Skill companion: Checking Our Predictions (Foundation) -- reusable inquiry scaffolds

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Skill companion · Foundation Science Inquiryseegongsik /au

Checking Our Predictions: a skill companion

A small set of reusable sheets that grow one inquiry skill: making a guess before we test, looking at what really happens, and comparing the two to see if the guess matched or surprised us. Print the scaffolds once and slot them into the science lessons you are already teaching.

AC9SFI04

compare observations with predictions with guidance

What a skill companion is

Inquiry skills are not a topic of their own. They grow inside the science units a class teaches all year, such as Looking at Living Things, What Things Are Made Of and How Things Move. So this pack is not a full term of lessons. It is three reusable scaffolds, a map of where they fit, and a short stand-alone lesson for teaching the skill on its own first.

Start here: five minutes

Read the pairing map on the next page: it shows which scaffold fits which science lesson.
Print the predict-then-check frame, one per child, whenever a lesson lets children guess and then test.
Print the compare table when children want to line up several guesses and results at once.
Cut out the matched-or-surprised cards once. They are reused all year, in any topic.
Run the one-page mini-lesson first if you want to teach the skill before folding it into a topic.

No science background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each scaffold explains itself in plain words, and the answer sheet gives the float-and-sink results, model responses and look-fors for every Foundation topic, so you can walk in and use it.

On the board

This pack is the printable half of a free interactive unit. On screen, children match our guess to what really happened in the picture titled “Did our prediction come true?”. Each scaffold in this pack turns that same move into something children do on paper.

seegongsik.com/au/foundation/inquiry/AC9SFI04

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9 (AC9SFI04). This pack is original material from seegongsik, independently produced and not endorsed by ACARA. Curriculum content descriptors are (c) ACARA, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Free to print and use in class.

Where the skill fitsPairing map

Slot the skill into your science lessons

The same skill of comparing a guess with what really happened fits into every science unit. This map shows a guess children can make in each Foundation topic, the check that follows, and which scaffold to reach for. You do not run these as extra lessons; you fold them into the science you teach.

When you teach	Guess, then check	Scaffold to slot in
Looking at Living Things (AC9SFU01)	Guess how many animals have wings, then count and compare	Predict-then-check frame, then the compare table
What Things Are Made Of (AC9SFU03)	Guess which materials bend, then test and compare	Predict-then-check frame, then the compare table
How Things Move (AC9SFU02)	Guess which shape rolls further, then roll and compare	Matched-or-surprised cards first, then the compare table

The one move, and the picture that backs it

When you want a worked example on the board, open the interactive unit and use the picture that puts our guess next to what really happened.

Guess first, then look, then compare the two: “Did our prediction come true?”.
Notice when a result matched the guess, and when it surprised us.
Tell the truth about a surprise instead of changing the guess.

How the scaffolds build the skill

The predict-then-check frame holds one guess next to what really happened and asks if it matched or surprised us. The compare table lines up several results at once, so a pattern of matches and surprises stands out. The matched-or-surprised cards sharpen the hardest part: sorting real results into the ones that matched our guess and the ones that surprised us. Used together across the year, they make checking a prediction a habit.

Scaffold 1 · Predict-then-check frameOne per child

My guess, then what happened

NameClassDate

A prediction is a good guess. First we write our guess. Then we test it and write what really happened. Last we compare the two: did it match our guess, or was it a surprise?

My guess (before)

I think ...

What really happened (after)

Did it match my guess?Yes □ A surprise □

Why do I think it happened?

Teacher note: a guess that turns out to be a surprise is still good science. Celebrate noticing the surprise as much as a guess that matched.

Scaffold 2 · Compare tableOne per child

Line up our guesses and results

NameClassDate

Use this table when you test a few things at once. Write each thing, your guess, what really happened, and then compare: did it match, or was it a surprise?

Thing	My guess	What happened	Match or surprise?

Teacher note: with guidance, help children read across each row and say if the result matched their guess or surprised them. Look at the whole column of ticks at the end.

Scaffold 3 · Matched-or-surprised cards (cut out)Reuse all year

Did it match our guess?

Cut out the cards. Each card shows a thing and the guess we made before testing it. Drop each thing in water, then sort the cards into two piles: things that matched our guess, and things that surprised us. The answer sheet has the real result for each one.

A corkOur guess: it will float.

A metal coinOur guess: it will sink.

An appleOur guess: it will sink.

A dry spongeOur guess: it will float.

A marbleOur guess: it will sink.

A plastic lidOur guess: it will float.

A carrotOur guess: it will float.

A wooden pegOur guess: it will float.

Your thing:

Our guess: it will

Your thing:

Our guess: it will

Your thing:

Our guess: it will

Teacher note: the two piles are “matched our guess” and “surprised us”. The answer sheet lists what really floats or sinks and which cards are the surprises. Blank cards let children add their own things to guess about.

Mini-lesson · Teacher planAbout 30 minutes

Did it match our guess?

Use this stand-alone lesson to teach the skill on its own, before you fold it into a science topic. Children guess whether things will float or sink, test them, and compare their guess with what really happened. It runs the three scaffolds in this pack in one short block, so children meet the whole skill in one go and then reuse the sheets all year.

We are learning to

make a guess before we test,
look carefully at what really happens,
compare the two and say if our guess matched or surprised us.

Success criteria

I can say my guess, then say what really happened.
I can tell if it matched my guess or was a surprise.

You need

the matched-or-surprised cards (scaffold 3), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
the predict-then-check frame (scaffold 1), one per child, and the compare table (scaffold 2) for the group,
a tub of water and the things on the cards: a cork, a coin, an apple, a sponge, a marble, a lid, a carrot and a wooden peg,
the free interactive unit on your board, if you have one (optional).

Lesson flow (about 30 minutes)

5 min	Guess first Hold up two things, such as the cork and the coin. Before anyone tests, each table guesses float or sink and puts the card in a guess pile. Ask: “Will this one float or sink? What have you seen before that makes you think that?”
10 min	Test and look Drop each thing in the tub, one at a time, and watch. Tables move each card next to what really happened. Slow down on the apple and the carrot. Ask: “Did it do what you guessed? Point to the thing that surprised us.”
10 min	Compare and sort Children fill the predict-then-check frame for one thing, then sort the cards into two piles: matched our guess, and surprised us. Fill the compare table together on the board so the pattern of matches and surprises shows up.
5 min	Share A few children read out their guess and what really happened. Celebrate spotting a surprise as much as a guess that matched. Ask: “Which one surprised you the most, and why do you think it happened?”

Running it shorter? Stop after Test and look, and pick up Compare and sort inside your next science lesson, where children check a real prediction.

On the board

For a worked example, open the unit and use the picture titled “Did our prediction come true?”. Children read each sentence and decide which ones match our prediction, just as they compare their float-and-sink guesses with what really happened.

seegongsik.com/au/foundation/inquiry/AC9SFI04

Watch for these ideas

Thinking a wrong guess is a failure. A surprise is good science; it teaches us something new.
Changing the guess after seeing the result. We keep our first guess and tell the truth about what happened.
Only remembering the matches. Ask children to point to the surprises too, like the apple and the carrot.

Make it easier, make it bigger

Easier: sort just four cards, and test them one at a time next to each guess.
Bigger: add a blank card with a new thing, guess before testing, and see if it matched or surprised the class.

Answers and look-fors

The next sheet has the float-and-sink results for every card, model compare responses for each Foundation topic, and a quick three-level guide.

Answers · For the teacherModel responses

Answers and look-fors

Float-and-sink cards: what really happens

Thing	Guess	Really	Match or surprise?	Why
A cork	float	floats	Matched	A cork is light for its size and floats, just as most children guess.
A metal coin	sink	sinks	Matched	A small heavy coin sinks, as most children guess.
An apple	sink	floats	Surprise	An apple looks heavy but floats, so this one surprises many children.
A dry sponge	float	floats	Matched	A dry sponge is full of air and floats.
A marble	sink	sinks	Matched	A small glass marble sinks.
A plastic lid	float	floats	Matched	A light plastic lid floats.
A carrot	float	sinks	Surprise	A carrot looks like it might float but sinks, so this one surprises many children.
A wooden peg	float	floats	Matched	Wood floats, so a wooden peg stays on top.

The surprising ones are the apple and the carrot: the apple looks heavy but floats, and the carrot looks like it might float but sinks. Every other card matches the guess most children make. Blank cards children add are checked the same way: was the result what they guessed?

Comparing a guess with a result: what a good response sounds like

Responses will vary, and that is fine. The point is that the child holds the guess next to what really happened and says whether it matched or surprised them. Here is what an at-standard compare sounds like in each Foundation topic.

Topic	A compare at standard
Looking at Living Things	I guessed 3 animals would have wings. I counted 4, so more had wings than I guessed. That was a surprise.
What Things Are Made Of	I guessed the plastic ruler would bend and it did, so that matched my guess. I guessed the craft stick would bend, but it snapped, so that surprised me.
How Things Move	I guessed the ball would roll further than the block, and it did, so that matched my guess.

A quick three-level guide

Move	Working towards	At standard	Beyond
Compare guess with result	says the guess or the result, but not both	says the guess and what really happened, with help	lines up the guess next to the result and says how they differ
Notice a surprise	calls a surprise a mistake, or hides it	says when the result did not match the guess	points to the surprise and treats it as something new to learn
Give a reason	gives no reason for the result	gives a simple reason from what they have seen	links the reason to something noticed before

A child at standard, with guidance, says their guess and what really happened and tells if it matched or surprised them. The skill grows all year, so keep the scaffolds coming back in every science topic.