Materials Properties Table
Blank grid to test material properties.
The Materials Properties Table is a blank grid template designed for hands-on materials science investigations in grades 1–5. Columns represent testable properties — such as hardness, flexibility, transparency, waterproofing, and magnetic attraction — while rows are left empty for students to write in the materials they are testing. Because both the material names and the property columns are fillable, a single printed sheet supports any materials unit: natural vs manufactured, transparent vs opaque, conductors vs insulators, or whatever your curriculum demands. Teachers appreciate that the open grid encourages students to design their own tests and record results with ticks, crosses, ratings, or short notes rather than circling pre-given answers. The template is equally at home on a classroom workbench, a kitchen table, or as part of a STEM investigation report.
Learning objectives
- Identify and test a range of physical properties of materials
- Record scientific results systematically in a grid format
- Compare materials across multiple properties simultaneously
- Begin to match material properties to real-world functions
- Develop fair-test thinking by holding variables constant
- Interpret tabular data to draw evidence-based conclusions
How to use this template
- Download and print one grid per student or pair before setting up the materials testing station.
- As a class, agree on which properties to test and have students write one property in each column header before testing begins.
- Students write the name of each material in a row, then work through each property column, recording results with a consistent symbol system (tick/cross, 1–3 rating, or descriptive word).
- After completing the grid, students circle or highlight the material that performed best for a specific purpose and write a concluding sentence.
- Collect grids and compare results across groups to discuss any inconsistencies caused by testing technique.
Classroom & home ideas
- Set up a rotation of five testing stations (bend test, magnet test, water drop test, scratch test, light test) and have groups move around, filling one row per station.
- Challenge students to design a raincoat for a toy figure — they must select the best waterproof and flexible material based on their completed grid.
- Use the grid with natural materials collected on a nature walk (bark, leaf, pebble, feather) to compare natural and manufactured objects.
- Pair the completed table with a bar chart in maths, where each bar represents the number of materials that passed each property test.
- Assign a home version: students test five household items (foil, cling wrap, cardboard, fabric, plastic bag) using safe property tests and photograph their evidence.
Skills & curriculum links
Frequently asked questions
How many materials and properties should I include for grade 1 students?
For grade 1, limit to four to five materials and three clear binary properties (is it bendy? is it waterproof? does a magnet stick?). Older students can handle more nuanced ratings.
Should students test materials individually or in pairs?
Pairs work well for most tests — one student tests while the other records — but individual sheets ensure every student has their own data to analyse.
Can this template be used for a fair-test investigation?
Yes. Remind students that fair testing means using the same amount of force, the same amount of water, or the same magnet distance for every material they test.
Is this template aligned to any specific curriculum?
The blank grid aligns to materials and properties standards in the Australian Curriculum, UK National Curriculum (Year 1–5 Science), and US NGSS (K–5 physical science), depending on which properties you choose to test.
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