Repeatable Investigations: a skill companion
A small set of reusable sheets that grow one inquiry skill: planning an investigation that is fair, safe and repeatable, then running it with repeated trials. Print the scaffolds once and slot them into the science lessons you are already teaching.
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 Features and Behaviours for Survival; Weathering, Erosion and Deposition; Light, Shadows and Reflection; and Particles in Solids, Liquids and Gases. 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 investigation planner and the results table, one each per group, whenever a lesson includes a test.
- Cut out the risk cards once. They are reused all year whenever a class plans for safety and permission.
- 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 card key, the worked results table, a model plan for every Year 5 topic, and a quick three-level guide. The step up from Year 4 is the plan as a whole: children name the variable they change, the one they measure and the ones they control, repeat each trial, and plan for risks and permissions before they start.
Slot the skill into your science lessons
The same planning skill fits into every science unit. This map shows an investigation to plan in each Year 5 topic, its three kinds of variable, the main risk or permission to plan for, 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 | Investigation | Change, measure, control | Risk or permission | Scaffold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Features and Behaviours for Survival (AC9S5U01) | Do slaters choose damp soil or dry soil? | Change: damp or dry side. Measure: slaters on each side after 5 minutes. Control: tray, light, number of slaters. | Handle animals gently and return them; ask before collecting from the school garden. | Planner, then the results table |
| Weathering, Erosion and Deposition (AC9S5U02) | How does the slope of a tray of soil affect how far sediment travels? | Change: slope. Measure: distance in cm. Control: water, soil, pour height. | Spills and a heavy tray; permission before collecting soil on Country or Place. | All three, with the risk cards |
| Light, Shadows and Reflection (AC9S5U03) | How does the distance between a torch and a toy affect the size of its shadow? | Change: distance. Measure: shadow height in cm. Control: toy, torch, wall. | Torches pointed at objects, never at faces. | Planner, then the results table |
| Particles in Solids, Liquids and Gases (AC9S5U04) | How does the temperature of water affect how long an ice cube takes to melt? | Change: water temperature. Measure: minutes to melt. Control: cube size, cup, amount of water. | An adult pours the warm water; plastic cups, not glass. | Results table, then the risk cards |
| Any science topic | The class’s own investigable question | Children name what to change, what to measure and what to control. | Children list the risks and who to ask. | Planner first, every time |
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.
- Name what to change, what to measure and what to control: “Plan the sediment test: change the slope, control the rest”.
- Choose equipment that lets you repeat trials safely: “Pick the setup that lets you repeat trials safely”.
- Keep only the steps that make the plan repeatable, safe and permitted: “Sort the planning actions for the sediment investigation”.
How the scaffolds build the skill
The investigation planner walks a group through every part of a plan, from the question to the permissions. The results table records three trials of each change and the middle value, so one odd run cannot fool anyone. The risk cards match each hazard to the step that keeps it safe, including the permissions to seek before working in a garden or on Country or Place.
Plan a repeatable investigation
A repeatable plan is one that another group could follow exactly and get the same kind of result. Plan every part before you start.
Our question
Our variables
| We change (one thing only) | The values we will try | ||
| We measure | Our tool and unit | ||
| We keep the same (control) | |||
Repeats
We will test each value ______ times and use the middle value.
Equipment
Risks, and how we stay safe
| What could go wrong | How we stay safe |
|---|---|
Teacher note: a plan is ready when a group can say the one thing it changes, how it measures, three things it keeps the same, how many repeats, one risk with its safe step, and whether it needs permission.
Repeat it, and find the middle
Each run can come out a little differently. Three trials of each change, and the middle value of the three, give a result you can trust. A trial far from the other two is a sign that something changed that should have stayed the same.
A. Group 4’s ice cubes
Group 4 timed an ice cube melting in a cup of water, three times at each water temperature. The times are in minutes.
| Water | Trial 1 | Trial 2 | Trial 3 | Middle value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cold tap water | 14 | 15 | 14 | |
| room-temperature water | 10 | 9 | 10 | |
| warm tap water | 6 | 11 | 6 |
B. Our results
We changed ______________________ and measured ______________________ in ____________ .
| What we changed | Trial 1 | Trial 2 | Trial 3 | Middle value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
What could go wrong, and what do we do?
Cut out the cards. Match each numbered card (a risk, or a place where we must ask first) with the lettered plan step that deals with it. Then pick the cards that fit your own investigation and copy them into your planner.
Teacher note: each numbered card has exactly one plan step. The matches are on the answer sheet. Two numbered cards are about permission rather than danger: in Year 5, planning includes who to ask before investigating in a garden or on Country or Place.
Fair, safe and repeatable
Use this stand-alone lesson to teach the skill on its own, before you fold it into a science topic. Paper helicopters fall in a couple of seconds, and no two drops are timed quite the same, so children see at once why a plan needs controlled variables, repeated trials and a safe way to drop.
We are learning to
- plan a test by naming the variable we change, the one we measure and the ones we control,
- repeat each trial three times and use the middle value,
- describe the risks, and plan how to stay safe, before we start.
Success criteria
- I can explain why we keep everything the same except one thing.
- I can say why three trials are better than one, and pick out a trial that does not fit.
You need
- strips of paper 6 cm wide and 18 cm long, scissors, paper clips, and a stopwatch or timer for each group,
- the investigation planner and the results table (scaffolds 1 and 2), one each per group,
- the risk cards from scaffold 3, one set per table,
- the free interactive unit on your board, if you have one (optional).
Lesson flow (about 30 minutes)
| 5 min | Make and drop Model a paper helicopter: cut the top half of the strip down the middle, fold the two blades opposite ways, and clip a paper clip to the bottom. Drop it twice from your outstretched hand and time both drops. Ask: “The two times were not exactly the same. Why not?” |
| 10 min | Plan it Groups fill the planner for ‘How does the number of paper clips affect how long the helicopter takes to fall?’: 1, 2 and 3 clips, time in seconds, and what to keep the same. Show the board (see the box). Ask: “Someone wants to stand on a chair to drop it higher. What is the risk, and what is a safer plan?” |
| 10 min | Run it three times Each group times three drops for each number of clips, from the same height, and fills Part B of the results table. Ask: “One drop took much longer than the other two. What might have happened, and what should we do?” |
| 5 min | Match the risks Tables match the risk cards, then pick the two that fit the helicopter test best. Ask: “Which of these risks would matter if we did this test outside, near the creek?” |
Running it shorter? Stop after Plan it, and run the three trials in your next science lesson.
Watch for these ideas
- Changing two things at once, such as the paper clips and the drop height. Ask which change made the difference.
- Timing one drop and treating it as the answer. Ask what a second drop would show.
- Leaving risks and permissions until something goes wrong. Ask what could go wrong before anyone starts.
Make it easier, make it bigger
- Easier: fill in the variables together, and give groups a results table with the three clip numbers already written.
- Bigger: plan a second test of blade length, with the clips kept the same, and predict its result with a reason before you start.
Answers and look-fors
The next sheet has the risk-card matches, the worked ice-cube table, a model plan for each Year 5 topic, and a quick three-level guide.
Answers and look-fors
Risk cards
| Card | Risk, or ask first | Step | Plan step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Water spilt on the floor | D | Stand the tray on a wipe-clean mat and wipe up spills straight away. |
| 2 | A heavy tray of wet soil | F | Fill the tray only halfway, and carry it with two people. |
| 3 | Warm tap water that could scald | A | An adult runs and pours the warm water. |
| 4 | Glass jars that could break | H | Use plastic cups instead of glass. |
| 5 | Soil that may hold germs or sharp bits | C | Wear gloves, and wash hands when the test is done. |
| 6 | Collecting soil from a creek bank in bushland | G | Ask the land custodians, including the Traditional Owners, before going; take only a little and stay on the track. |
| 7 | A torch shone into someone’s eyes | B | Point torches at the object, never at faces. |
| 8 | Digging in the school vegetable garden | E | Ask the person who looks after the garden first, and fill the holes in afterwards. |
Repeat it: Group 4’s ice cubes
Middle values: cold tap water 14 minutes, room-temperature water 10 minutes, warm tap water 6 minutes. The odd trial is trial 2 in warm tap water (11 minutes against 6): a bigger cube, water that had cooled, or anything else that was not kept the same could explain it. The middle value is not pulled by the odd trial, which is why we use it. The pattern: the warmer the water, the faster the ice cube melts.
Planner: what a good plan sounds like
| Topic | Variables | Repeats | Risks and permission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Features and Behaviours for Survival | Change: damp or dry half of a tray. Measure: the number of slaters on each half after 5 minutes. Control: the same tray, light and 10 slaters each time. | Repeat three times with fresh slaters. | Handle slaters gently and return them where they were found; ask before collecting from the school garden. |
| Weathering, Erosion and Deposition | Change: the slope of the tray (one, two or three books). Measure: how far the sediment travels, in cm. Control: the same soil, 500 mL of water, poured from the same height. | Three runs at each slope; use the middle value. | A wipe-clean mat for spills; fill the tray halfway; permission before collecting soil from bushland. |
| Light, Shadows and Reflection | Change: the distance from the torch to the toy. Measure: the height of the shadow on the wall, in cm. Control: the same toy, torch and wall. | Measure each distance three times. | Point the torch at the toy, never at faces; keep cords out of the walkway. |
| Particles in Solids, Liquids and Gases | Change: the water temperature. Measure: minutes for an ice cube to melt. Control: cubes of one size, the same cup and the same amount of water. | Three cubes at each temperature; use the middle value. | An adult pours the warm water; plastic cups, not glass. |
A quick three-level guide
| Move | Working towards | At standard | Beyond |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name the variables | changes more than one thing, or names nothing to measure | names the one variable to change, the one to measure and some to control | explains how each controlled variable could spoil the test if it changed |
| Repeat the trials | runs each test once | repeats each test and uses the middle value | spots a trial that does not fit and explains what may have gone wrong |
| Plan for risk and permission | names a risk only when asked | lists the main risks with a safe step for each, and who to ask | adjusts the plan or the equipment so the risk is gone |
A child at standard plans a fair test with one variable changed, repeats each trial, and plans for risks and permission before starting. The skill grows all year, so keep the scaffolds coming back in every science topic.