You Will Need
Provided Resources
- Examples of wax resist art
Additional Resources
- Watercolour paint or thinned poster paint
- Paint brushes
- Pieces of card
- Wax crayons
- Oil pastels, or a stick of fabric wax
- Squares of fabric
- Vaseline
- Tin foil
Resist the wax!
Science Year 2
This unit is part of
Year 2 Science Materials Matter
Objectives
Learn more about the waterproof properties of wax by having a go at a wax resist picture!
Science Objectives
i) Identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard for particular uses.
ii) Find out how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching.
Working Scientifically
- Ask simple questions and recognise that they can be answered in different ways.
- Observe closely, using simple equipment.
- Perform simple tests.
- Identify and classify.
- Use observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.
- Gather and record data to help in answering questions.
Extended Writing Opportunities
Information text: Use your new wax crayons to make colourful posters about why we should be recycling materials and not throwing them away.
Lesson Planning
Teaching
- Use wax drawing and colour washing as a reminder of the waterproof properties of wax.
- Make a wax resist picture using wax crayons, oil pastels and paint.
- Consider the questions: why is waterproof material sometimes used for making clothes? Can you think of other reasons why a material needs to be made waterproof?
Activities
- Explore wax resist painting using oil pastels, wax crayons and paint.
- Understand the role of wax and its waterproof properties in wax resist art.
Investigation - exploring
Make a batik wax resist piece of art by applying molten wax to a piece of cotton and dying it. Chop up old wax crayons and heat in moulds in the microwave/oven. Make new wax crayons in a different shape.
Vocabulary
Material, properties, absorbency, waterproof, strong, resist