Hold up one small ball of play-dough. Do not change it yet. Take two or three ideas from the class (squash it, roll it, poke it). Keep the hook light: no tray set-up and no full vocabulary list here. Have the play-dough ready to show; everything else stays on the trays until the explore step.

Key question: Can we change a material just with our hands?

One core idea today: we can change materials with our hands. The four action words are station labels said with a mime, not a glossary dump on the board.

Teach order (about 4 minutes):

1. Mime and say squash. Press the play-dough ball flat slowly with both palms so the class sees one full change.
2. Ask only after that change, using what the class can see from their seats: What looks different? (flat, wider) Is it still the same kind of dough? (yes). You may add a short teacher revoice of feel if you wish (It still feels soft when I touch it), but do not ask watchers to report a sensation they have not had. Revoice: the material is still play-dough; only the shape changed.
3. Add the other three words one at a time with a mime only (no extra materials yet): bend (curve arms), tear (pull hands apart), stretch (pull hands wide). Children copy the mimes. Do not write long definitions on the board.

Keep the board short; the table below is for you only.

Misconception to head off: children may think a change means the material has become a different material. Gently revoice: the play-dough is still play-dough; only its shape has changed. Paper that is torn is still paper.

Who helps us (seed only; full close in step 5): a potter squashes and bends clay; a card-maker folds and tears paper for cards and books. Keep this to one sentence here.

Before the lesson

Intended shape for this 12-minute Infants slot: one tray (or mat) per group or per child with all four materials on it. Children stay at their place and try each change there. Do not plan four room rotations unless you have extra time and adult help; full station rotations eat the slot once transitions and safety are included.

Portion play-dough into small balls. Cut soft craft wire or pipe cleaners into short lengths (about 15 cm) with ends tucked. Put scrap paper strips and one wide elastic band per child ready on each tray.

Model first (about 2 minutes)

Before children start, model one full cycle with play-dough so they hear the language:

• I wonder… what will happen if I squash this ball?
• I think… it will go flat but still feel soft.
• I squash… press the ball slowly with both palms.
• I notice… it is flat now (different). It is still soft play-dough (same).
• I think… squashing changes the shape but the material is still play-dough.

Then send children to their trays. Circulate and prompt naming and same/different after hands are busy — do not front-load that talk on the board.

Tray prompts (say aloud as you circulate)

• Play-dough: Can you squash it? Can you roll it back into a ball?
• Soft wire or pipe cleaner: Can you bend it into a curve? A hoop?
• Paper: Can you tear it gently into two? Listen to the sound.
• Elastic band: Stretch it slowly. What happens when you let go?

Safety: stretch and bend away from faces and eyes; no flicking bands; soft wire only; no tasting play-dough.

Differentiation: less confident children name the action with you (you say the word, they do the move). Confident children try to put a changed material back (roll the dough, unbend the wire) and say what is easy or hard to undo. Support vocabulary with mimes, not separate picture cards to prepare.

This is an oral observation beat (no journal page).

Transition (about 1 minute)

Before talk starts, run this sequence so the move is safe and clear:

1. At the tray, each child chooses one changed object only (one piece of dough, one bent wire, one torn paper strip, or one elastic band).
2. Leave the other materials on the tray. Elastic bands stay unstretched and held still; no flicking.
3. Decide the talk place before they move: either talk partners stay seated at their places with that one object, or the class comes to the carpet holding only that one object. Do not mix both patterns mid-step.
4. Trays stay put; no carrying full trays to the carpet.

Keep talk to one stem at a time with the object still in hand:

1. First: name the change only (I squashed / I bent / I tore / I stretched).
2. Then you or the partner prompt: What stayed the same?
3. Then: What is different now?

Invite three or four pairs to share with the class. Revoice answers into clear same/different sentences. Do not require each child to produce all three ideas in one go.

Look-fors:

• Child names the change (squash, bend, tear or stretch).
• Child notices the material is still the same kind of stuff (still dough, still paper, still wire).
• Child notices a real difference (shape, size, number of pieces, how long it is).

If answers stay vague ("it changed"), point to the object and ask: Is it still paper? How many pieces do you have now?

Surprise worth drawing out: the elastic band often goes back when they let go. That is useful talk: some changes stay, and some spring back.

Display-only, oral make-sense talk. Keep this close short and concrete. Hold up real objects (or simple photos) already gathered: a small clay pot or mug, and a folded birthday card or paper booklet. Show the object first, then one simple line, then the choice question on the board.

Order:

1. Hold up the pot. Say: Someone squashed and bent clay to make this pot so we can use it. After they see it, you may name the helper: a potter.
2. Hold up the card. Say: Someone folded and tore paper to make this card. After they see it, you may name the helper: a card-maker (or bookbinder).
3. Ask the board choice question first: Which change did the pot need? Accept squash and/or bend. Then optionally: Which change did the card need?
4. Only if time and energy allow, invite a brief oral Who else changes materials to help us? Keep guesses light. Optional one-line link if a child holds bent wire: someone who makes jewellery bends soft wire into shapes.

Prompts: Which change did you like best? Which change was hard to undo? How does changing a material help someone?

Keep it hopeful and concrete: people change materials carefully so everyday things work better for us. Guesses and tries today were the start of that kind of thinking.

Do not type or save reflections. Children talk only. Do not stack job labels, new actions and open questions on the board at once; the short board text carries the objects and one choice question only.