AC9SFI04 • Foundation Science

AC9SFI04: Compare Predictions and Observations

compare observations with predictions with guidance

Topic GuideClassroom ViewWorksheetPracticeTest
🎯 Learn the key ideaStart here

Learning intention: After an investigation, compare the prediction with the observation. A different result is useful because it helps us update our thinking.

Success looks like: Recall prediction; State observation; Compare same/different; Use evidence; Update thinking.

Learning routine: Recall prediction → Observe result → Compare → Say same/different → Learn

Explain, check and applyReason

Keep both parts of the comparison

With adult guidance, put the original prediction beside the observation. Say what was expected, what was actually noticed and whether they match. A different result is useful; do not rewrite the prediction to make it correct.

Compare the same feature

Prediction: the plant will have a flower. Observation: the plant has green leaves. Is that enough to decide whether the prediction matched?

Answer and teaching guidance

Not yet. The observation does not say whether a flower was present. Look at the plant and record the feature named in the prediction before comparing.

A different result is still evidence

Before a garden visit, a child predicts three birds on a branch. They observe one bird. What should go in the comparison?

Answer and teaching guidance

Predicted three birds; observed one bird; different. Keep both records. Do not add imagined birds to the observation or erase the original prediction.

Some parts can match

Prediction: the plant will have four leaves and a flower. Observation: four leaves and no flower. What matched, and what differed?

Answer and teaching guidance

The leaf count matched. The flower prediction did not match. With guidance, compare each feature separately rather than calling the whole prediction right or wrong.

Ready to move on

Use the supplied sentence: “I predicted ____. I observed ____. They matched/differed because ____.” Prediction: two birds. Observation: two birds.

Answer and teaching guidance

The number matched: two were predicted and two observed. Accept a spoken or drawn response with adult recording. For a new example, change the observation and compare again.

👀 Model and worked examplesLearn

Prediction and observation have different jobs

Prediction: “The large marble will roll farther.”
Observation: “The small marble rolled farther.”
Compare: The observation was different from the prediction.

Think aloud: Describe what is observed first, then use that evidence to explain the idea.

Use evidence, not embarrassment

We do not change the prediction after the test. We keep it, record the observation and explain whether they matched.

📚 Key words4 words

prediction

what we thought would happen

observation

what we actually noticed

compare

identify what matched and what differed

evidence

the observation used to explain

🧠 Try it in different waysApply

1. Match or different?

Read a prediction and an observation. Decide whether they match.

2. Evidence sentence

Complete: “I predicted ____. I observed ____. They were the same/different.”

3. Update thinking

Say one thing you learned from a result that was different from your prediction.

⚠️ Common mistakes and fixesFix errors
  • Changing the old prediction: Keep the original prediction so the comparison is honest.
  • Calling a wrong prediction a failure: A different result still gives useful evidence.
  • Comparing without stating the observation: Say what actually happened before deciding whether it matched.
✅ Quick checkCheck
  • What do we compare after an investigation?
  • Can a prediction be different from the observation?
  • Why keep the original prediction?
  • Write a sentence comparing a prediction and result.

Ready for Practice when: Recall prediction; State observation; Compare same/different; Use evidence; Update thinking.

📝 Revision NotesRemember
  • Main idea: After an investigation, compare the prediction with the observation. A different result is useful because it helps us update our thinking.
  • Useful routine: Recall prediction → Observe result → Compare → Say same/different → Learn
  • prediction: what we thought would happen
  • observation: what we actually noticed
  • compare: identify what matched and what differed
  • evidence: the observation used to explain
  • Best self-check: explain one new example without copying the worked model.
🇦🇺 Australian Curriculum coverageE1–E3

Content description: compare observations with predictions with guidance

These are curriculum teaching examples used as a breadth check, not separate mandatory outcomes.

E1

revisiting their predictions and with guidance identifying whether their predictions matched their observations

Teaching example: Place the original prediction beside the observation. With guidance, compare the named feature and keep both records even when they differ.

E2

comparing, with guidance, observations of plants or animals made during field work with their predictions

Teaching example: Before and after a garden visit, record the predicted and observed number of birds. Compare only what was actually observed during the stated visit.

E3

using a provided table to draw or dictate their prediction and their observation and identifying whether they are the same or different

Teaching example: Provide Prediction / Observation / Match or different headings. Children draw or dictate each entry; help them explain the comparison using the recorded feature.

Teacher resource

AC9SFI04 fixed teacher slides

The authored presentation uses the same models, vocabulary and checks as this lesson.

Open Classroom View
🎥 Optional Video Lesson

The SkillrHub lesson remains the primary learning resource. This optional video reinforces the explanation; you can complete the lesson and practice without watching.

Back to the lesson

Before you watch:

  • Pause after each worked example.
  • Try the examples yourself.
  • Return to the SkillrHub lesson before continuing.
Recommended: Let's Be Scientists!

Planet Nutshell — Comparing what you expected with what you observed.

As you watch: Did the result match the prediction?

Load video player Loads YouTube in this lesson. See the video notice below.

Try it: After a simple toy-car test, finish these spoken ideas with an adult: I thought... I saw... They were the same or different because...

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Curriculum equivalents: Victoria, NSW and international

Curriculum equivalents for Observations with predictions with guidance

Mapped skill: compare observations with predictions with guidance

These references identify matching or closely related learning. Curriculum sequence, terminology and depth vary, so teachers should use the mapped skill and lesson difficulty to confirm suitability.

RegionCurriculum frameworkClosest level or code
AustraliaAustralian Curriculum v9.0AC9SFI04 · Foundation
VictoriaVictorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 — ScienceVC2S2I05 · Foundation–Level 2
New South WalesNSW Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2024)STE-PQU-01 + STE-SCI-01 · Early Stage 1
United States (USA)Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)Kindergarten
Canada (Ontario)Ontario Curriculum — ScienceKindergarten
United Kingdom (England)National Curriculum in England — ScienceYear 1, Key Stage 1
IndiaNCERT / CBSE — ScienceFoundational Stage / Balvatika 3

Australian Curriculum v9.0 is the canonical source for this SkillrHub lesson. Victoria and NSW entries name the closest published state codes or outcomes; international entries are planning references rather than claims of identical curricula.

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