Skill companion: Planning a Fair Test (Year 7)

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Skill companion · Year 7 Science Inquiryseegongsik /au

Planning a Fair Test: a skill companion

A small set of reusable sheets that grow one inquiry skill: planning an investigation that is fair, that someone else could repeat and get a similar result, and that takes care of people, living things and places. Print the scaffolds once and slot them into the science lessons you already teach.

AC9S7I02

plan and conduct reproducible investigations to answer questions and test hypotheses, including identifying variables and assumptions and, as appropriate, recognising and managing risks, considering ethical issues and recognising key considerations regarding heritage sites and artefacts on Country/Place

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 Classifying Living Things, Energy Flow in Ecosystems, Earth, Sun and Moon, Balanced and Unbalanced Forces, The Particle Model of Matter, and Pure Substances and Mixtures. 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 planner and the risks and respect sheet, one each per student or pair, whenever a class plans an investigation.
Cut out the 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

Each scaffold explains itself in plain words, and the answer sheet gives the card key, a marked copy of the draft plan on the risks sheet, planning points for every Year 7 topic, and a quick three-level guide. The step up from Year 6 is the word reproducible: the method is precise enough for another class to follow, and the plan names its assumptions, its risks and how they are managed, its ethical choices for living things, and the permission needed before working on Country.

On the board

This pack is the printable half of a free interactive unit. On screen, students press “Let it vary” until every line reads “Kept the same” in “Make the plant test fair”, sort steps with “Keep in the plan” and “Leave it out” in “Plan the safety, ethics and repeats”, judge method choices with “Supports” and “Does not support”, and read the results in “Average seedling height after two weeks”. Each scaffold turns one of those moves into something students do on paper.

seegongsik.com/au/y7/inquiry/AC9S7I02

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9 (AC9S7I02). 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

Every science unit has an investigation worth planning properly. This map shows one in each Year 7 topic, what to plan carefully in 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	Investigation to plan	What to plan carefully	Scaffold to slot in
Classifying Living Things (AC9S7U01)	Testing whether a class-made key names ten leaves correctly	The same leaves and the same key for every group; leaves picked up in the school garden, not taken from bushland	Planner, then the cards
Energy Flow in Ecosystems (AC9S7U02)	Counting slaters under logs in the sun and in the shade	The same size of square and time of day; logs rolled towards you and put back; every slater returned	Risks and respect sheet
Earth, Sun and Moon (AC9S7U03)	Modelling eclipses with a lamp and two balls	The same lamp height and distances for every run; the lamp globe gets hot; nobody looks at the real sun	Planner
Balanced and Unbalanced Forces (AC9S7U04)	Pulling a trolley with different loads	The same pull and the same surface; loads strapped on; feet clear of the runway	The mini-lesson, then the planner
The Particle Model of Matter (AC9S7U05)	Timing sugar cubes dissolving in water at different temperatures	200 mL in the same kind of glass; water no hotter than 60 °C, poured by the teacher	Planner, then the cards
Pure Substances and Mixtures (AC9S7U06)	Evaporating salt water from dishes of different widths	The same volume of water and mass of salt; safety glasses near the heat; dishes left to cool before anyone touches them	Risks and respect sheet, then the cards
Any science topic	An investigation students design themselves	Variables, repeats, a numbered method, risks, ethics and Country	Planner and the risks sheet together

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.

Change one variable and hold every other one the same: “Make the plant test fair”.
Build in repeats, manage risks and make ethical choices: “Plan the safety, ethics and repeats”.
Check that a method is precise enough to repeat, and that its results can be trusted: “Judge the plan against fair-test rules” and “Average seedling height after two weeks”.

How the scaffolds build the skill

The planner names the three kinds of variable and how each controlled variable is held the same, chooses the repeats, and sets the method out in numbered steps. The risks and respect sheet checks a draft plan for risks, ethical issues, considerations for Country and hidden assumptions, then does the same for the student’s own plan. The cards sort good planning steps by what they are for: keeping the test fair, making it reproducible, or taking care.

Scaffold 1 · PlannerOne per pair

Plan a fair test others can repeat

NameClassDate

A fair test changes one variable and keeps the others the same. A reproducible method is written so clearly that another class could follow it, step by step, and get a similar result.

Our question

How does

affect

The variables

Independent variable what we change, and the values we will test
Dependent variable what we measure, with which instrument, in which unit
Controlled variable what we keep the same, and how
Controlled variable what we keep the same, and how
Controlled variable what we keep the same, and how

Repeats

Trials at each value:

We will report themean □median □

because

Method

Could another class follow this method without asking us a question?Yes □Not yet □

Teacher note: swap plans between pairs and let each pair mark every place it had to guess. Each guess is a step to make more precise, usually with a number, a unit or an instrument.

Scaffold 2 · Risks and respectOne per pair

Take care of people, living things and places

NameClassDate

A good plan also asks what could go wrong for people, what the test does to living things, whose Country it happens on, and what it quietly assumes. Practise on a draft plan, then check your own.

A. Check Class 7D’s draft plan

Question: How does the depth of leaf litter affect the number of slaters living in it?

Go to the creek bank beside the school, on the Country of the local Traditional Owners.
At three spots with shallow, medium and deep leaf litter, dig up the litter in a 1 m square with a garden fork.
Work at the water’s edge, where the litter is deepest.
Put every slater found into one jar and take the jar back to class.
Count the slaters the next morning.

Look for	Step	The problem, and a better step
A risk to people
An ethical issue for living things
A consideration for Country
A hidden assumption

B. Our plan

Hazard	What could happen	How we will control it

Common hazards: heat and hot water, glass, chemicals and splashes, electricity near water, sharp tools, water on the floor, sun and heat outdoors, bites and stings.

An ethical choice in our plan:

Do we need permission for a place or objects on Country? Whose?

One assumption we are making:

How could we check it?

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

Fair, reproducible, or taking care?

Every card is a good planning step. Cut out the cards, lay down the three grey heading cards, and sort each step by what it is for. On the blank cards, write a step for your own investigation and sort it too.

Keeps it fairHolds a controlled variable the same, so only the independent variable changes.Heading

Makes it reproducibleLets someone else repeat the method, or makes the results more reliable.Heading

Takes careManages a risk to people, or an ethical or cultural issue.Heading

Testing ramps: use the same toy car on every run.Card A

Write the method as numbered steps another class could follow.Card B

Wear safety glasses while the vinegar and bicarbonate of soda fizz.Card C

Counting slaters: put every slater back under its log after counting.Card D

Testing dissolving: use 200 mL of water in the same kind of glass each time.Card E

Run three trials at each height and record the median.Card F

Check the water temperature with a thermometer, not a hand.Card G

Ask the Traditional Owners before collecting rocks from a site on Country.Card H

Growing seedlings: give every pot 50 mL of water at the same time each day.Card I

Swinging pendulums: pull every pendulum back to the same angle.Card J

The teacher pours the hot water, and nobody carries it across the room.Card K

Write the unit beside every measurement in the results table.Card L

Write a planning step:

Write your own

Write a planning step:

Write your own

Write a planning step:

Write your own

Teacher note: four cards go in each pile. The answer sheet lists which is which, and why. Some steps do two jobs; accept a second pile when a student can say why.

Mini-lesson · Teacher planAbout 30 minutes

The plan swap: can someone else repeat it?

Use this stand-alone lesson to teach the skill on its own, before you fold it into a science topic. Pairs plan a quick pendulum test, then swap plans and follow each other’s method exactly. Every place a pair has to guess is a step that is not yet precise enough to be reproducible.

We are learning to

plan a fair test that changes one variable and keeps the others the same,
write a method precise enough for another pair to repeat and get a similar result,
build in repeats, and say why they make a result more reliable.

Success criteria

I can name the independent, dependent and controlled variables in our plan.
Another pair can follow our method without asking us a question.

You need

for each pair: string, a metal washer, sticky tape, a metre ruler, a stopwatch and a desk edge to tape the string to,
the planner (scaffold 1), one per pair, and the cards from scaffold 3, one set per table.

Lesson flow (about 30 minutes)

5 min	One question Swing a washer on a string from the desk edge. Ask how the length of the string affects the time for ten swings. Ask: “What will we change, what will we measure, and what must stay the same?”
10 min	Write the plan Pairs fill the planner for three lengths, with three trials each. Show the board (see the box). Ask: “Where exactly do you measure the length from, and to?”
10 min	Swap and follow Pairs swap planners and follow the other pair’s method exactly for one length, marking every step where they had to guess. Ask: “Which step made you guess? What number or unit would fix it?”
5 min	Compare Each pair compares its time with the planner’s own time for the same length. Ask: “Did the two times agree? If not, which part of the method let them drift apart?”

Running it shorter? Stop after the swap, and sort the cards at the start of your next science lesson.

On the board

For a worked example, open the unit and press “Let it vary” on each line of “Make the plant test fair” until all four read “Kept the same”. Then sort the first steps of “Plan the safety, ethics and repeats” together with “Keep in the plan” and “Leave it out”.

seegongsik.com/au/y7/inquiry/AC9S7I02

Watch for these ideas

A method that says “some string” or “let it swing” with no length, angle or count.
Starting the count at one when the washer is let go, so ten swings are really nine.
Thinking one trial is enough: a single slip with the stopwatch can decide the result.

Make it easier, make it bigger

Easier: give the first two steps of the method and let pairs write the rest.
Bigger: test whether a heavier washer changes the time, keeping the length the same.

Answers and look-fors

The next sheet has the card key, a marked copy of Class 7D’s draft plan, the pendulum times to expect, planning points for each Year 7 topic, and a quick three-level guide.

Answers · For the teacherModel responses

Answers and look-fors

Planning cards

Card	Step	Pile	Why
A	Testing ramps: use the same toy car on every run.	Keeps it fair	The car is a controlled variable.
B	Write the method as numbered steps another class could follow.	Makes it reproducible	Others can repeat it exactly.
C	Wear safety glasses while the vinegar and bicarbonate of soda fizz.	Takes care	Protects eyes from splashes.
D	Counting slaters: put every slater back under its log after counting.	Takes care	An ethical choice for living things.
E	Testing dissolving: use 200 mL of water in the same kind of glass each time.	Keeps it fair	Volume and glass are controlled variables.
F	Run three trials at each height and record the median.	Makes it reproducible	One odd trial cannot decide the result.
G	Check the water temperature with a thermometer, not a hand.	Makes it reproducible	A reading anyone can repeat.
H	Ask the Traditional Owners before collecting rocks from a site on Country.	Takes care	Respects heritage and cultural protocols.
I	Growing seedlings: give every pot 50 mL of water at the same time each day.	Keeps it fair	Water is a controlled variable.
J	Swinging pendulums: pull every pendulum back to the same angle.	Keeps it fair	The starting angle is a controlled variable.
K	The teacher pours the hot water, and nobody carries it across the room.	Takes care	Manages the risk of burns.
L	Write the unit beside every measurement in the results table.	Makes it reproducible	Others can read and compare the results.

Class 7D’s draft plan, marked

Look for	Steps	The problem	A better step
A risk to people	2, 3	Working at the water’s edge risks a fall into the creek, and a garden fork can stab a foot.	Stay at least 2 m back from the water with an adult watching, carry the fork points down, and wear closed shoes and gloves.
An ethical issue for living things	2, 4, 5	Slaters kept overnight in a crowded jar can dry out and die, and the dug-up litter is their home.	Count the slaters on the spot, then put them and the litter back as they were.
A consideration for Country	1, 2	The creek bank is on Country and may hold places or objects that matter to the Traditional Owners.	Ask the Traditional Owners, through the school or the local Land Council, before digging, and leave any stone tools or shells exactly where they are.
A hidden assumption	2, 3	The plan assumes the three spots differ only in litter depth, but the spot at the water’s edge is also wetter and shadier.	Choose three spots the same distance from the water and in the same shade, or measure the dampness and shade at each spot as well.

The pendulum: times to expect

For small swings, ten swings take about 9.0 s for 20 cm, 12.7 s for 40 cm, 18.0 s for 80 cm: four times the length doubles the time. A heavier washer gives the same time. Pairs whose times differ by more than about a second usually measured the length to different points, swung from very different angles, or counted the first swing at the moment of letting go.

Planning points for each topic

Topic	Keeping it fair	Taking care
Classifying Living Things	Every group uses the same ten leaves and the same printed key.	Pick up fallen leaves in the school grounds instead of stripping plants in bushland.
Energy Flow in Ecosystems	The same size of square, searched for the same time, at the same time of day.	Roll each log towards you, then put the log and every slater back as they were.
Earth, Sun and Moon	The lamp stays at the same height and distance for every run.	The lamp globe gets hot, so nobody touches it, and nobody looks at the real sun.
Balanced and Unbalanced Forces	The same pull from the same spring balance, on the same surface.	Strap the loads on, and keep feet clear of the end of the runway.
The Particle Model of Matter	The same sugar cubes, and 200 mL of water in the same kind of glass.	The teacher pours water no hotter than 60 °C, and nothing in the lab is tasted.
Pure Substances and Mixtures	The same volume of water and mass of salt in every dish.	Wear safety glasses near the heat, and let dishes cool before anyone touches them.

A quick three-level guide

Move	Working towards	At standard	Beyond
Plan a fair test	changes more than one variable, or names no controlled variables	changes one variable and says how each controlled variable is kept the same	spots a hidden variable in a plan and says how to control or measure it
Write a reproducible method	leaves out amounts, units or the order of steps	writes numbered steps another pair can follow, with repeats	explains how the repeats are combined and why that makes the result more reliable
Take care	lists a hazard without a control	names hazards with controls, an ethical choice and any permission needed on Country	weighs whether the question could be answered in a way that does less harm

A student at standard plans a fair test with numbered, repeatable steps and the care it needs. The skill grows all year, so keep the planner coming back whenever a class designs its own investigation.