Primary Science investigation/Document

Carrying out an investigation

Before you start practical work:

1)      Give the investigation a title

Decide exactly what it is that the children want to find out. Use this to give the investigation a title. For example, as part topic of a topic on “Jack and the Beanstalk’, children might decide to find out what a bean seed needs to grow.

2)      Encourage predictions

Ask the children what they think is going to happen. Encourage them to say why they think this is going to happen, as a way of helping children to clarify their ideas, and of gathering assessment information.

3)      Think about making the test fair

Any factor which can be altered in a test is called a variable. For example, some of the variables in a test to find the slowest falling parachute would be:

• the material the parachute is made of-the size of the parachute
• the shape of the parachute-the length of the parachute strings
• the weight on the end of the strings-the height from which the parachute is dropped
• the child dropping the parachute

Gathering evidence

1)      Encourage children to use their senses

This is one of the most fundamental skills to be encouraged at every possible opportunity. Try to encourage children to use all their senses, e.g. when looking at materials try finding out what sort of sounds they can make.

Safety note: It is important that children always check with you before smelling or tasting anything.

2)      Discuss observations

Encourage children to describe observations to each other. This will help them to build a broad working scientific vocabulary. Reporting back to others will also help them to organise their thoughts.

It can be helpful to refer to the senses in questioning:

What did you notice with your ears?What did it feel like?

3)      Measuring

Measuring can be done using both standard and non-standard units. Try and give children regular opportunities to choose their own measuring apparatus so that they can learn to select the most appropriate terms.

Recording evidence

• Before recording, ensure that the children had plenty of opportunity to talk about what they have done.

• Use a range of recording styles – charts, drawing, painting, tape recording.

• The merits of each should be discussed so that children can make sensible judgements about which to use

 

Looking at the evidence

• At the end of an investigation, it is useful to compare the outcomes of it with the predictions made at the beginning by the children and discuss any differences

• Try and do this in a positive way, perhaps referring to ‘surprises’. Avoid ‘right or wrong answer’ attitudes. Sometimes it helps to make unlikely predictions yourself!

• Encourage the children to describe what they have done to develop sequencing skills

• What do the children think that they have learned? (refer back to the learning objective)

The skills of science and how they relate to………………………………………………..activity

Brief description of the activity……………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Scientific ideas……………………………………………………………………………………….

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Skills	Questions and things children might do
Observing
Comparing & classifying
Predicting
Estimating & measuring
Testing
Communicating
Drawing conclusions

Different Types of Practical Work in Science

Classifying & Identifying	Classifying is a process of arranging a large range of objects or events into manageable sets. Identifying is a process of recognising objects and events as members of particular sets and allocating names to them	-which things float -what is that tree?
Pattern seeking	These investigations involve observing and recording natural phenomena and carrying out surveys and then seeking patterns in the findings.	-Do dandelions in the shade have longer leaves that those in the light? -Do people with longer legs jump higher
Exploring	Pupils make a series of observations of a natural phenomenon occurring over time.	-How does frog spawn develop over time? -What happens when different liquids are added together?
Investigation Models	These are investigations that explore intellectual models and are more likely to be found in Key stage 3 & 4	-Will copper increase or decrease in mass during combustion?
Making things or developing systems	These are investigations are usually technological in nature but have a high scientific content.	-Can you find a way to design a pressure pad switch for a burglar alarm? How could you make a weighing machine out of elastic bands?
Fair testing	These are concerned with exploring relations between variables or factors. It is described in the Key stage 2 POS as “changing one factor and observing and measuring the effect while keeping other factors the same”.	-What affects the rate at which sugar dissolves? -Which paper towel soaks up most water?

 

Observing

One step: children are able to…	Two steps: children are able to…	Three steps: children are able to…
-say something about the object when asked about it -touch and explore an object -when given an object, find another one like it	-observe one feature “the ice is cold”, “the sand is yellow” -say if something changed when asked about it -make sets using a very general category, e.g. candles, frogs, cars, etc.	-observe more than one feature “the ice is cold and wet” -observe a change “the sand goes a different colour” -sort a general set according to size, e.g. arrange candles in size order (not always 100 correctly)

 

Predicting

One step: children are able to…	Two steps: children are able to…	Three steps: children are able to…
“…make a simple statement e.g. when looking for woodlice they say “they are outside”	-make a general statement e.g. when looking for woodlice they say “they might be in the grass”	-refer to something they have already encountered, e.g. when looking for woodlice they say “I’ve found some under stones at home – let’s look there”

 

Problem-solving

One step: children are able to…	Two steps: children are able to…	Three steps: children are able to…
-play with and explore the materials they have been given, e.g. feels and digs in the wet and dry sand, to address a problem identified by an adult	-make a suggestion about what to do, e.g. “Let’s mix sand and water and see”; “Can we try to make the water frothy”	-make a suggestion about what to change, e.g. “Let’s try more water”, “Why don’t we put some washing-up liquid in?”

 

Decision-making

One step: children are able to…	Two steps: children are able to…	Three steps: children are able to…
-begin to show an awareness of treating things in the same way, e.g. explore seeds by feeling them all, looking at them all with a magnifying glass, smelling them all and rolling them all along the ground	-show an awareness of treating things in the same way, e.g. when growing seeds they say “I’ll put them all in soil”	-start to show an awareness of amounts to use, e.g. when growing seeds they say “how much soil do we need?”

 

Communication

One step: children are able to…	Two steps: children are able to…	Three steps: children are able to…
-show what they did-use non-verbal communication, e.g. nod or shake head when the teacher questions what they did”     -show where they found an object or minibeast-show what they did-use the objects to record with, e.g. with help make a pile of objects which sand can go through   -describe or show simply what they did-consider, with help, if their simple statement was correct	-talk about what they did, e.g. when playing with dough they will say “I’m hitting this”-ask one or two questions, e.g. most questions begin with “why” -gather similar things together or cut up similar things from catalogue, e.g. make a leaf collection-use the objects to record with, e.g. make a pile of objects sand can get through and pile that it can’t go through -describe simply what they did “I put milk on the cornflakes”-consider, with help, if their general statement was correct, e.g. “You thought woodlice would in the grass, were they?”	-talk about what they observe, e.g. when playing with dough they will say “I’m can make it long and smooth like a snake”-ask an increased range of questions, e.g. not all questions begin with “why” -display their collections, e.g. stick leaves onto a tree outline in groups of size and colour-draw an object and stick onto a chart drawn by the teacher, e.g. pictures of things which sand can’t go through   -describe simply what happened, e.g. “The cornflakes went soft”- consider, with help, if their reference to something already encountered was correct, e.g. “You thought woodlice would be under stones, were they?”