Second Grade · Science · week 2

Properties: hard, soft, stretchy, absorbent

Describe and compare materials using observable properties such as hard, soft, stretchy, and absorbent.

Scientists describe materials using property words, words that tell what a material is really like. Is it hard or soft? Does it stretch, or does it stay the same size no matter how you pull it? Does it soak up water, or does water just roll off?

You find these properties by testing, not just by looking. Press on it to check hard or soft. Pull on it gently to check stretchy. Drop a little water on it to check absorbent. The same object can have more than one property at once.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Collect five or six household objects and test each one for hard versus soft by pressing gently.
  • Test stretchy by gently pulling a few items; stop before anything could tear or snap.
  • Test absorbent with a few drops of water on different materials, and watch closely together to see which one soaks it up.
  • Have your child say the property words out loud during testing, not just afterward from memory.
Talk about it:
  • Which test was the most fun to try today?
  • Can something be both soft and absorbent? Name an example.
  • Why might a company choose an absorbent material for a towel instead of a stretchy one?

Mastery looks like: They can test a material for hard/soft, stretchy, and absorbent and describe the result using the correct property words.

Common stumbles: Guessing a property by looking instead of actually testing it; confusing hard with heavy.

Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
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