AC9S4I02 Year 4 Science

AC9S4I02 – Year 4 Science: Planning and conducting

Strand

Science inquiry

Substrand

Planning and conducting

This Content Descriptor from Year 4 Science provides the specific knowledge and skills students should learn. Use it to plan lessons, create learning sequences, and design assessments that align with the Australian Curriculum v9.

Content Descriptor

use provided scaffolds to plan and conduct investigations to answer questions or test predictions, including identifying the elements of fair tests, and considering the safe use of materials and equipment

Elaborations

• using an investigation scaffold to design a fair test to identify which shoe provides the greatest or least friction or which materials are attracted to a magnet
• predicting the interactions of forces in a game or toy design, and building and testing a prototype
• predicting effects of changing numbers of producers or consumers, and using a virtual or roleplay food chain simulation to explore possible outcomes by running the simulation multiple times
• following safety rules when conducting investigations, such as wearing personal safety gear correctly, using equipment according to guidelines and demonstrating safe behaviours in field sites or when interacting with biological specimens

Achievement Standard This Supports

This Content Descriptor contributes to the following Achievement Standard:

Year 4 ASSCIY4

Year 4 Science Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 4 students identify the roles of organisms in a habitat and construct food chains. They identify key processes in the water cycle and describe how water cycles through the environment. They identify forces acting on objects and describe their effect. They relate the uses of materials to their properties. They explain the role of data in science inquiry. They identify solutions based on scientific explanations and describe the needs these meet. Students pose questions to identify patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observations. They plan investigations using planning scaffolds, identify key elements of fair tests and describe how they conduct investigations safely. They use simple procedures to make accurate formal measurements. They construct representations to organise data and information and identify patterns and relationships. They compare their findings with those of others, assess the fairness of their investigation, identify further questions for investigation and draw conclusions. They communicate ideas and findings for an identified audience and purpose, including using scientific vocabulary when appropriate.