Skill companion: Comparing Findings and Conclusions (Year 4)

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Skill companion · Year 4 Science Inquiryseegongsik /au

Comparing Findings and Conclusions: a skill companion

A small set of reusable sheets that grow one inquiry skill: putting your findings beside other groups’ findings, checking whether each test was fair, drawing a conclusion the evidence backs, and asking the next question. Print the scaffolds once and slot them into the science lessons you are already teaching.

AC9S4I05

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 Food Chains and Habitats, The Water Cycle, Forces, Friction and Magnets, and Properties of Materials. 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 findings to compare in each Year 4 topic.
Print the compare-with-others sheet, one per pair, whenever two or more groups run the same test.
Print the conclusion frame, one per child, to finish an investigation.
Cut out the conclusion cards once. They are reused all year, and the blank cards fit 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 worked comparison, the card key, a model conclusion and a quick three-level guide. Comparing is not about which group is right: when groups agree the conclusion is stronger, and when they differ the difference is a clue to check.

On the board

This pack is the printable half of a free interactive unit. On screen, children switch between “Table” and “Bar chart” in “Two groups’ paperclip counts side by side”, click the count that does not match in “Find the count that does not match”, sort with “Supports” and “Does not support” in “Which statements does the combined evidence support?”, and press “Add next evidence” in “From compared results to a conclusion and a next question”.

seegongsik.com/au/y4/inquiry/AC9S4I05

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9 (AC9S4I05). 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

Any test that more than one group runs gives findings to compare. This map gives one for each Year 4 topic, with a fairness check and a next question, 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	Findings to compare	Fair? Next question	Scaffold to slot in
Food Chains and Habitats (AC9S4U01)	Slaters counted at the damp and dry ends of each group’s tray	Fair: the same soil and the same time? Next: do slaters choose dark places too?	Compare with others, then the conclusion frame
The Water Cycle (AC9S4U02)	Water left in a sun dish and a shade dish after three days	Fair: the same dishes, the same start? Next: does wind speed up evaporation?	Compare with others (the worked dishes)
Forces, Friction and Magnets (AC9S4U03)	Paperclips lifted by the same magnets in two groups	Fair: the same clips, hung the same way? Next: does the gap to the clips matter?	Conclusion frame, then the magnet cards
Properties of Materials (AC9S4U04)	Water soaked up by the same materials in three groups	Fair: pieces the same size, the same water? Next: does a thicker towel soak more?	Compare with others, then the soak cards
Any science topic	Any results two groups have for the same test	Children check fairness, then ask what they want to know next	Compare with others first

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 two groups’ findings side by side, and find a result that does not match: “Two groups’ paperclip counts side by side” and “Find the count that does not match”.
Decide which statements the combined evidence supports: “Which statements does the combined evidence support?”.
Move from compared results to a conclusion and a next question: “From compared results to a conclusion and a next question”.

How the scaffolds build the skill

The compare-with-others sheet lines up two groups’ results, marks where they agree and differ, and checks whether both tests were fair. The conclusion frame turns the comparison into a conclusion with its evidence, what is still unsure, and a question for further investigation. The conclusion cards sharpen the judgement: a sound conclusion stays within what was tested; an over-claim says more than the evidence shows.

Scaffold 1 · Compare with othersOne per pair

Put the findings side by side

NameClassDate

A. Worked example: the evaporation dishes

Two groups each put 100 mL of water in a dish in the sun and a dish in the shade. After 3 days they measured the water left.

Water left (mL)	Group 1	Group 2
Dish in the sun	35	40
Dish in the shade	70	45

Where do the groups agree? ________________________________________

Where do they differ the most? ____________________________________

What could make that difference? __________________________________

B. Our findings and another group’s

What we changed	Our result	Their result	Agree?

C. Were both tests fair?

Did both groups change the same one thing?Yes □No □Not sure □

Did both groups keep the other things the same?Yes □No □Not sure □

Did both groups measure the same way, with the same unit?Yes □No □Not sure □

Teacher note: a “No” or “Not sure” is not a failure. It is the reason to check a result again before drawing a conclusion.

Scaffold 2 · Conclusion frameOne per child

Our conclusion, and the next question

NameClassDate

A conclusion says what the evidence shows, and no more. A good investigation ends with a new question.

We found that ...

Our evidence (give the numbers)

Other groups found ...

Do the findings agree?Yes □Mostly □No □

So we conclude that ...

We are still not sure about ...

A question to investigate next

Tip: a next question often starts “Would it still happen if ...?” or “Does ... also affect ...?”

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

Sound conclusion, or over-claim?

Cut out the cards. Lay down one findings card, then sort its conclusion cards into two piles: sound conclusions the evidence backs, and over-claims that say more than the evidence shows.

WHAT THE GROUPS FOUNDTwo groups tested the same five magnets. Both found magnet D lifted the most paperclips and magnet E the fewest.Magnets

Magnet D lifted the most paperclips in both groups’ tests.Magnets

Magnet D is the strongest magnet in the world.Magnets

Our group was right and the other group was wrong.Magnets

Both groups found magnet E lifted the fewest paperclips.Magnets

Bigger magnets are always stronger.Magnets

Write another conclusion:

Magnets

WHAT THE GROUPS FOUNDThree groups tested the same four materials. In every group the sponge soaked up the most water and the plastic the least.Soak

Plastic would make a good towel.Soak

In all three groups, the sponge soaked up the most water.Soak

Of these four materials, plastic soaked up the least water.Soak

The sponge soaked up the most water because it is yellow.Soak

A sponge soaks up every liquid better than any other material.Soak

Write another conclusion:

Soak

Teacher note: the two piles are “sound conclusion” and “over-claim”. The answer sheet lists which is which, and why.

Mini-lesson · Teacher planAbout 30 minutes

Compare, check, conclude

Use this stand-alone lesson to teach the skill on its own, before you fold it into a science topic. Two groups’ evaporation results, printed on scaffold 1, give the class findings to compare, a difference to explain, a conclusion to draw and a question to ask next.

We are learning to

compare our findings with other groups’ findings,
consider whether each investigation was fair,
draw a conclusion the evidence backs, and ask a question to investigate next.

Success criteria

I can say where two groups’ results agree and where they differ, and suggest why.
I can write a conclusion that stays within what was tested, and a next question.

You need

the compare-with-others sheet and the conclusion frame (scaffolds 1 and 2), one each per child,
the conclusion cards from scaffold 3, one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
the free interactive unit on your board, if you have one (optional).

Lesson flow (about 30 minutes)

5 min	Two groups, two answers Show the board (see the box). Ask why two groups testing the same magnets got slightly different counts. Ask: “Does a small difference mean one group got it wrong?”
10 min	Compare and check Pairs do Part A of the compare-with-others sheet, then Part C for the two dish groups. Ask: “Group 2’s shade dish lost far more water. What might have been different about its spot?”
10 min	Conclude Children fill the conclusion frame for the dishes, using both groups’ numbers. Ask: “What can we say for sure? What are we still not sure about?”
5 min	Sound or over-claim? Tables sort the magnet cards into the two piles. Ask: “Was that tested? Does the evidence go that far?”

Running it shorter? Stop after Compare and check, and fill the conclusion frame after the next test your class runs.

On the board

For a worked example, open the unit and switch between “Table” and “Bar chart” in “Two groups’ paperclip counts side by side”. Then press “Add next evidence” in “From compared results to a conclusion and a next question” to see the comparison become a conclusion and a new question.

seegongsik.com/au/y4/inquiry/AC9S4I05

Watch for these ideas

Thinking that when results differ, one group must be wrong.
Concluding more than was tested, such as “the strongest magnet in the world”.
Leaving out the evidence, so the conclusion is only an opinion.

Make it easier, make it bigger

Easier: fill Part A of scaffold 1 together, and write one conclusion as a class.
Bigger: plan the next investigation from the new question, using the fair-test planner from the AC9S4I02 companion.

Answers and look-fors

The next sheet has the worked dish comparison, a model conclusion, the conclusion-card key and a quick three-level guide.

Answers · For the teacherModel responses

Answers and look-fors

Compare with others: the worked dishes

The groups agree that the sun dish lost more water than the shade dish: Group 1 lost 65 mL in the sun and 30 mL in the shade; Group 2 lost 60 mL and 55 mL. The sun results are close (35 and 40 mL left). They differ most in the shade (70 and 45 mL left). A likely reason: Group 2’s shade spot was not the same, such as a spot that got afternoon sun or was near a heater, or a wider dish. Part C: not sure until the shade spots and dishes are checked.

Conclusion frame: a conclusion at standard

We found that	water evaporated faster from the dish in the sun.
Our evidence	Group 1: 35 mL left in the sun, 70 mL in the shade. Group 2: 40 mL and 45 mL.
Other groups found	the same pattern: more water was lost in the sun in both groups.
So we conclude	sunshine makes water evaporate faster.
Still not sure about	why Group 2’s shade dish lost so much.
A next question	Would a dish in the wind lose its water faster than a dish out of the wind?

Conclusion cards: sound, or over-claim?

Magnets (Forces, Friction and Magnets): Two groups tested the same five magnets. Both found magnet D lifted the most paperclips and magnet E the fewest.

Conclusion card	Pile	Why
Magnet D lifted the most paperclips in both groups’ tests.	Sound	Both sets of results agree on it.
Magnet D is the strongest magnet in the world.	Over-claim	Only five magnets were tested.
Our group was right and the other group was wrong.	Over-claim	The two groups mostly agreed; small differences are normal.
Both groups found magnet E lifted the fewest paperclips.	Sound	It reports what both groups found.
Bigger magnets are always stronger.	Over-claim	Nobody measured the size of the magnets.

Soak (Properties of Materials): Three groups tested the same four materials. In every group the sponge soaked up the most water and the plastic the least.

Conclusion card	Pile	Why
Plastic would make a good towel.	Over-claim	The evidence shows the opposite: plastic soaked up the least.
In all three groups, the sponge soaked up the most water.	Sound	It reports what every group found.
Of these four materials, plastic soaked up the least water.	Sound	It stays within what was tested.
The sponge soaked up the most water because it is yellow.	Over-claim	Colour was never tested.
A sponge soaks up every liquid better than any other material.	Over-claim	Only water and four materials were tested.

A quick three-level guide

Move	Working towards	At standard	Beyond
Compare findings	reads only their own results	says where two groups agree and where they differ	suggests what could explain a difference
Consider fairness	assumes every test was fair	checks that both groups changed one thing and kept the rest the same	names the unfair step and how to fix it next time
Conclude, and ask what next	writes an opinion, or claims more than was tested	writes a conclusion with evidence, and a next question	says what the class is still not sure about, and how to find out

A child at standard compares findings with another group, checks the tests were fair, and writes a conclusion with its evidence and a next question.