Learn to plan your investigations and conclusions… with the Sticky Note Enquiry Planning Tool!

SUPPORTING GREAT SCIENTIFIC Enquiry

Planning is a skill that pupils need modelling. With the Planning Prompts, you can be sure that pupils are exposed to the method of planning their own investigations, from developing clear questions, deciding what to measure/observe and how they will set up their enquiries.

Use other tools from the Great Science Toolkit to help you with each stage.

TIPS FOR PLANNING:

• Allow pupils time to verbalise the investigation they are going to tackle.

• Ensure the enquiry question is clear and unambiguous so that pupils can then plan what they will be measuring/observing. This then helps them to make decisions on how they set up the enquiry and how they will record data.

Develop the art of question-asking with the GSSfS Question Makers!

6 creative ways to inspire great scientific question-asking!

Asking questions is one of the most natural things to do. Asking great scientific questions is a bit of art and takes some practice.

Tips for question-asking:

• Don’t hold back, all questions are good to listen to and think about

• Ask questions together - talking with others can inspire questions

• Play with your first ideas… what if you changed the question word? e.g. What are the planets? to What would happen if the planets were never discovered?

Question Spinner

What you’ll need:
A pair of scissors, pencil and a paperclip

Download here

If you prefer - here’s a Welsh version of the Question Spinner resource!

Question Frame

What you’ll need:
A pair of scissors, pencil and sticky labels

Download here

If you prefer - here’s a Welsh version of the Question Frame resource!

Inspired by 100 ideas for Primary Teachers: Science
by Paul Tyler & Byrony Turford (2020)

Question Hand

What you’ll need:
A pair of scissors, pencil and paper

Download here

If you prefer - here’s a Welsh version of the Question Hand resource!

Question Wonder

What you’ll need:
A pair of scissors, pen

Download here

If you prefer - here’s a Welsh version of the Question Wonder resource!

Question Teller

What you’ll need:
A pair of scissors

Download here

If you prefer - here’s a Welsh version of the Question Teller resource!

Question Share

What you’ll need:
A pair of scissors

Download here

If you prefer - here’s a Welsh version of the Question Share resource!

 Consider ‘what may happen if…?’ with the Great Science Prediction Prompts!

SUPPORTING GREAT SCIENTIFIC Enquiry

A prediction is when we think about what might happen in the future. Predictions are best written when linked to what the pupils know already, draw on their previous experiences, observations and learning.

TIPS FOR CREATING PREDICTIONs:

• Encourage pupils to talk about the reasoning behind their predictions, using ‘because…’

• Help pupils to understand that sometimes what happens in an enquiry doesn’t match what they predict. This doesn’t make their data wrong, or their prediction incorrect. This is part of the learning process.

• If you forgot to consider a prediction at the start, encourage pupils to say whether what happened was what they expected to happen. It can be a useful reflective exercise anyway.

Conclusions enable pupils to communicate the key learning from their investigations. Support them with the Great Science Conclusion Creators!

SUPPORTING GREAT SCIENTIFIC Enquiry

A conclusion is the summing-up of the evidence that’s been gathered and is communicated using a simple summary of findings. The Great Science Conclusion Creators encourage pupils to draw on evidence they have gathered to support or refute scientific ideas.

TIPS FOR Drawing a conclusion:

• Review all the information and data gathered and analyse it to decide on the next logical step or assumption.

• Look closely at the evidence to consider if there are any facts or details that are not stated, but could be extrapolated or inferred.

• Explain your evidence using scientific explanations that link back to the question that was investigated and the predictions that were made.

Learn to judge if a scientific evidence is trustworthy… with the Great Science Reliability Checker!

SUPPORTING GREAT SCIENTIFIC Enquiry

Reliability relates to the whether a sources of information is trustworthy. By checking for reliability we limit the risk of using information that is false or biased. This improves the accuracy of our analysis and conclusion building. The Great Science Reliability Checker supports pupils to discuss the trustworthiness of information they gather.

TIPS FOR Checking reliability:

• Explain to pupils that sometimes information can be presented in ways to try to persuade the reader of a certain viewpoint. This is often used in marketing products to improve sales or attention.

• Giving a judgement of reliability should include i) A decision about whether the information is or isn’t reliable; ii) A 'linking' word to link the decision and the reasons (e.g. because, due to, since, etc.), and 3) A reason for the decision.

  E.g. This source is very reliable because it was published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Learn to make scientific drawings… with the Great Science Observe and Draw Prompt!

SUPPORTING GREAT SCIENTIFIC Enquiry

Step-by-step skills building focussing on the scientific enquiry skills pupils need to develop.

TIPS FOR Scientific DrawinG:

• Pupils get the opportunity to draw in subjects across the curriculum. However, the skills of producing a scientific drawing is very different to an artistic drawing. Pupils will need explicit instruction and will then need the opportunity to practise this skill again and again in different contexts throughout their science learning.

• Explain to pupils that the skill of producing a scientific drawing is a skill that is used by many scientists, including botanists and entomologists as seen in the Great Observation Share enquiry.

• The ‘Top Tips’ can be found on the Great Observe and Draw Prompts below, and are differentiated by age (5-7 year olds, 7-14 year olds).

Share science creatively with the Great Science Sharing Prompts!

SUPPORTING GREAT SCIENTIFIC Enquiry

Sharing inspires us to communicate the questions and conclusions from our investigations with new audiences. Encourage your pupils to share in a way that they may not have considered before by using the Great Science Sharing Prompts for ideas.

TIPS FOR Sharing scIENCE:

• Explain the question that was investigated and why this was important to spend time on. What was the gap in knowledge or understanding the question sought to address?

• Describe the type of enquiry used to investigate the question: observation over time; comparative/fair testing; pattern seeking; research by secondary sources, and identifying, grouping and classifying etc.

• Communicate how the evidence gathered makes a difference to other people - in their lives, home, school or across the world.
  

TIPS FOR CREATING A SHARe:

Great Talk Prompts

SUPPORTING GREAT SCIENTIFIC Enquiry

Often we can assume that effective talk comes easily. Talking is a skill that we need to hone just like any other. Science is a collaborative subject, with people across the globe sharing fields of research, business and endeavour. Use the Great Science Talking Prompts to support your pupils in talking effectively in groups by thinking about the verbal behaviours they use when they react to what other people say and seek to clarify understanding in discussions.

TIPS FOR TALK:

• Explain that there are no right or wrong verbal behaviours - each are helpful when used at the right time for the right purpose.

• Model how different kinds of talking behaviours can impact on group discussions. Being right isn’t always persuasive, so showing how we use talk to bring influence other people is something to master.

• Encourage pupils to have confidence to share opinions even if they are different to what others are saying. Setting the culture to listen to different viewpoints is necessary in science and life.

Get tips for assessing progression… with the Great Science Progression Tool!

SUPPORTING GREAT SCIENTIFIC Enquiry

Across each age range pupils work scientifically in different ways, from forming enquiry questions, recording data, predicting and concluding to name a few. Assessment of these disciplinary skills is required to support pupils to develop.

TIPS FOR ASSESSMENT OF ENQUIRY SKILLS:

• Use the Great Science Progression Tool to understand the level of prior learning/attainment the pupils have encountered. The tool maps out the core skills pupils need at each stage and breaks them down into manageable steps to work from. 

• Assessment should always have a positive impact on pupils and their learning. Consider if your assessment methods are reliable and valid. Most importantly, is learning being enhanced and deepened as a result of the assessment data you collect.

• For more resources on primary science assessment, refer to the TAPS (Teacher Assessment in Primary Science) resources here.