What it's like - metal

Amelia brought a little bag of treasures to school today.  She delved inside.  'This is an allen key,'

she began, 'and it's made of brass.'

Hmm.....

'Or maybe steel?  My dad told me it is a mixture of iron and carbon and it sticks to a magnet*.  We've been building lots of furniture from Ikea,' she explained.

'And,' diving in again, 'this is an English coin and it's a pound.

It's made out of a mixture of metals and it's called brass.  It's shiny and it's not transparent*,' she continued.

*Just so you know, something that is not transparent (or see-through) is opaque.  And something that sticks to a magnet is magnetic.

'And this is tinfoil and it's soft metal.  It's not strong, it's light and it's bendy.' she finished.

'Flexible,' clarified Tommy.

'It's shiny,' added Shani.

Next up; Quentin.  Sporting something clipped to his nose.  'It's metal.  Precious.'

Precious; what does that mean?

'It's like a treasure for pirates,' he explained.  'It's an earring,' he continued, clipping it in the right place.

 

Very fetching!  What's it like?

'Hard and shiny.'

And now Raamy.  'This is a chain.

If you want to cut it in half you have to use a special thing; special scissors.  It's made of metal.'

What's it like?  Is it light or heavy?  Is it warm or cold?  Is is strong or not strong?    

'It's heavy; it's warm; it's strong;' he told us.

So to conclude (for now at least!)  Metal is

• shiny
• opaque
• warm
• soft
• strong or not strong
• light or heavy
• flexible
• magnetic

Keep your eyes open for others things made from metal.  Ask yourself; 'What's it like?'  And think.

Is all metal shiny?

Is all metal opaque?

Is all metal warm?

Is all metal soft?

Is all metal flexible?

Is all metal magnetic?

What other words can you use to answer our question, 'What's it like'?