Hold up one everyday metal spoon (or a wooden block if you prefer). Keep the hook light: one object, one question, then move on. Do not lay out the full hunt tray or name all five materials yet.

Key question: What do you think this is made of? Accept every guess warmly. Guesses are never wrong; they are the start of the fun.

Have the five sample objects ready nearby for the next step, but keep them out of sight for now so the hook stays simple.

Children stay seated and look and listen; hands-on hunting comes next. Keep the board simple: one word, then your live samples do the rest.

One full model, then a quick pass

Model one full noticing cycle with the wooden block:

• I wonder: I wonder what this is made of.
• I notice: It feels hard and smooth. It is brown.
• I think: I think it is made of wood.

Then hold up each of the other four samples in turn for a rapid name-and-feel pass (about 10–15 seconds each). Children only look and listen; you name the material and one feel or look cue:

• Plastic — light, smooth, colourful (cup or lid).
• Metal — hard, often shiny and cool (spoon).
• Paper — thin, can tear or scrunch (book page or scrap).
• Fabric — soft and bendy, like clothes (jumper scrap or cloth).

Stop there. Do not ask children to touch yet, and do not expect them to hold all five names at once; they will meet them again in short hunt bursts.

Misconception to head off: children may say an object is "hard" or "red" instead of naming the material. Gently revoice: Yes, it feels hard. The material it is made of is metal.

Before this step

Clear a low central table for the sharing tray and point to it so every child can see where finds will go. Set out chunky magnifiers where groups can reach them. Point out the classroom boundaries for the hunt (stay inside the room; no climbing; teacher cupboards stay closed).

How to run the 13 minutes

Run as two short bursts with a quick regroup, not one long free roam. Match what you say to each burst:

• Burst 1 (about 6 minutes): children hunt in pairs or threes for something made of wood or plastic only. Freeze, hold up finds, name the material together.
• Burst 2 (about 6 minutes): hunt for metal, paper or fabric. Each child chooses one favourite find to keep for the sharing tray.
• Regroup (about 1 minute): everyone sits with their favourite find ready, looking at the sharing tray.

Guiding questions while you circulate: What does it feel like? Is it hard or soft? What do you think it is made of? Can you find something shiny and cool?

Differentiation: less confident children can hunt with you and choose from two objects you offer ("Is this wood or plastic?"). Confident pairs can try to name more than one material in a burst before choosing a favourite.

Safety: gentle touches only; nothing near mouths; magnifiers held with two hands; no running.

Every child places a find on the tray so everyone has a place. Keep the spoken share brisk with a whole-class pacing plan so 6 minutes works at real Junior Infants numbers (often 20–28 children).

Pacing plan (choose one lever and stick to it)

• Batch by material: call "all wood finds first". Those children place and say the material together (or one child speaks for the batch while others hold up). Then plastic, then metal, then paper, then fabric.
• Mix of full share and point-and-name: invite about 6–8 children to say object + material in a full sentence. For the rest, the child points to their find and you name the material aloud: Yes — Sam's sock is fabric.

As finds arrive, group similar materials together on the tray (all wood near each other) so the class can see the pattern. Sticky labels can mark the groups for you; children do not need to write.

Observation prompts: What colour is it? How does it feel? Is it hard, soft, shiny or bendy? What is it made of?

What to expect: many children will name wood and plastic confidently. Metal and fabric may need a gentle prompt from the feel (cool and shiny; soft like clothes).

Revoice material language: if a child says "it's a spoon", reply Yes, a spoon made of metal.

This is a short, oral make-sense talk only. No writing and no journal page. Stay on today's naming objective: point and name materials on the tray and one familiar classroom part.

Draw out:

• We found things made of wood, plastic, metal, paper and fabric.
• Different materials feel different when we touch them.
• We can point to real things in our room and name the material (the wooden door, a metal handle, fabric on a coat or bag if you have one).

Do not ask why a builder chooses materials or why wood is good for a door. That property-and-job talk belongs in a later lesson once naming is secure. If a child offers a job idea unprompted, smile and revoice the material name: Yes — and that handle is metal.

Success look-fors: child can point to a find and name its material; child can say one material word from today's list; child can point to the classroom door (or another familiar part) and name its material with your support.

Revoice stem for a quieter child: if they point but do not speak, say You found the wood — well done! and invite a nod or a repeated whisper of the word.