What students learn in AC9SFI01
This unit helps students build a clear, usable understanding of Questions and make predictions based on experiences. The goal is not to memorise one answer pattern. Students should be able to explain the idea, recognise it in a new example and apply it in a short practice or worksheet task.
- Start with the main idea: pose questions and make predictions based on experiences.
- Use concrete examples, pictures, oral explanation and short written responses before moving to independent practice.
- posing questions based on experiences, such as: ‘What part of a plant is broccoli?’ or ‘How high do balls bounce?’ posing questions about everyday objects and the materials that they may be made of
- Finish with mixed questions so students must choose the correct strategy rather than copy the last example.
Curriculum coverage and elaborations
The content description and elaborations below show the curriculum ideas taught in this unit. Items marked as teaching context support lesson planning but may not appear in the initial eight-question activity.
- Content description: pose questions and make predictions based on experiences
- E1: posing questions based on experiences, such as: ‘What part of a plant is broccoli?’ or ‘How high do balls bounce?’
- E2: posing questions about everyday objects and the materials that they may be made of
- E3: making predictions before field work, such as which plants and animals they may observe in the school grounds
- E4: making predictions about how an unusually shaped object such as an egg or a hexagonal block might move down a slope
How to use this unit
Read the topic guide, use the teacher slide for instruction, then complete the Worksheet, Practice and Test. These three activities use the same eight-question unit bank.
Teacher resource
AC9SFI01 teacher slide
Use this one-page PDF to introduce the key idea, vocabulary and teaching sequence before students begin the activities.
Open teacher slide (PDF)Common mistakes to watch for
- Describing what is seen without connecting it to a question, pattern or prediction.
- Using everyday words only and missing simple scientific vocabulary.
- Changing more than one thing in an investigation, which makes the comparison unfair.
International curriculum mapping
This table gives closest-topic mapping for search and planning. The Australian Curriculum code is exact; overseas entries are broad equivalents because each jurisdiction structures outcomes differently.
| Region | Curriculum | Closest mapping |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Australian Curriculum v9.0 | AC9SFI01 — pose questions and make predictions based on experiences |
| Victoria | Victorian Curriculum F-10 | Foundation Science: closest match in Questioning and predicting. Use this page as a VIC-aligned practice and worksheet reference. |
| NSW | NSW Curriculum | Early Stage 1 Science: closest content focus for Questions and make predictions based on experiences and related outcomes. |
| United States | Common Core / NGSS | Kindergarten NGSS science closest topic match for Questions and make predictions based on experiences. |
| England / UK | National Curriculum | Key Stage 1 / Year 1: closest programme-of-study match for Questions and make predictions based on experiences. |
| Canada | Provincial and territory curricula | Kindergarten closest topic match. Canada varies by province, so use this as a broad Ontario/BC-style learning outcome reference. |
| New Zealand | New Zealand Curriculum | Level 1 Science: closest achievement-objective topic for Questions and make predictions based on experiences. |
| India | NCERT / CBSE | Kindergarten / Foundation closest NCERT/CBSE topic match for Questions and make predictions based on experiences. |