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in Guidelines
Interactive Guidelines - Skills exemplification
Intro Preparing for tasks Carrying out tasks In reviewing &
reporting on tasks
Level A Level B Level C Level D Level E Level F
pupils, in discussion with the teacher ... pupils individually, or sometimes in small groups, with appropriate input from the teacher will ...
will ... and group/class, will ...
contribute to the planning process by responding to questions such as 'How?', 'Why?', 'What will happen if?', They should also be encouraged to suggest questions or problems to explore. help plan simple approaches to tackling a task or problem by making suggestions, by asking questions or drawing pictures be able, given an area of enquiry (for example the uses of water), to suggest a question for exploration, e.g. 'What substances are soluble in water?', 'Which material is best for keeping ice cubes solid?' identify 2-3 questions to investigate, e.g. how the pitch can be varied on different musical instruments: 'We can investigate the effect of changing the thickness and length' identify a number of key questions to investigate, e.g. 'How does the environment affect the distribution of an organism?' be able to formulate a reasonable hypothesis about the outcomes of an investigation
    identify and select ... pupils should be able to decide on appropriate strategies, procedures, sources of information, evidence and resources or equipment to ...
sources of information, resources/apparatus relevant to tackling the task order a sequence of activities or procedures for tackling the task

appropriate sources of information, evidence and resources or equipment and be able to give reasons for their planning decisions carry out a fair investigation investigate the hypothesis with due attention given to fair testing
  in response to ...      
simple questions from the teacher, make suggestions about what might happen, e.g. 'What will happen when we heat the chocolate?' specific questions about their planning, suggest possible outcomes of their planned course of action
  recognise when a test or comparison is unfair, e.g. know that when testing the bounce of balls they must be dropped from the same height on to the same surface. they should be encouraged to make suggestions about how to make a fair test or comparison, e.g. know that when changing one factor and observing or measuring the effect of this change the others factors must be kept the same. pupils should identify and select appropriate sources of information, evidence and resources or equipment and be able to give reasons for their planning decisions pupils should now be able to plan a fair test that involves keeping all factors the same except one, e.g. when finding out which kitchen roll is best at soaking up water the only factor that is different is the type of kitchen roll  pupils should also be able to plan a valid and reliable test for a given hypothesis, e.g. the thicker the insulation the less heat is lost from a roof. pupils' planning should include finding out how one variable is dependent on another.
          pupils should show an increasing awareness of the factors that could be changed (variables) when carrying out a practical task, e.g. the amount of water, the number of sheets of kitchen roll, the time allowed.      
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    Preparing for tasks Carrying out tasks In reviewing &
    reporting on tasks
    Level A Level B Level C Level D Level E Level F
    pupils should ...
    be encouraged to use all their senses to observe, ... observe ... 
    sort and identify, e.g. describe objects in a 'feely box' using terms such as 'soft', 'hard', 'lumpy' and 'jaggy' and notice obvious features of ...        
    living things, objects
    or phenomena and group by a single feature; e.g. sort the class into groups by hair colour, sort leaves by shape and phenomena, identifying distinguishing characteristics 

    they should also be able to observe events and sequence their main aspects, e.g. the process of baking a cake

    pupils should ...
    follow simple ... be able to use simple apparatus ... be able to select and use ...
    instructions, using simple techniques and equipment; e.g. collect a sample of different kinds of leaf, use a magnifying glass to watch insects and techniques to collect information; e.g. use thermo- meters to measure 'hotness', use shadow length to estimate time of day  eg. pooter, lenses, to collect information and use classification techniques to group unfamiliar things appropriate equipment and techniques to collect information; e.g. use a quadrat for sampling, use a sensor   a range of equipment and standard techniques measurements should involve them in estimating and measuring accurately to scale where appropriate
    measurements should involve ...
    length, weight, area, volume and time in convenient non-standard units; e.g. use string to measure the distance travelled by a toy car when pushed length, weight, time, using easily handled standard units length, weight (g, kg), time, area, volume, in standard units, selecting an appropriate unit and device them in estimating and measuring accurately distance, time, weight, area, volume, temperature, in small and large standard units, selecting appropriate measuring units and device
    records can be made ...      
    by drawing pictures, making lists, making pictorial charts or writing captions; e.g. draw pictures of leaves, match parts of the body with a picture drawing of the body, draw a group of animals and a group of plants. in a variety of ways that now include ... pupils should now be able to select ...
    diagrams, simple charts, drawing picture sequences, completing a given table and adding to a database; e.g. make a labelled diagram of the main parts of a flowering plant, enter data about the properties of materials into a database. making sketches, completing simple tables, databases and bar graphs (given the axes), making annotated diagrams, making a sequence of pictures or photographs, making brief notes (given the headings), e.g. produce an annotated diagram to show how a reflector in a bicycle lamp works; make a flow diagram of the water cycle.  given a range of options, an appropriate way of recording findings ..
    with assistance .. without assistance ..
    This range now includes ... Ways of recording can now be extended to include a record of investigations in sequential stages or an event in summary form such as notes or diagrams; organising notes, data and materials for future retrieval by others, e.g. database, filing system.
    making labelled and annotated sketches; constructing spreadsheet tables, databases, pie charts, line graphs and bar charts (providing own headings and axes); making an annotated sequence of photographs or illustrations. constructing graphs (defining own axes and headings), drawing diagrams using conventional symbols and writing notes and summaries (using own headings): e.g. construct a graph to show the relationship between light and growth; draw a diagram for an electrical circuit for car lights.

    Preparing for tasks Carrying out tasks In reviewing &
    reporting on tasks
    Level A Level B Level C Level D Level E Level F
    pupils might answer questions about what happened and why, e.g. What were the guinea pigs' favourite foods? Which materials were the 'stretchiest'? pupils will be able to answer questions on the meaning of the findings; e.g. 'Why did the toy car go further?'
    		 pupils should be able to answer questions about the content and meaning of their observations or measurements and identify possible explanations, e.g. why the motion of a toy truck was affected by changes in surface pupils should now be able to draw on their increasing scientific knowledge and understanding to provide explanations for outcomes, e.g. 'Why are the bulbs in a series circuit not as bright as those in a parallel circuit?'

    pupils should be able to draw conclusions that are consistent with their findings

    		 pupils should now be able to establish links between the results and the original hypothesis  
    pupils might participate in a classroom display of the findings or give an oral account of their part in the work, e.g. describe the animals and plants they saw on a walk round the local park. pupils should now be able to present their work in a short unstructured report (spoken or written). pupils should now be able to give a short report (spoken or written) of their findings communicating the key points clearly in an appropriate sequence, e.g. 'what I did' and 'what happened'. They should be able to make links to their original predictions. pupils should now be able to give an illustrated report organised in an appropriate sequence with appropriate illustrations describing what they did, what happened and their conclusions pupils should be able to write a systematic and structured report outlining the key stages in their investigation using appropriate illustrations and scientific vocabulary

     

    		 
          pupils should be able to reflect critically on the approach used and identify shortcomings. pupils should be able to reflect critically on the approach used, identify shortcomings/
    limitations and suggest improvements that could be made if they were to repeat the investigation.         		pupils should now be able to evaluate a range of aspects of the investigation including relevance and reliability of evidence.