ACARA v9 CONTENT DESCRIPTION “explore the ways people make and use observations and questions to learn about the natural world”
Builds on the everyday wondering that little children already do. Here we give that wondering a name. People learn about the natural world in two simple ways: by looking closely, which is called observing, and by asking questions about what they see.
People look and people ask
Scientists are not the only people who learn about the world. Farmers watch their fields, doctors look at how we feel, gardeners watch their plants, and weather-watchers look at the sky. They all do the same two things. First they observe, which means they look, listen, smell and feel very carefully. Then they ask questions about what they noticed. Looking closely and asking a good question is how learning starts.
Watching the Moon changes what we think
Add each new thing a child observes about the Moon, and watch how what they think can change.
New evidence (1 of 3)
One night a child sees a thin curved Moon and thinks the Moon is always this shape.
Accepted model: The Moon is a small curved sliver of light.
Add the next piece of evidence and watch whether the accepted model holds or has to change.
Choosing a way to find out
When you want to learn something about nature, there is more than one way to find out. You could watch with your own eyes, ask someone who knows, or look at a picture in a book. Each way is helpful, and each way has something it is not so good at. Picking a way to find out is part of learning too.
How will you find out what a bug eats?
You see a little bug in the garden and want to know what it eats. Pick a way to find out and see what is good and not so good about it.
There is a tiny bug on a leaf in the garden. You would like to learn what this bug likes to eat.
Choose a response to see what is gained and what is given up.
Spotting the people who are learning
People learn about nature whenever they observe and ask questions. Some things people do are real ways of finding out, and some are not. Look at each example below and decide if it shows someone learning by observing and asking, or not.
Who is learning by observing and asking?
Decide which examples show people learning about the natural world by looking closely or asking questions.
Claim: People learn about the natural world by observing it and by asking questions.
A farmer looks at the sky each morning to see if it will rain on the crops.
A child asks why leaves fall off the tree in autumn, then watches them fall.
A doctor listens carefully to your chest to find out how your body is working.
A boy shuts his eyes and just hopes he will know how tall a plant will grow.
A girl chooses her favourite colour to paint a picture of a flower.
Decide whether each statement is evidence for the claim, or not.
Why this matters
Observing and asking questions are the very first steps of science, and you can do them right now. Every time you look closely at a bug, a cloud or a plant and wonder why, you are learning the same way a scientist, a farmer or a doctor does. The world is full of things to notice, and a good question is the start of finding out.
Quick self-check
1. How do people learn about the world around them?
2. A gardener watches her seeds every day. When she looks closely at them, she is...
3. A child sees a snail and asks, "Why is it so slow?" Asking that question helps the child...
4. Which of these is a way people learn about the natural world?
5. Long ago people thought the Sun moved around the sky on its own. After watching the sky for a long time, what helped people learn more?