Skill companion: Comparing and Concluding (Year 3)

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Skill companion · Year 3 Science Inquiryseegongsik /au

Comparing and Concluding: a skill companion

A small set of reusable sheets that grow one inquiry skill: comparing your findings with someone else’s, checking that both tests were fair, drawing a conclusion that comes from the data, and asking a new question to investigate next. Print the scaffolds once and slot them into the science lessons you are already teaching.

AC9S3I05

compare findings with those of others, consider if investigations were fair, identify questions for further investigation and draw conclusions

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 what to compare, and what to check, in each Year 3 topic.
Print the compare-and-check sheet and the conclusion frame, one each per pair, at the end of any test.
Cut out the conclusion cards once. They are reused all year, and the blank cards fit any test.
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. When two groups get similar results from a fair test, the finding can be trusted more; when they differ, an unfair step is the first thing to look for. A conclusion says what the data shows, and no more. The answer sheet gives the conclusion-card key, a worked comparison and a quick three-level guide.

On the board

This pack is the printable half of a free interactive unit. On screen, children switch between “Table” and “Bar chart” in “My results next to another group’s”, click the reading that does not match in “Find the reading that does not match”, and sort statements with “Supports” and “Does not support” in “Which statements does the data support?”. Each scaffold in this pack turns one of those moves into something children do on paper.

seegongsik.com/au/y3/inquiry/AC9S3I05

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9 (AC9S3I05). 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 and concluding fits at the end of every test. This map shows findings children can compare in each Year 3 topic, what to check before trusting them, 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 compare	What to check	Scaffold to slot in
Living and Non-living Things (AC9S3U01)	Two groups’ bean-plant heights after three weeks, in the sun and in the shade	Did both groups give the same water, use the same pots, and measure from the soil?	Compare-and-check sheet, then the conclusion frame
Soils, Rocks and Minerals (AC9S3U02)	Two groups’ drainage results for sand, clay and potting mix	Did both pour the same amount of water through the same amount of soil?	Compare-and-check sheet
Heat and Temperature (AC9S3U03)	Two groups’ cup temperatures after 20 minutes	Did both start with the same water, and read the thermometer at the same time?	Conclusion cards, then the conclusion frame
Solids, Liquids and Changing State (AC9S3U04)	Every group’s melt time for ice on the same metal tray	A time far from the rest: was that cube bigger, or the timer started late?	Compare-and-check sheet
Any science topic	Your class’s results next to another group’s or another class’s	Was every test fair, and was everything measured the same way?	Compare-and-check sheet, then the conclusion frame

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.

Put your findings next to another group’s and see whether they agree: “My results next to another group’s”.
Spot a result that does not match, and ask whether that test was fair: “Find the reading that does not match”.
Keep only the statements the data supports in a conclusion: “Which statements does the data support?”.

How the scaffolds build the skill

The compare-and-check sheet puts two sets of results side by side and checks both tests for fairness before anyone decides what they mean. The conclusion frame turns the agreement into one clear sentence with its evidence, says how sure the class can be, and ends with a new question to investigate. The conclusion cards sharpen the hardest part: telling a statement the data supports from one that goes beyond it.

Scaffold 1 · Compare and checkOne per pair

Do our findings agree?

NameClassDate

Put your results next to another group’s. Then check both tests before you decide what the results mean.

Our question:

What we tested	Our result	Their result	Close or far?

Do the two sets of results agree?Yes □Mostly □No □

Were both tests fair?

Check	Our test	Their test
Only one thing was changed.	Yes □ No □	Yes □ No □
Everything else was kept the same.	Yes □ No □	Yes □ No □
It was measured the same way, with the same kind of instrument.	Yes □ No □	Yes □ No □
It was measured after the same wait.	Yes □ No □	Yes □ No □

If a result is far from the others

What could have been different about that test?

Teacher note: comparing is not about which group is right. When results differ, check the fair-test boxes first; then measure the result that does not match again.

Scaffold 2 · Conclusion frameOne per pair

Our conclusion

NameClassDate

A conclusion says what your results show about your question. It comes from the data, not from what you hoped would happen.

Our question:

What we found

We found that ...

The data that shows it:

The other group found ...

How sure are we?Very sure □Fairly sure □Not sure yet □

Very sure means both groups agree and both tests were fair.

Next time

A new question to investigate: What would happen if ...

How we would keep that test fair:

A good conclusion often ends with a new question: one answer leads to the next test.

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

Does the data support it?

Two groups tested which cup keeps warm water warm the longest. Both poured 200 mL of warm tap water at 45 °C into each cup and read the thermometer after 20 minutes. Read their results, then cut out the cards and sort them into two piles: statements the data supports, and statements it does not.

After 20 minutes	paper cup	plastic cup	foam cup
Group A	31 °C	33 °C	40 °C
Group B	30 °C	34 °C	39 °C

In both groups, the water in the foam cup stayed the warmest.

Foam cups keep any drink hot for a whole day.

Both groups found the same order: foam warmest, then plastic, then paper.

Paper cups are useless.

Group B did a better test than Group A.

After 20 minutes, the water in every cup was cooler than at the start.

In both groups, the water in the paper cup cooled the most.

For each cup, the two groups got readings no more than 1 degree apart.

The water in the plastic cup got warmer.

The plastic cup was the prettiest.

In both groups, the foam cup kept the water 9 degrees warmer than the paper cup.

Foam is the best material for everything.

Write a statement of your own:

Teacher note: the two piles are “supported” and “not supported”. Keep the results table beside the cards while children sort. The answer sheet lists which is which, and why.

Mini-lesson · Teacher planAbout 30 minutes

Do we agree?

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. It works best straight after a test the class has run in two or more groups.

We are learning to

compare our results with another group’s,
check whether both tests were fair,
draw a conclusion from the data, and ask a new question.

Success criteria

I can say whether two groups’ findings agree, and why they might not.
I can write a conclusion that comes from the data, and a question to test next.

You need

the conclusion cards (scaffold 3), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
the compare-and-check sheet and the conclusion frame (scaffolds 1 and 2), one each per pair,
two groups’ results from a test the class has run, or the cup results printed on the cards sheet,
the free interactive unit on your board, if you have one (optional).

Lesson flow (about 30 minutes)

5 min	Two sets of results Put two groups’ results side by side on the board. Ask: “Do the two groups agree? What makes you say so?”
10 min	Compare and check Pairs fill the compare-and-check sheet: the results side by side, then the fair-test checks for both groups. Show the board (see the box). Ask: “One result is far from the rest. What could have been different about that test?”
10 min	Conclude Pairs fill the conclusion frame: what they found, the data that shows it, how sure they are, and a new question. Ask: “Does your conclusion come from the data, or from what you hoped would happen?”
5 min	Sort the cards Tables sort the conclusion cards into the two piles. Ask: “The cups were tested for 20 minutes. Can we say anything about a whole day?”

Running it shorter? Stop after Compare and check, and write the conclusion at the start of the next science lesson.

On the board

For a worked example, open the unit and show “My results next to another group’s”: press “Table”, then “Bar chart”, to see both groups side by side. Then click the group whose time does not match in “Find the reading that does not match”, and read why that test may not have been fair.

seegongsik.com/au/y3/inquiry/AC9S3I05

Watch for these ideas

Calling one group wrong when the results differ. First check whether both tests were fair and measured the same way.
A conclusion that goes beyond the data, such as a whole day from a 20-minute test.
A conclusion that says what someone hoped, not what was measured.

Make it easier, make it bigger

Easier: compare one row at a time with a partner, writing close or far, before filling the rest of the sheet.
Bigger: write two new questions, one that changes the cup and one that changes something else such as a lid, and say how each test would be kept fair.

Answers and look-fors

The next sheet has the conclusion-card key, a worked comparison of the two groups, model conclusions and new questions, and a quick three-level guide.

Answers · For the teacherModel responses

Answers and look-fors

Conclusion cards: does the data support it?

Conclusion card	Supported?	Why
In both groups, the water in the foam cup stayed the warmest.	Yes	The foam cup has the highest reading in both groups: 40 and 39.
Foam cups keep any drink hot for a whole day.	No	The test lasted 20 minutes. It cannot tell us about a whole day, or about other drinks.
Both groups found the same order: foam warmest, then plastic, then paper.	Yes	Read across each group: foam is highest and paper is lowest in both.
Paper cups are useless.	No	Useless is an opinion. The data only shows that paper kept the water the least warm of the three.
Group B did a better test than Group A.	No	Nothing in the results shows that. The two groups got readings within 1 degree of each other.
After 20 minutes, the water in every cup was cooler than at the start.	Yes	The water started at 45 degrees, and every reading is below 45.
In both groups, the water in the paper cup cooled the most.	Yes	The paper cup has the lowest reading in both groups: 31 and 30.
For each cup, the two groups got readings no more than 1 degree apart.	Yes	Paper 31 and 30, plastic 33 and 34, foam 40 and 39: each pair is 1 degree apart.
The water in the plastic cup got warmer.	No	It started at 45 degrees and ended at 33 and 34, so it got cooler.
The plastic cup was the prettiest.	No	Prettiest is an opinion, and the test did not measure it.
In both groups, the foam cup kept the water 9 degrees warmer than the paper cup.	Yes	Group A: 40 take away 31 is 9. Group B: 39 take away 30 is 9.
Foam is the best material for everything.	No	The test was only about keeping water warm in a cup, so it says nothing about everything else.

The two groups compared

Cup	Group A	Group B	Close or far?
paper cup	31 °C	30 °C	close: 1 degree apart
plastic cup	33 °C	34 °C	close: 1 degree apart
foam cup	40 °C	39 °C	close: 1 degree apart

Both tests used the same water, the same three cups and the same wait, so they were fair, and the results agree. A conclusion the class can be very sure of: the foam cup kept the water warmest.

Conclusions and new questions at standard

Responses will vary, and that is fine. The point is a conclusion that comes from the data and a new question that could be tested fairly. Here is what that sounds like in each Year 3 topic.

Topic	A conclusion at standard	A new question
Living and Non-living Things	The bean plants in the sun grew taller than the ones in the shade, in both groups.	Would the plants in the shade catch up if we gave them more water?
Soils, Rocks and Minerals	Water drained through the sand fastest and the clay slowest, and both groups found the same order.	Would mixing sand into clay soil make it drain faster?
Heat and Temperature	The foam cup kept the warm water warmest after 20 minutes, in both groups.	Would a lid keep the water in the foam cup warm for even longer?
Solids, Liquids and Changing State	Ice melted faster on the metal tray than on cloth, and four of the five groups got about the same time.	Would the ice melt even faster on a metal tray in the sun?

A quick three-level guide

Move	Working towards	At standard	Beyond
Compare findings	reads out both sets of results	says whether the two sets agree, result by result	spots a result far from the others and says what could explain it
Check fairness	says a test was fair without checking	checks both tests for one change, the same measuring and the same wait	explains how an unfair step would change the results
Conclude and question	writes what was hoped, or goes beyond the data	writes a conclusion from the data with its evidence, and a new question	says how sure the class can be, and how the next test would be fair

A child at standard compares two sets of results, checks both tests for fairness, and writes a conclusion from the data with a new question. The skill grows all year, so keep the scaffolds coming back at the end of every test.