AC9S2I01: Pose questions to explore observed simple patterns and relationships and make predictions based on experiences

A useful scientific question can be explored by observing or testing. A prediction states what may happen and gives a reason based on experience or a pattern.

Learning sequence: Notice → Ask → Predict → Give reason → Investigate

Success looks like

• Notice patterns
• Pose investigable questions
• Make predictions
• Give evidence-based reasons
• Keep questions open

Turn an observation into a testable question

Write a prediction with a reason

The content description and elaborations below show the curriculum ideas taught in this unit. Items marked as teaching context support lesson planning.

• Content description: pose questions to explore observed simple patterns and relationships and make predictions based on experiences
• E1: posing questions about how to make sounds with different instruments, such as: ‘If I do this, will it always produce a higher pitched sound?’
• E2: posing questions about the appearance or position of celestial objects in space across time, such as: ‘I wonder if the moon will look the same tomorrow or next week, as it does today?’
• E3: making predictions about what might occur when materials such as playdough or tissue paper are pulled with different strengths
• E4: making predictions about the relationship between vibration and sound, such as: ‘I think that if a ruler is twanged harder, it will make a louder sound’
• E5: making predictions about future appearances of phenomena in the sky at certain times of the week, month or year, such as the moon or satellites

Key idea: A useful scientific question can be explored by observing or testing. A prediction states what may happen and gives a reason based on experience or a pattern.

Remember

• Notice patterns
• Pose investigable questions
• Make predictions
• Give evidence-based reasons
• Keep questions open

Quick questions

• What makes a question investigable?
• Write a prediction using because.
• Turn one observation into a question.
• Why is a prediction different from a result?

If an answer is uncertain, return to the model and explain what each part represents before calculating or drawing a conclusion.

Read the topic guide and use the teacher slide for instruction. Students can then use the worksheet for written work, open Practice for supported feedback, or take the Test when they are ready.

• Question cannot be explored — Ask about something observable or testable.
• Prediction without reason — Use because to connect the prediction to evidence.
• Question already gives the answer — Keep the question open until evidence is collected.

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.

Curriculum equivalents for Questions to explore observed simple patterns and relationships and make...

Mapped skill: pose questions to explore observed simple patterns and relationships and make predictions based on experiences

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.

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.

• Australian Curriculum Version 9.0
• Victorian Curriculum F-10
• NSW Curriculum
• Common Core State Standards
• Next Generation Science Standards
• England National Curriculum
• New Zealand Curriculum
• NCERT textbooks

• AC9S2U01: Recognise Earth is a planet in the solar system and identify patterns in the changing position of the sun, moon, planets and stars in the sky
• AC9S2U02: Explore different actions to make sounds and how to make a variety of sounds, and recognise that sound energy causes objects to vibrate
• AC9S2U03: Recognise that materials can be changed physically without changing their material composition and explore the effect of different actions on materials including bending, twisting, stretching and breaking into smaller pieces
• AC9S2H01: Describe how people use science in their daily lives, including using patterns to make scientific predictions
• AC9S2I02: Suggest and follow safe procedures to investigate questions and test predictions
• AC9S2I03: Make and record observations, including informal measurements, using digital tools as appropriate
• AC9S2I04: Sort and order data and information and represent patterns, including with provided tables and visual or physical models
• AC9S2I05: Compare observations with predictions and others’ observations, consider if investigations are fair and identify further questions with guidance