| Key aspects of learning |
Progress indicators |
| Level 1 |
Level 2 |
Level 3 |
Level 4 |
Level 5 |
| Exploring a situation
|
Contributes observations to a class exploration.
With support, identifies observed similarities and differences. |
Makes observations and looks for patterns or relationships, with prompting as needed.
Describes some observations.
|
Makes a series of observations to look for patterns or relationships.
Describes or represents the observations made with some accuracy and detail.
|
Makes more detailed observations and suggests patterns and/or relationships related to a scientific idea.
Communicates about observations with accuracy and detail. |
Makes increasingly focused and detailed observations relevant to identified scientific patterns and relationships.
Communicates detailed observations accurately and systematically.
|
| Asking questions
|
With support, asks questions about a given situation. |
Contributes questions in discussions.
|
Generates questions and participates in choosing questions to investigate.
|
Generates, discusses, and chooses interesting questions to investigate.
|
Refines worthwhile questions for systematic investigation.
|
| Making predictions |
Says what they think will happen in simple investigative situations. |
Predicts possible outcomes for simple trials and gives reasons. |
Uses their own ideas to make testable predictions. |
Uses their developing scientific ideas to make testable predictions. |
Uses scientific ideas to make testable predictions. |
| Using systematic approaches and scientific conventions |
Collects and records simple data from observations. |
Carries out observations and simple trials based on their own ideas and collects relevant data. |
Plans and carries out more systematic trials, using measurement to identify patterns and test ideas.
Suggests more than one way to investigate a question.
Begins to use some scientific conventions. |
Plans and carries out systematic investigations to gather evidence to test their ideas.
Uses an increasing range of measurements and conventions. |
Plans and carries out systematic investigations to produce evidence supporting a scientific idea or answering a science-related question.
Uses appropriate data-gathering instruments and conventions. |
| Processing and interpreting |
With prompting, identifies observed similarities and differences to reach conclusions in simple investigations. |
Reaches conclusions to simple investigations that are linked to their own understanding. |
Organises data to display obvious trends and patterns and to reach conclusions.
Reaches simple conclusions and links them to their own understandings. |
Organises data to display trends, patterns, and relationships.
Uses findings to draw conclusions related to simple scientific ideas. |
Selects ways to organise data to identify trends and relationships.
Reaches relevant conclusions, recognising how these relate to scientific ideas. |
| Evaluating the investigative process as a continuous activity |
Participates in teacher-assisted evaluations. |
Talks about features of investigations and suggests simple improvements. |
With support, looks for strengths and weaknesses in their own investigations and suggests improvements. |
Identifies the strengths and weaknesses of their own and others' investigations and makes appropriate improvements.
Reviews data-gathering procedures honestly. |
Identifies and reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of their own and others' investigations to inform the next step.
With support, critiques data-gathering procedures in order to recognise limitations to the claims that can be made from the data. |
| Reporting |
Talks freely about ideas and aspects of their investigation. |
Reports on some or all of their investigation in an organised way.
Refers to their observations. |
Presents an organised report linking findings to their observations. |
Presents a well-organised report using data to support their conclusions. |
Presents a selective and well-reasoned report supported by relevant data. |
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