1.2 What is it made of?

1 What information do these clothes labels give you?

✓ Research ✓ Communication

2 Read the labels on some clothes.

a What materials are used to make your clothes? b Make a tally chart to fi nd the most common material used to make clothes in your class. c Discuss what you notice about the results.

3 Tell a partner what you know about the materials your clothes are made of. 4 Read and respond.

All about wool

Wool is from animals. It mostly comes from sheep and goats. It is a natural material and is used to make clothes to keep people warm. It is different from hair or fur because it is elastic. It can also clean easily and is a good insulator, which means it can keep things at the same temperature. Wool can be woven or knitted to make fabric. Humans have been washing, weaving and wearing wool since 10,000 BCE.

Wool should be washed at a low temperature. When it gets hot, it gets smaller.

Australia produces the most wool. It grows about 30% of the total world supply.

Less wool is produced now because people use human-made materials. a Answer the questions. • What is this material? • Where does it come from? • When was it fi rst used? • How is it used?

Key term tally chart: a way of showing how many times the same thing occurs Sample Pages • Who produces it? • What are its advantages? • What are its disadvantages

b

about it. Read about another type of material. Answer the same questions

5 Read and respond.

Wool

a Look at how the information is organised.

Answer the questions. • What titles and headings can you see? • How are questions used to organise information? Key terms • How are pictures used? fact: something that can • How does the fact file compare to the text in Activity 4? be proved to be true b Make a fact fi le about the material you read about in Activity 4b. pros and cons: the good and bad points about something c How could you improve your fact fi le?

Fun facts

• Wool is elastic. • Rabbits have wool. • People use less wool now than they did in the past.

What are the pros and cons of wool?

It is good because it keeps you warm. It is bad because it gets smaller when washed in warm water.

Where does it come from?

It mostly comes from sheep and goats.

Who produces the most?

Australia grows about 30% of the total world supply.

What is it?

Wool is a natural material made from animal hair.

When was it fi rst used?

It has been washed, woven and worn since 10,000 BCE. goats. total world supply. rom animal hair. Sample Pages

Talking point

How well do your fact fi les communicate the information?