|
|
- 1Display a wooden desk, a plastic chair, and a sheet of paper on the teacher's table. Ask learners: Which of these three items came from a tree? Which one feels stiff and hard when you try to bend it? Which one tears easily?
- 2Hold up a piece of cardboard and a thin piece of paper. Ask: What is the difference in thickness? Why do you think this cardboard is thicker and stronger than paper?
|
- UNDERSTANDING HOW PAPER AND CARD ARE OBTAINED
- 1Write on the board the paper-making process step by step: Tree is felled → broken into chips → chips boiled with water and chemicals → pulp forms → pulp pressed with rollers → thicker layers = card. Ask learners to repeat each step aloud as a class.
- 2Divide the class into 4 mixed-ability groups. Assign each group one of these research tasks: (1) Find from the textbook why trees are chosen for paper; (2) Explain what chemicals do to wood chips; (3) Describe how pressing layers makes card thicker; (4) List 5 examples of paper products and 5 examples of cardboard products used in Ghana (e.g., school exercise books, cereal boxes, packaging at Makola Market).
- 3Each group records their findings in their exercise books with simple labelled diagrams. Circulate and ask Kwame's group: 'Why must the pulp be pressed several times?' Ask Ama's group: 'What would happen if we did not boil the wood chips?'
- 4This section focuses on the production process of paper and card as compliant materials that can be layered and shaped.
- UNDERSTANDING HOW FABRIC AND TEXTILE ARE OBTAINED
- 5Show a cotton t-shirt, a wool jumper, and a synthetic nylon bag. Pass them around the class. Ask: Which ones come from plants? Which come from animals? Which is man-made? Feel how each bends and folds.
- 6Explain aloud: 'Fabric comes from natural fibres (cotton from plants, wool from sheep) and man-made fibres (nylon, polyester from chemicals). These fibres are twisted into yarns and threads, then woven or knitted together.' Write the key processes on the board: weaving, knitting, crocheting, braiding, bonding, knotting, felting.
- 7In the same 4 groups, assign: (1) Sketch and label the weaving process; (2) Sketch the knitting process; (3) List 5 fabrics sold at Kejetia Market in Kumasi and say if they are woven or knitted; (4) Describe one fabric used for traditional Ghanaian clothing (e.g., kente is woven, adire is printed cotton). Groups write one sentence explanation under each sketch.
- 8Learners now understand fabric as a compliant material made from natural and man-made fibres through specific production methods.
|
- 1Wooden desk, plastic chair, paper, cardboard sample
- 2Cotton t-shirt, wool jumper, nylon bag
- 3Career Technology textbook (paper and textile sections)
- 4Exercise books and pencils
- 5Chart paper for group presentations
|
- 1Ask each group to stand and present one finding in one sentence: 'Paper is made by.' or 'Fabric is made by.'. Other learners listen and write the most important word from each presentation.
- 2Ask the whole class: 'Which process is longer—making paper or making fabric?' Discuss why.
Exercise
- 1In your exercise book, write a simple flowchart with boxes and arrows showing: Tree → Chips → Boiled pulp → Pressed layers → Paper/Card. Add one sentence under each box explaining what happens at that stage.
|
|
|
- 1Display five different material samples on a table: a plastic water bottle (thermoplastic), a melamine plate (thermosetting plastic), a pine wooden ruler (softwood), an oak wooden block (hardwood), and an aluminum soda can (non-ferrous metal). Ask learners to touch and examine each without naming them yet. Ask: Which ones feel rigid and cannot bend? Which ones feel heavier? Which would break if dropped?
- 2Ask: 'From yesterday's lesson, we learned paper comes from trees and fabric comes from fibres. Today, we are sorting other strong materials. Where do you think plastic, wood, and metal come from?'
|
- SORTING AND UNDERSTANDING PLASTICS
- 1Hold up a plastic water bottle and ask: Can you reshape it by heating? Explain: 'This is thermoplastic—when heated, it softens and can be reshaped many times.' Write on the board under 'PLASTICS': Thermoplastics (PET, HDPE, PVC) and Thermosetting Plastics (Bakelite, Melamine). Say: 'Thermosetting plastics harden permanently when heated and cannot be reshaped.'
- 2Give pairs of learners 2-3 plastic items: a shopping sachet (thermoplastic), a melamine plate or cup (thermosetting plastic), and a plastic comb. Ask them to feel and discuss: Which would melt and reshape? Which would stay hard? Record their predictions in exercise books.
- 3Demonstrate by holding a thermoplastic bottle near (not in) a heat source and showing how it softens, then let it cool. Say: 'This is why plastic bottles at markets in Accra can be reshaped and reused, but melamine plates stay the same shape always.' Ask Kofi: 'If Ama's mother uses a melamine bowl for cooking, why does it never change shape?'
- 4Learners classify plastics into two categories based on heat response, linking to Day 1's understanding of material properties.
- SORTING AND UNDERSTANDING WOOD
- 5Write on the board: WOOD - Hardwoods, Softwoods, Manufactured (Man-made) Boards. Show samples or pictures: oak or mahogany (hardwoods—dense, strong), pine or balsa (softwoods—lighter, easier to cut), plywood or MDF (manufactured boards—made from wood pieces bonded together).
- 6Ask: 'A carpenter in Tamale building a door frame chooses hardwood. A furniture maker uses softwood for light shelves. Which is stronger? Which is easier to carve?' Have learners discuss in pairs, then explain: Hardwoods come from slow-growing trees and are dense. Softwoods come from fast-growing trees. Manufactured boards are made by gluing wood pieces together.
- 7Provide each group with a wood sample sheet (or textbook images) showing three wood types. Groups sort wood into: Hardwood (mahogany, oak, teak), Softwood (pine, cedar, balsa), and Manufactured (plywood, chipboard, MDF). They write one use for each in Ghana: e.g., 'Hardwood for furniture because it is strong and lasts long.'
- 8Learners distinguish wood types by density and origin, applying knowledge from Day 1 (wood as source material) to classification.
- SORTING AND UNDERSTANDING METALS
- 9Display or describe metal types on the board: Ferrous (iron, steel—contain iron, magnetic), Non-ferrous (aluminum, copper, brass—no iron, not magnetic), Alloys (bronze, brass—mixtures of metals), and Smart metals (titanium, shape-memory alloys). Use a magnet to show: 'This steel nail is attracted to a magnet because it is ferrous. This aluminum can is not attracted because it is non-ferrous.'
- 10Ask learners: 'A trotro body is made of steel. A cooking pot is aluminum. A coin is a brass alloy. Why does each material suit its use?' Guide them to see: steel is strong and magnetic for vehicle bodies, aluminum is lightweight for cooking, brass is corrosion-resistant for coins.
- 11Groups are given a mixed set of metal items or pictures (steel nail, aluminum foil, copper wire, brass button, etc.) and a magnet. They sort into: Ferrous (attracts to magnet), Non-ferrous (does not attract), and Alloys (mixtures). They write one example of use in Ghana next to each category.
- 12Learners now understand all three resistant material categories from the indicator: plastics, woods, and metals with their distinct types.
|
- 1Plastic water bottle, melamine plate, plastic comb
- 2Wood samples: mahogany, pine, plywood, or textbook pictures
- 3Metal samples: steel nail, aluminum foil, copper wire, brass button, or pictures
- 4Bar magnet
- 5Heat source (candle or hot water—teacher demonstration only)
- 6Exercise books and pencils
- 7Textbook pages on resistant materials classification
|
- 1Call out a material: 'Thermoplastic!' Learners hold up a finger if it softens when heated, two fingers if it does not. Repeat for 'Mahogany,' 'Steel,' 'Non-ferrous metal,' 'Chipboard.'
- 2Ask the class: 'Which resistant material type did we spend the most time sorting today? Why do you think we needed to understand the differences?'
Exercise
- 1Copy this table into your exercise book and fill in each cell with at least one example: | Material Type | Sub-type | Example | Use in Ghana | | Plastic | Thermoplastic |? |? | | Plastic | Thermosetting |? |? | | Wood | Hardwood |? |? | | Wood | Softwood |? |? | | Metal | Ferrous |? |? | | Metal | Non-ferrous |? |? |
|
|
|
- 1Hold up five different objects at once: a flexible rubber band, a stiff plastic ruler, a wooden block, a metal spoon, and a piece of cloth. Ask learners: 'Which of these cannot be squeezed or bent easily with your bare hands? Which ones are hard and rigid?' Learners call out as you point to each.
- 2Ask: 'Yesterday we sorted plastic, wood, and metal into types. Today we answer the big question: What makes a material resistant? Is rubber resistant? Is cloth resistant? Why or why not?'
|
- DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING RESISTANT MATERIALS
- 1Write on the board in large letters: 'RESISTANT MATERIALS are materials that are NOT pliable or flexible and CANNOT be easily compressed with bare hands.' Ask learners to repeat this definition aloud three times. Then explain: 'Pliable means bendable, like rubber or string. Compress means squeeze. Resistant materials stay hard and stiff.'
- 2Show the class 8-10 different items: plastic cup, rubber band, aluminum can, cardboard box, metal fork, cloth, wooden box, leather shoe, glass cup, ceramic plate. Lay them on a table. Ask: 'Which of these resist compression—meaning they do not squash easily when I press them?' Demonstrate by gently pressing each. Learners vote by raising hands for each item: 'Resistant or not resistant?'
- 3Explain aloud: 'From our two days of learning, resistant materials include plastic, wood, metal, ceramics, and glass. Non-resistant or compliant materials include rubber, cloth, leather, foam, and paper—these are flexible and can be compressed.' Write both lists on the board.
- 4Day 3 brings together Days 1 and 2: compliant materials (paper, fabric) are flexible; resistant materials (plastics, woods, metals, ceramics, glass) are rigid and strong.
- SORTING AVAILABLE MATERIALS INTO RESISTANT AND NON-RESISTANT GROUPS
- 5Place a collection of 15 mixed materials on a central table in the classroom (or distribute one set per group of 3): plastic bottle, rubber eraser, aluminum foil, cotton cloth, wooden ruler, foam padding, ceramic tile, leather belt piece, glass marble, cardboard, steel ball bearing, sponge, brass key, silk fabric, clay. Assign learners to physically handle and examine each one.
- 6Ask each group: 'Sort these 15 items into two piles: RESISTANT (hard, stiff, cannot be squeezed) and NON-RESISTANT (flexible, soft, can be bent or squashed).' Groups must move and test each item, not just guess. Circulate and ask: 'Why did you put the rubber eraser in non-resistant? Can you squeeze it? Good. And the glass marble? Can you squeeze it? So where does it go?'
- 7Once groups finish sorting, call out each item name. Ask the whole class: 'Resistant or non-resistant?' Discuss any disagreements. For example, if some say 'cardboard is resistant' and others say 'non-resistant,' ask: 'Can you fold cardboard easily? Can you crush a cardboard box? So is it truly resistant?' Guide them to see that thin cardboard is partly flexible but thick cardboard is more resistant.
- 8This practical sorting task consolidates understanding that resistant materials (plastics, woods, metals, ceramics, glass) do not bend or compress easily, while compliant materials do.
- CLASSIFYING RESISTANT MATERIALS BY TYPE
- 9From the 15 materials in the previous activity, focus only on the ones sorted as RESISTANT. Ask: 'Which of these are plastics? Which are wood? Which are metal? Which are ceramic or glass?' Ask groups to re-sort the resistant materials into four categories: Plastic, Wood, Metal, Ceramic/Glass. This connects to Day 2's detailed classification.
- 10Each group writes a summary table in their exercise book: Resistant Material Type | Example from our sorting | Properties (hard, stiff, does not compress) | Use in Ghana. Example: Plastic | Plastic cup | Hard, stiff, does not crush | Storage of water, making taps.
- 11Ask each group to choose ONE resistant material from their pile and explain to the class: 'This is [material name]. It is resistant because [one reason from the definition]. We can use it for [one Ghanaian use].' Kwabena's group might say: 'This is aluminum foil. It is resistant because it does not compress easily. We can use it to wrap chop at a chop bar in Accra.'
- 12Final consolidation: resistant materials are defined by rigidity, classified by type (plastic, wood, metal, ceramic/glass), and applied to real Ghanaian contexts.
|
- 18–10 demonstration items: plastic cup, rubber band, aluminum can, cardboard box, metal fork, cloth, wooden box, leather shoe, glass cup, ceramic plate
- 2Collection of 15 mixed materials for sorting (plastic bottle, rubber eraser, aluminum foil, cotton cloth, wooden ruler, foam padding, ceramic tile, leather belt piece, glass marble, cardboard, steel ball bearing, sponge, brass key, silk fabric, clay)
- 3Exercise books and pencils
- 4Textbook section on resistant materials definition
- 5Chart paper for group summaries
|
- 1Celebrate the week's progress: 'This week we learned how materials are made (Day 1), classified resistant materials into types (Day 2), and defined what makes a material resistant (Day 3). Well done!' Ask 3–4 volunteers to stand and share one thing they will remember about resistant materials.
- 2Ask the whole class to rate their confidence with fingers: 'How confident are you in explaining what a resistant material is? Show 1 finger (not sure) to 5 fingers (very sure).' Quickly scan the room.
Exercise
- 1Write a summary paragraph in your exercise book (8–10 sentences) answering this question: 'What are resistant materials, what types exist, and give three examples of resistant materials used in your home or community in Ghana.' Your paragraph must include the word 'resistant,' name at least three resistant materials, and describe one use for each.
|
