Identifying and Sorting Objects by Their Materials

Miacademy & MiaPrep Learning Channel

This educational video introduces young learners to the scientific concepts of "objects" and "materials" by distinguishing between items themselves and the substances they are made from. Hosted by Jesse, the lesson begins with simple, informal language like "things" and "stuff" before transitioning to the correct scientific terminology. Through clear demonstrations with everyday items like a toy car, a bowl, and a pencil, viewers learn to identify an object (e.g., a bowl) and its corresponding material (e.g., glass). The video explores key themes of observation, classification, and physical science properties. It guides students through identifying common materials including wood, metal, plastic, glass, fabric, and rubber. The lesson progresses from simple identification to a sorting activity where a variety of new objects—such as spoons made of different materials—are categorized into groups based on what they are made of. It concludes with a more complex analysis of a pencil, demonstrating how a single object can be comprised of multiple materials. Ideally suited for early elementary science curriculums, this video provides excellent classroom application for teaching properties of matter. The host's pacing allows for natural pause-and-play opportunities where teachers can ask students to predict answers before they are revealed. The video models scientific thinking by rejecting arbitrary sorting methods (like size) in favor of sorting by material properties, and ends with an actionable prompt for a real-world scavenger hunt.