Year 5 Block 1: Properties and Changes of Materials

Year 5 Topic – Properties and Changes of Materials

This unit helps pupils build a secure understanding of materials and their properties, including reversible changes, dissolving, filtering, and separating mixtures. With support from Professor Particle – our enthusiastic scientific chef – children are introduced to practical contexts and scientific language throughout the unit.

Lessons are around 75 minutes long and best taught in order. This is the ideal first science unit in Year 5 as it builds on Year 4 States of Matter and Year 3 Forces and Magnets, while revisiting key enquiry skills through hands-on investigations.

Disciplinary knowledge is embedded throughout, including planning different types of scientific enquiry, controlling variables, and evaluating trust in results. Substantive knowledge focuses on physical and chemical changes, material properties, and separating mixtures.

View small steps and unit outcomes

Small steps

  • How easily will it dissolve?
  • What are reversible changes?
  • What is the best type of soil?
  • Let’s compare soil samples
  • Can we compare and sort materials?
  • Why are some materials used and not others?

Unit Outcomes (secure)

Properties and changes of materials

  • Compare and group together everyday materials based on their properties, including hardness, solubility, transparency, conductivity (electrical and thermal), and response to magnets
  • Know that some materials dissolve in liquid to form a solution, and describe how to recover a substance from a solution
  • Use knowledge of solids, liquids and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated, including through filtering, sieving and evaporating
  • Give reasons, based on evidence from comparative and fair tests, for the particular uses of everyday materials
  • Demonstrate that dissolving, mixing and changes of state are reversible changes
  • Explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials, and that this kind of change is not usually reversible

Working scientifically

  • Plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables where necessary
  • Take measurements using a range of scientific equipment with increasing accuracy and precision
  • Record data and results using scientific diagrams and labels, tables, and line graphs
  • Report and present findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships and explanations of results
  • Identify scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments

Year 5 Science – Properties and Changes of Materials

Teach the Year 5 science topic Properties and Changes of Materials with confidence using our complete lesson pack, part of the Scintillating Science scheme. These fully resourced lessons help children explore key material properties and processes through hands-on investigations, guided enquiry and clear scientific explanations.

Aligned with the KS2 science curriculum, this unit supports children to compare and group materials based on their hardness, solubility, transparency, thermal and electrical conductivity, and magnetism. Pupils also explore reversible and irreversible changes, filtering, dissolving, and separating mixtures – with opportunities to plan and carry out fair tests using scientific vocabulary and equipment.

What’s included in this unit?

  • Year 5 Properties and Changes of Materials lesson plans
  • Interactive slides to support whole-class input
  • Investigations and practical activities with clear guidance
  • Differentiated worksheets for each lesson
  • Knowledge organiser with key vocabulary
  • Assessment tools to check understanding and track progress

Each lesson supports progression in both substantive knowledge and disciplinary skills. Pupils are encouraged to make predictions, control variables, record observations, and evaluate their findings in context. The three-star differentiation system makes it easy to adapt for mixed-ability classes and support confident science teaching across Key Stage 2.

Curriculum coverage

This unit meets all Year 5 National Curriculum objectives for the properties and changes of materials strand. It also links back to Year 4 States of Matter and Year 3 Forces and Magnets, supporting long-term knowledge retention.

Part of our complete Year 5 science curriculum

This is the first unit in our Year 5 Science Scheme of Work. Additional blocks will include topics on Earth and Space, Forces, Living Things and Their Habitats, and Animals Including Humans – all available with a free trial.

Help your pupils investigate materials in the world around them with our Year 5 Properties and Changes of Materials science resources. From sieving and filtering to investigating solubility and reversible changes, this unit offers a strong foundation in chemistry for upper KS2.

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