation to test or describe a material property. Do not equate a child's vocabulary with the underlying observation. ## Day 2 — Which sample holds its shape? (35 minutes) **Goal:** compare two materials for the same job, using one simple test. **Links:** AC9SFU03, AC9SFI01–04 and AC9TDEFP01. 1. **Ask and predict, 6 min.** Hold a paper strip and a cardboard strip of similar width and length over the same two blocks. Ask, “If I put one large card in the middle, which strip might bend less?” Each child can predict by pointing or placing a symbol. 2. **Model a fair first test, 8 min.** Adult places one card at the same centre mark on each supported strip, one at a time. Keep span, strip size and card the same; only the material changes. Observe bend. If a strip slips, reset and note the problem. 3. **Try, 14 min.** Small groups repeat with adult supervision. A child who cannot see the bend can feel a safe raised model or hear a neutral description and direct the test. Mark **stayed flatter / bent more / cannot tell** on the card. Compare the result with the prediction. 4. **Connect, 7 min.** Ask, “Would a bending material be useless for every job?” Model that flexible fabric can help with a different purpose, such as wrapping, even if it is less helpful for this holder's base. A design choice depends on the job. **Evidence:** predicts, observes and compares the two actual samples. This single test does not establish that all cardboard is stronger than all paper; thickness, shape and support matter. ## Day 3 — Draw, say or build the idea (35 minutes) **Goal:** propose a holder, choose materials with a reason and plan safe making steps. **Links:** AC9TDEFK01, AC9TDEFP01, AC9SFU03. 1. **Recall the purpose, 5 min.** Show the same five large cards. The holder must keep them together on the flat test place for a visible/aural count to five. It may be open or closed; it need not look like the teacher's tub. 2. **Explore choices, 8 min.** Children inspect cardboard, paper, fabric and tape. Adult asks, “Which part should hold its shape? Which part could fold or tie? What from yesterday helps you choose?” A learner may choose an unusual material with a testable reason. 3. **Make a plan, 15 min.** Child sketches, arranges offcuts, uses an adult scribe, dictates through AAC or builds a temporary model. Ask for two steps: “First I will ___; then I will ___.” Let them choose cards from a domain they enjoy: a library, imaginary bus, sports game, story theatre, garden labels or art studio. The five-card test remains the same. 4. **Safety check, 7 min.** Adult checks size, tool use and clear table space. Ask the child, “What will you test? What could you change?” Keep the plan even if the making route changes. **Evidence:** an idea communicated in a usable form, a material-to-purpose reason and safe next steps. A polished drawing is not required. If a child cannot yet state a reason, compare the two material samples again before making. ## Day 4 — Make, test, notice (40 minutes) **Goal:** follow safe steps, test the holder against the shared job and record what actually happened. **Links:** AC9TDEFP01, AC9SFI02/03/04/05, AC9SFU03. 1. **Set up, 5 min.** Repeat the five-card test and tool rules. Show the test mark. Ask the child to point to their first plan step. 2. **Make, 20 min.** Children build with adult support. A learner can direct an adult's hands, use pre-cut pieces, make at a seated height or choose a no-cut fold design. Record which parts the adult made so the child's design decisions remain visible. 3. **Test, 10 min.** Place five large cards in the holder on the marked place. Count slowly to five using voice and visible fingers. Record **held five / some slipped / structure tipped / another observed result**. If the teacher changed the setup for safety, note that and repeat consistently. 4. **Pause, 5 min.** Ask, “Which part helped? Which part would you change?” Keep the first result card; do not erase or replace it with the improved result. **Evidence:** plan-to-object link, safe participation and honest test result. The design can fail the first test and still show strong reasoning. Do not make children publicly defend a collapse. ## Day 5 — Change one thing and share the reason (40 minutes) **Goal:** revise a design in response to evidence, repeat the test and explain the decision. **Links:** AC9TDEFP01, AC9SFU03, AC9SFI03/04/05. 1. **Read the evidence, 7 min.** Put each first test card beside its holder. Adult models: “This side bent when five cards went in. I might add a folded cardboard base. I will keep the same five cards to see what changes.” 2. **Choose one revision, 13 min.** Child changes one feature where practical: base fold, side height, material for a wall or tape position. If no change is needed, they can test a different card orientation and explain why. Adult records the child's choice separately from adult safety changes. 3. **Test again, 10 min.** Use the same five cards, flat place and count. Record the second result next to the first, including a change that did not help. Ask, “What evidence tells you that?” 4. **Share with choice, 10 min.** Child may show a teacher, a pair, a private audience or a photo-free drawing. Invite a response through speech, sign, AAC, object arrangement or adult scribe: “I used ___ because ___. The first test ___. I changed ___. Now ___.” Respect a pass on public sharing. **Next teaching move:** if a child names only colour, revisit a property by bending or comparing samples; if they cannot link test and revision, lay the two result cards side by side and point to the changed part; if they can justify and test, offer a new constraint such as holding ten cards while keeping the same safe materials. That extension is a new design challenge, not an assumed Foundation benchmark. ## Copy-ready design-and-test card ```text MY HOLDER IS FOR: _____________________________________________ IT NEEDS TO HOLD FIVE LARGE CARDS FOR A COUNT TO FIVE. MATERIALS I MIGHT USE: ________________________________________ I CHOSE THEM BECAUSE I NOTICED: ________________________________ MY IDEA (DRAW / BUILD / TELL / AAC / SCRIBE): ___________________ FIRST I WILL: __________________ THEN I WILL: ________________ TEST 1 — WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: ______________________________ I CHANGED: ____________________________________________________ TEST 2 — WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: ______________________________ WHAT I WOULD TRY NEXT: ________________________________________ ``` **Teacher record:** note date, exact child decision, material property observed, help/tool steps supplied by an adult, first and second test results, and the next teaching move. Store any named child work locally under school policy. No learner data belongs in the public repository. ## Source and reuse National curriculum: [ACARA Australian Curriculum v9 official downloads](https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/downloads), Foundation Year, workbook retrieved 29 September 2026, SHA-256 `db446882d2c00cf7c085a03e250e2442fda6c44011fc114680c46c1dc7a822c3`. The codes were checked against that pinned source. [ACARA's terms](https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/copyright-and-terms-of-use) govern curriculum wording and do not imply endorsement. [AERO's monitor progress guide](https://www.edresearch.edu.au/guides-resources/practice-guides/monitor-progress) informs the observation and next-step cycle; this unpiloted guide has no measured child-outcome claim. A local educator must check current curriculum and tool safety rules. © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026, “SubjectNest Materials That Help, Foundation Week 6”, version 0.1.0-draft. Original teacher scripts, challenge, design card and examples are [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): credit SubjectNest by NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd, link the source and licence, and note changes. ACARA material is outside this grant. No third-party drawing, image, sound or worksheet is embedded.