What students learn in AC9S6I01
This unit helps students build a clear, usable understanding of Investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make.... 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 investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictions.
- Use concrete examples, pictures, oral explanation and short written responses before moving to independent practice.
- posing investigable questions to identify patterns, such as: ‘What type of material is the best conductor and what is the best insulator?’ posing investigable questions to test relationships, such as: ‘Will more salt dissolve in warm water than in cold water?’
- 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 investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictions
- E1: posing investigable questions to identify patterns, such as: ‘What type of material is the best conductor and what is the best insulator?’
- E2: posing investigable questions to test relationships, such as: ‘Will more salt dissolve in warm water than in cold water?’
- E3: discussing and refining questions to enable scientific investigation
- E4: making reasoned predictions about the physical conditions that will result in the largest mould colonies growing on bread
- E5: making reasoned predictions about electrical circuit function based on a picture or diagram of a circuit
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
AC9S6I01 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 | AC9S6I01 — pose investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictions |
| Victoria | Victorian Curriculum F-10 | Year 6 Science: closest match in Questioning and predicting. Use this page as a VIC-aligned practice and worksheet reference. |
| NSW | NSW Curriculum | Stage 3 Science: closest content focus for Investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make... and related outcomes. |
| United States | Common Core / NGSS | Grade 6 NGSS science closest topic match for Investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make.... |
| England / UK | National Curriculum | Key Stage 2 / Year 6: closest programme-of-study match for Investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make.... |
| Canada | Provincial and territory curricula | Grade 6 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 3 Science: closest achievement-objective topic for Investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make.... |
| India | NCERT / CBSE | Class 6 closest NCERT/CBSE topic match for Investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make.... |