Hard, Soft and Manufactured

Categorising Wood

Resistant Materials Lesson

Mixed Ability: Level 2 - 3

StarterIn small groups

(Collaborative Thinking)

What are the uses for wood?

Write down all the products or uses for wood that you can think of .

30 products or uses = Outstanding20 products or uses = Good

10 products or uses = OK

6min

Lesson Objective

All: Know that there are 3 categories of wood.

Most: Understand where different wood comes from and what are the basic properties of

different wood.

Some: Be able to name several woods and arrange them into different categories based on

their characteristics and properties.

QuestionIf you had to make a product form wood would you know which wood to choose?

Think about the products you identified from the starter. Do you know what types

of wood are they made from?

You would not go into a DIY store and say “Hello can I have some wood

please?” that would be like going to Tesco and saying “Hello can I have some

food please?”

There are over 400 types of wood! Its one of our oldest

resources

We love wood and still use it

today

Starting Point: What do we know already?

Where does wood come from?

What does it look like?

Why do we use it?

How can we tell the difference?

What impact does its use have on the environment?

Wood There are 2 Main categories

Hard Soft Manufactured

Comes from hardwood trees,

it is not necessarily hard!

Comes from softwood trees,

it is not necessarily soft!

Made from sawdust or

chippings and produced in a

factory!

Natural Man Made

Activity: Independent Inquiry Read through the factsheet about different woods.

Produce a poster/factsheet that highlights the differences between hardwoods, softwood and manufactured

boards.

30 min

WILFHeadings/Categories4 - 6 facts for each

ColourWell organised

Spelling

Which category of wood would you use for these wooden products.

Reflection

Hard Soft Manufactured

Living room display cabinet

Park Picnic Bench

Childs Toy

Kennel

Jewellery Box

House Frame

Prototype

True or False

True False

Hardwood trees grow quickly

Softwood trees are expensive

Hardwood trees have a closer grain

Manufactured wood comes in bigger sizes than Natural wood