What students learn in AC9S3I01
This unit helps students build a clear, usable understanding of Questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions.... 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 to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observations.
- Use concrete examples, pictures, oral explanation and short written responses before moving to independent practice.
- posing questions about the relationship between soil characteristics and the growth of particular plants, such as: ‘Will beans grow best in sandy, loamy or clay soils?’ comparing simple maps of Australian agriculture and soil types and posing questions about observed patterns, such as: ‘Does wheat grow in particular soils?’
- 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 to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observations
- E1: acknowledging and using information from First Nations Australians to guide the development of questions regarding life cycles (teaching context)
- E2: posing questions about the relationship between soil characteristics and the growth of particular plants, such as: ‘Will beans grow best in sandy, loamy or clay soils?’
- E3: comparing simple maps of Australian agriculture and soil types and posing questions about observed patterns, such as: ‘Does wheat grow in particular soils?’
- E4: posing questions about substances that are difficult to classify as a solid or liquid, such as toothpaste, slime or hair gel
- E5: predicting whether the mass of ice in a sealed container will change when the ice has melted
- E6: predicting which material will be the most effective insulator of heat
- E7: predicting how quickly ice will melt at different ambient temperatures based on previous observations
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
AC9S3I01 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 | AC9S3I01 — pose questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observations |
| Victoria | Victorian Curriculum F-10 | Year 3 Science: closest match in Questioning and predicting. Use this page as a VIC-aligned practice and worksheet reference. |
| NSW | NSW Curriculum | Stage 2 Science: closest content focus for Questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions... and related outcomes. |
| United States | Common Core / NGSS | Grade 3 NGSS science closest topic match for Questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions.... |
| England / UK | National Curriculum | Key Stage 2 / Year 3: closest programme-of-study match for Questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions.... |
| Canada | Provincial and territory curricula | Grade 3 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 2 Science: closest achievement-objective topic for Questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions.... |
| India | NCERT / CBSE | Class 3 closest NCERT/CBSE topic match for Questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions.... |