Skill companion: Making and Recording Observations (Year 2) -- reusable inquiry scaffolds

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Skill companion · Year 2 Science Inquiryseegongsik /au

Making and Recording Observations: a skill companion

A small set of reusable sheets that grow one inquiry skill: measuring with everyday units, writing the numbers down, using a tablet photo, and telling a careful observation from a feeling. Print the scaffolds once and slot them into the science lessons you are already teaching.

AC9S2I03

make and record observations, including informal measurements, using digital tools as appropriate

What a skill companion is

Recording observations is not a topic of its own. It is a skill that grows inside the science units a class teaches all year, such as Changing Materials, Making Sounds and Earth and the Sky. So this pack is not a full term of lessons. It is an observation log, a count-and-tally sheet, cut-out observation and feeling cards, a map of where they fit, a mini-lesson and answers.

Start here: five minutes

Read the pairing map on the next page: it shows which scaffold fits which science lesson.
Print the observation log, one per child, whenever a lesson has something to measure or watch over time.
Print the count-and-tally sheet when children will count something, like jumps or taps.
Cut out the observation and feeling 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 model records and look-fors for every Year 2 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 switch between Table, Bar chart and Line graph in “Record the height each week, then see it grow”, compare counts in “Count the jumps, then compare them”, click the record that does not fit in “Find the record to measure again”, and sort notes in “Which notes are careful observations?”. Each scaffold in this pack turns one of those moves into something children do on paper.

seegongsik.com/au/y2/inquiry/AC9S2I03

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9 (AC9S2I03). 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 making and recording observations fits into every science unit. This map shows something to observe in each Year 2 topic, a simple way to measure it, 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	What to observe	How to measure it	Scaffold to slot in
Changing Materials (AC9S2U03)	How far the dough stretches	Measure with paper clips laid end to end	Observation log
Making Sounds (AC9S2U02)	How many taps, or how many shakes	Count and tally the taps	Count-and-tally sheet
Earth and the Sky (AC9S2U01)	How long the shadow is	Measure with hand spans or blocks	Observation log
Any science topic	Anything you can count or measure	Pick one everyday unit and keep it the same	Observation/feeling cards first, then the log

On the board

When you want a worked example on the board, open the unit. Switch between Table, Bar chart and Line graph in “Record the height each week, then see it grow” to show the same records two ways, then click the record that does not fit in “Find the record to measure again”.

seegongsik.com/au/y2/inquiry/AC9S2I03

Scaffold 1 · Observation logOne per child

Our observation log

NameClassDate

Watch something in a science lesson and keep a record of it. Measure it with an everyday unit, write the number down, and take a photo on a tablet if you have one.

What we are watching:

How we measure

Choose one everyday unit, and keep it the same every time.

□ blocks□ cups□ paper clips□ hand spans□ steps

When (day/week)	How many (number + unit)	Drew / photo
		□
		□
		□
		□
		□

What I notice:

Teacher note: use the same unit every time, so the numbers can be compared from one week to the next.

Scaffold 2 · Count and tallyOne per child

Count and tally

Some observations you count, like how many jumps or how many taps. Make one tally mark each time it happens, then write the total at the end.

What we counted	Tally marks (draw them here)	Total

Write your number down straight away, and film it on a tablet so you can count again to check.

Teacher note: grouping tally marks in fives makes a big count quick to add up.

Scaffold 3 · Observation cards (cut out)Reuse all year

Observation or feeling?

Cut out the cards. Sort them into two piles: careful observations we can use, and feelings or guesses. A careful observation tells what you counted or measured. A feeling tells how you feel about it.

The plant was 6 blocks tall on Friday.

This is the best plant in the whole world.

Ben skipped 12 times in one minute.

I love watching the beans grow.

The water in the cup went down 2 cups over the week.

The snail is the cutest one in the tank.

We took a photo of the leaf each day on the tablet.

The shadow reached 5 hand spans long at lunch.

I think this plant is amazing.

Write your own observation:

Teacher note: the two piles are careful observations we can use, and feelings or guesses. The answer sheet lists which is which, and why. Blank cards let children add their own.

Mini-lesson · Teacher planAbout 30 minutes

Careful recorders

Use this stand-alone lesson to teach the skill on its own, before you fold it into a science topic. It runs the 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

measure with an everyday unit,
write the number down,
tell a careful observation from a feeling.

Success criteria

I can measure with the same unit each time.
I can record my number.

You need

the observation and feeling cards (scaffold 3), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
the observation log and the count-and-tally sheet (scaffolds 1 and 2), one each per child,
something to measure now, like a plant, a shoe or a shadow, plus blocks or paper clips,
a tablet, if you have one,
the free interactive unit on your board (optional).

Lesson flow (about 30 minutes)

5 min	Measure it together Measure one classroom object together with blocks, stacking the same blocks each time. Count aloud and write the number where everyone can see it. Ask: “How many blocks tall, and how do we keep it fair?”
10 min	Observation or feeling? Tables sort the cards into two piles: careful observations we can use, and feelings or guesses. Gather the class on one tricky card. Ask: “Did we measure this, or is it how we feel?”
10 min	Record it Children measure two or three real objects and fill the observation log, or count something and tally it. Move around and help them keep the same unit and write each number down.
5 min	Share A few children read out one row from their log. Mention filming a count on a tablet so you can play it back and count again to check.

Running it shorter? Stop after Observation or feeling, and pick up Record it inside your next science lesson, where children measure something real.

On the board

For a worked example, open the unit and switch between Table, Bar chart and Line graph in “Record the height each week, then see it grow”. The records look different in each view, but the numbers stay the same because we measured with the same blocks.

seegongsik.com/au/y2/inquiry/AC9S2I03

Watch for these ideas

Changing the unit part way, like swapping big blocks for small ones. Keep the same unit so the numbers can be compared.
Only remembering a number instead of writing it down. Record it straight away, before it is forgotten.
Mixing a feeling in as data, like “the best plant”. Feelings are fine, but they are not what we measured.

Make it easier, make it bigger

Easier: measure just one thing and write one number in the log.
Bigger: measure the same thing with two different units, and talk about why the numbers are not the same.

Answers and look-fors

The next sheet has the card answers, model records for the observation log across the Year 2 topics, and a quick three-level guide.

Answers · For the teacherModel responses

Answers and look-fors

Observation or feeling? card answers

Note	Observation?	Why
The plant was 6 blocks tall on Friday.	Yes	it says a number you measured, so it can be checked and compared.
This is the best plant in the whole world.	No	best is a feeling, not something you measured.
Ben skipped 12 times in one minute.	Yes	it is a careful count you can write down and compare.
I love watching the beans grow.	No	it says how you feel, not what you measured.
The water in the cup went down 2 cups over the week.	Yes	it is a measurement with an everyday unit.
The snail is the cutest one in the tank.	No	cutest is an opinion, not a measurement.
We took a photo of the leaf each day on the tablet.	Yes	it is a careful record you can look back at.
The shadow reached 5 hand spans long at lunch.	Yes	it is an informal measurement with a number.
I think this plant is amazing.	No	amazing is a feeling, not something you counted or measured.

The blank cards children write are marked the same way: did we count or measure it, or is it a feeling two people could disagree on?

Observation log: what a good record looks like

Records will vary, and that is fine. The point is a number measured with the same unit each time, written down. Here is what a good record sounds like in each Year 2 topic.

Topic	A careful record
Changing Materials	The dough stretched to 7 paper clips long.
Making Sounds	We counted 15 taps before the sound faded.
Earth and the Sky	At noon the shadow was 4 hand spans long.

A quick three-level guide

Move	Working towards	At standard	Beyond
Measure with a unit	measures with help, or changes the unit part way	measures with the same everyday unit each time	chooses a sensible unit and explains why keeping it the same is fair
Record the number	remembers a number but does not write it down	writes each number down as a record	records neatly and adds a photo or drawing to check later
Observation vs feeling	mixes a feeling in as a record	tells a careful observation from a feeling	explains why only measured records can be compared

A child at standard measures with the same unit and writes the number down. The skill grows all year, so keep the log and the tally sheet coming back in every science topic.