Skill companion: Asking Questions and Predicting (Year 3)

← Back to the unitTip: in the print dialog choose “Save as PDF”.

Skill companion · Year 3 Science Inquiryseegongsik /au

Asking Questions and Predicting: a skill companion

A small set of reusable sheets that grow one inquiry skill: spotting a pattern, turning it into a question about the relationship behind it, and making a prediction with a reason from what has been observed. Print the scaffolds once and slot them into the science lessons you are already teaching.

AC9S3I01

pose questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observations

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 Living and Non-living Things, Soils, Rocks and Minerals, Heat and Temperature, and Solids, Liquids and Changing State. 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 question planner and the prediction frame, one each per child, whenever a lesson starts from a pattern children have noticed.
Cut out the evidence cards once. They are reused all year, and the blank cards fit any topic.
Open the free interactive unit on your board when you want a worked example of the skill.
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 evidence-card key, a model question and prediction for every Year 3 topic, and a quick three-level guide, 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 press “Let it vary” until every line reads “Kept the same” in “Frame the question: change only one thing” and “Decide what to measure before you start”, click the reading that breaks the pattern in “Spot the reading to check again”, and sort findings with “Supports” and “Does not support” in “Weigh the evidence for the prediction”. Each scaffold in this pack turns one of those moves into something children do on paper.

seegongsik.com/au/y3/inquiry/AC9S3I01

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9 (AC9S3I01). 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 asking a question and predicting fits into every science unit. This map shows a pattern children can observe in each Year 3 topic, a question to pose about 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	Pattern children can see	Question to pose	Scaffold to slot in
Living and Non-living Things (AC9S3U01)	Bean seeds on damp cotton wool sprout; seeds left dry do not	Do bean seeds need water to sprout?	Planner, then the prediction frame
Soils, Rocks and Minerals (AC9S3U02)	After rain, puddles stay longer on clay ground than in the sandpit	Does water drain faster through sandy soil than through clay soil?	Planner, then the prediction frame
Heat and Temperature (AC9S3U03)	In a cup of hot tap water, a metal spoon warms up before a wooden one	Does a metal spoon warm up faster than a wooden spoon?	Prediction frame, then the spoon evidence cards
Solids, Liquids and Changing State (AC9S3U04)	Ice melts faster in a warm room than in a cool one	Does ice melt faster when the room is warmer?	Planner, then the prediction frame
Any science topic	A pattern a child spots for themselves	The child turns what they observed into their own question and prediction	Planner first, then a blank evidence card

The three moves, and the picture that backs each one

When you want a worked example on the board, open the interactive unit and use the picture that matches the move children are working on.

Turn a pattern into a fair question, with one thing to change and one thing to measure: “Frame the question: change only one thing” and “Decide what to measure before you start”.
Spot the reading that breaks a pattern and is worth checking again: “Spot the reading to check again”.
Weigh which findings really test a prediction: “Weigh the evidence for the prediction”.

How the scaffolds build the skill

The question planner turns something a child noticed into a question about the relationship behind it, with one thing to change and one thing to measure. The prediction frame adds a prediction with a reason from what was observed, and comes back after the test to check it. The evidence cards sharpen the last step: telling a finding that tests the prediction from one that is true but beside the point. Used together across the year, they make asking questions and predicting a habit.

Scaffold 1 · Question plannerOne per child

From a pattern to a question

NameClassDate

Science often starts with something you notice happening again and again. A pattern like that can become a question you can explore with a fair test.

What I noticed

Draw it or write it

The pattern in one sentence

When ______________________ changes, ______________________ changes too.

My question

A question you can explore asks about the relationship. These openers can help.

Does ______ make ______ happen faster?
What happens to ______ when ______ changes?
Does more ______ mean more ______ ?

To explore it fairly

The one thing I will change:

What I will measure or count:

Things I will keep the same:

Can we explore my question with a fair test?Yes □Not yet □

Teacher note: if a child ticks “Not yet”, the question usually has nothing to change or nothing to measure. Help them name one of each, then reword it.

Scaffold 2 · Prediction frameOne per child

My prediction

NameClassDate

A prediction says what you expect to happen and gives a reason from something you have already observed. That reason is what makes it more than a wild guess.

Before we test

I predict that ...

because I have observed ...

If my prediction is right, we will see ...

After we test

What happened:

Does the evidence support my prediction?Yes □Partly □No □

A reading I would check again, and why:

A prediction the evidence does not support is still good science: you found something out, and it gives you a new question to ask.

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

Does this finding support the prediction?

Cut out the cards. Lay down one prediction card, then sort its finding cards into two piles: findings that support the prediction, and findings that do not. Some findings are true but beside the point: they do not test the prediction at all.

PREDICTIONA metal spoon warms up faster than a wooden spoon in the same cup of hot water.Spoons

After 2 minutes, the handle of the metal spoon felt warm and the wooden one did not.Spoons

The metal spoon was shiny and the wooden spoon was brown.Spoons

A thermometer taped to the metal spoon rose faster than one taped to the wooden spoon.Spoons

We did the test on a Tuesday morning.Spoons

In all three trials, the metal spoon felt warm first.Spoons

Write another finding:

Spoons

PREDICTIONBean seeds kept damp will sprout sooner than bean seeds kept dry.Seeds

The seeds came from a packet bought at the garden shop.Seeds

After 4 days, the damp seeds had small shoots and the dry seeds had none.Seeds

One damp seed did not sprout at all.Seeds

By day 7, 9 of the 10 damp seeds had sprouted and none of the 10 dry seeds had.Seeds

The dry seeds were kept in a blue cup.Seeds

Write another finding:

Seeds

Teacher note: the two piles are “supports” and “does not support”. The answer sheet lists which is which, and why. The blank cards let children add a finding of their own, then swap it with another table to sort.

Mini-lesson · Teacher planAbout 30 minutes

From a pattern to a prediction

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

notice a pattern in what we observe,
turn it into a question we can explore with a fair test,
make a prediction with a reason, and weigh the evidence for it.

Success criteria

I can ask a question about a pattern that a fair test can explore.
I can make a prediction and say what I observed that makes me think it.

You need

the evidence cards (scaffold 3), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
the question planner and the prediction frame (scaffolds 1 and 2), one each per child,
two ice cubes of the same size on two plates of the same kind, one set in a sunny spot and one in the shade as the lesson starts,
the free interactive unit on your board, if you have one (optional).

Lesson flow (about 30 minutes)

5 min	Spot the pattern Put out the two ice cubes. Ask children when they have seen ice melt fast and when slowly: ice blocks on a hot day, ice in a drink, frost on a cold morning. Ask: “Where have you seen ice melt quickly? What was the same each time?”
10 min	Frame the question Each child fills the question planner: the pattern, a question about it, the one thing to change, what to measure and what to keep the same. Show the board (see the box). Ask: “If one cube is bigger than the other, can we still tell what made it melt faster?”
10 min	Predict Children fill the top of the prediction frame: what they predict will happen to the two cubes, and what they have observed that makes them think so. Ask: “What have you seen before that makes you think that?”
5 min	Weigh the evidence Look at the two cubes together and fill the bottom of the frame. Then tables sort the spoon cards into the two piles. Ask: “This finding is true. Does it test the prediction?”

Running it shorter? Stop after Frame the question, and pick up the prediction frame and the evidence cards inside your next science lesson, where children test a real prediction.

On the board

For a worked example, open the unit and press “Let it vary” on each line of “Frame the question: change only one thing” until both read “Kept the same”. With the cube size and the plate held steady, only the warmth of the room changes, and that is what makes the question fair.

seegongsik.com/au/y3/inquiry/AC9S3I01

Watch for these ideas

A question no test can answer, like “is ice better than water?”. Ask what they could change and what they could measure.
Changing two things at once, such as a bigger cube in the warmer spot. Then nobody can tell which change made the difference.
A prediction with no reason. Ask what they have observed before that points that way.

Make it easier, make it bigger

Easier: fill the planner together as a class, and sort only the spoon cards.
Bigger: write a finding on a blank card that would not support the prediction, and swap it with another table to sort.

Answers and look-fors

The next sheet has the evidence-card key, a model question and prediction for each Year 3 topic, and a quick three-level guide.

Answers · For the teacherModel responses

Answers and look-fors

Evidence cards: does the finding support the prediction?

Spoons (Heat and Temperature): A metal spoon warms up faster than a wooden spoon in the same cup of hot water.

Finding card	Supports?	Why
After 2 minutes, the handle of the metal spoon felt warm and the wooden one did not.	Yes	It is a result of the test, and it matches what the prediction said would happen.
The metal spoon was shiny and the wooden spoon was brown.	No	The colour of a spoon does not tell you how fast it warmed up, so it does not test the prediction.
A thermometer taped to the metal spoon rose faster than one taped to the wooden spoon.	Yes	A measured result that matches the prediction is strong evidence for it.
We did the test on a Tuesday morning.	No	The day of the week has nothing to do with how spoons warm up.
In all three trials, the metal spoon felt warm first.	Yes	The same result again and again makes the evidence stronger.

Seeds (Living and Non-living Things): Bean seeds kept damp will sprout sooner than bean seeds kept dry.

Finding card	Supports?	Why
The seeds came from a packet bought at the garden shop.	No	Where the seeds came from does not test whether water helps them sprout.
After 4 days, the damp seeds had small shoots and the dry seeds had none.	Yes	It is a result of the test, and it matches the prediction.
One damp seed did not sprout at all.	No	On its own it does not support the prediction, but one seed in ten is an odd result to check, not proof the prediction is wrong.
By day 7, 9 of the 10 damp seeds had sprouted and none of the 10 dry seeds had.	Yes	Counting every seed shows the pattern clearly, so this supports the prediction.
The dry seeds were kept in a blue cup.	No	The colour of the cup does not test the prediction about water.

Blank cards are marked the same way: does the finding come from the test, and does it match what the prediction said would happen?

Planner and prediction frame: what a good response sounds like

Responses will vary, and that is fine. The point is a question a fair test can explore and a prediction with a reason from something observed. Here is what an at-standard response sounds like in each Year 3 topic.

Topic	A question at standard	A prediction at standard
Living and Non-living Things	Do bean seeds need water to sprout?	I predict the damp seeds will sprout and the dry ones will not, because I have observed garden plants wilt when the soil dries out.
Soils, Rocks and Minerals	Does water drain faster through sandy soil than through clay soil?	I predict the water will drain through the sandy soil faster, because I have observed puddles stay longer on clay ground than in the sandpit.
Heat and Temperature	Does a metal spoon warm up faster than a wooden spoon?	I predict the metal spoon will warm up first, because I have observed that a metal pot handle gets hot and a wooden one stays cool.
Solids, Liquids and Changing State	Does ice melt faster when the room is warmer?	I predict the cube in the warmer room will melt first, because I have observed ice blocks melt quickly on hot days.

A quick three-level guide

Move	Working towards	At standard	Beyond
Pose a question about a pattern	asks a question with help, sometimes one no test can answer	asks a question about a pattern that a fair test can explore	names the one thing to change and the thing to measure
Predict from observations	makes a guess with no reason	says what will happen and gives a reason from something observed	links the prediction to a pattern seen more than once
Weigh the evidence	counts any true fact as evidence	sorts findings that test the prediction from ones beside the point	treats an odd result as a reason to check again, not as proof

A child at standard asks a question a fair test can explore and gives a prediction with a reason from something observed. The skill grows all year, so keep the scaffolds coming back in every science topic.