Water absorption of different materials - Junior Infants

In Junior Infants we explored water absorption. Materials have different properties that make them useful for different jobs. Our job was to find out which ones absorbed water and which ones didn't. We used a number of different materials from sponges to cotton wool to cling film. Before we started I asked the children a number of questions to see what they already knew about water absorption. We discussed what might happen if water is squeezed onto the sponge. We talked about how some materials repel water (do not absorb). I asked questions to help them learn how to observe, experiment and peak curiosity! In our pairs we had a few different materials and we had to dip them into water and see what happened. At the end we filled out a table whereby we had to tick which ones absorbed the water. The children loved this experiment.