Science
Standard one
Standard one science overview
Students working within this standard are often filled with the wonder of the world around them. They display a natural curiosity and are keen to explore, question, investigate, experiment and play with materials and objects in their immediate environment. They collect information from direct experiences and will mix things, splash in water, play with objects that float and sink, blow bubbles, feed and pat an animal, race cars and build with a wide range of materials. From those investigations they learn more about the world and gain confidence in manipulating materials.
At standard one, students' scientific literacy is rudimentary but they can participate in scaffolded scientific investigations and describe their findings and experiences.
Standard one–science as a human endeavour
Students working within standard one have an unsophisticated view of science. Some may have a relative or family friend whose work involves science and students will talk about those jobs. Students may visit a science centre or view a video of scientists at work and will later refer to that experience. For example, they may role play that they are doing an experiment or studying animals. Through participating in highly-structured scientific investigations, they come to see that their work is mimicking that of scientists.
Students working within standard one have already developed many of their own ideas about how the world works and why things happen. When they observe something new they try to fit what they experience into their current understanding of the world. For example, they may suggest that the water disappears when the tide goes out because someone took the plug out , or they may observe that a snake in the wildlife display is opening its mouth very wide and conclude that it must be yawning. Their explanations as to how and why things happen are based on their own understandings, which are often quite different from a scientist's way of explaining things and may be intermixed with fantasy ideas from story books and television. Through engaging in conversation and with information sources, students working within standard one come to understand that there are generally-held reasons as to how and why things happen. At the upper stages of standard one, students are beginning to distinguish between scientific fact and fantasy. For example, they recognise that pterodactyls were real but that dragons were not.
Students working within standard one become aware of some ways in which science and technology impact on their lives. For example, they may explain that their new car has an airbag and so is safer.
They show some responsibility in caring for a pet or their immediate environment. They are beginning to understand that things depend on other things or the environment to survive and that they can affect the quality of their environment, for example, by not throwing plastic bags away.
Standard one – scientific inquiry
At the early stages of standard one, students make simple observation statements about what they experience. For example, they may note my plant smells bad or the clouds were grey today . Moving through standard one, they begin asking questions about why things are happening, and actively seeking explanations for their observations and experiences. They start to use tools to help them observe. For example, they may use a magnifying glass to view and describe objects in more detail.
Students working within standard one participate in highly-structured, teacher-led investigations into questions such as Can you bring flowers back to life? or Which gyrocopter flies best? They recognise a relevant variable in a simple investigation and are receptive to the idea of making a test fair. For example, they may acknowledge the need to hold gyrocopters at the same height before letting them go. They use equipment such as measuring cups to help ensure that an investigation is fair.
With strategic teacher direction and questioning, students begin to contribute to the design of investigations and to predict what they think will happen. For example, they may predict which of several objects will float or which balloon will make the loudest noise when it pops . At the upper stages of standard one, students begin to contribute ideas about how to identify, design, carry out or interpret class investigations. They try things out, varying the instructions that they are given slightly, but probably not methodically, to seek answers to questions they have come up with. For example, they may experiment with different ways of stacking blocks to build the highest possible tower or, during a trip to the beach, they may investigate whether there are crabs underneath all rocks.
Students at standard one make simple comparisons and identify similarities and differences between objects. They sort and group on the basis of either key features, such as colour, size and texture, or by personally meaningful characteristics, such as trees that grow in my garden and ones that don't.
Students are aware that others may obtain similar or different results from their own and, with support, they can draw obvious conclusions from their data. For example, they may say: My flower only took two days to die but Susie's took four days . They may suggest reasons for differences, such as John's gyrocopter flew better because it had longer blades. They may suggest how they could improve what they did next time.
Students working within standard one are natural theorisers, who often have their own explanations for why and how things occur. They may offer reasons for things and suggest causes for effects they observe. For example, if the water in the fish tank has dropped over a warm weekend, they may speculate that the fish have been drinking extra water.
Standard one – scientific communication
Students working within standard one will often collect scientific information through viewing texts such as books and DVDs, even if the accompanying written or spoken text is complex. With teacher assistance, they can collect data from their own simple investigations. For example, they may use digital photos to record and communicate details of an investigation, or they may use software such as KidPix ® to sequence pictures to show changes that occurred over time, or they may locate a book on a topic that the class has discussed.
Students communicate primarily through telling others about their experiences and understandings. They may tell an adult what they see, smell, hear, taste or feel. Their drawings become increasingly accurate, showing details such as shape, colour and major features. At the upper stages of standard one, students can label their drawings and write simple sentences about their science understandings and experiences. Students working within standard one begin to use science related vocabulary, and to associate certain language with the scientific process, for example, words such as investigate , experiment , observe and predict .
Standard one– science as a body of knowledge
Students working within standard one have a basic understanding of everyday scientific knowledge. Students need experiences that include opportunities to:
• use intuitive notions of forces, for example, stating that to make a ball go further it is necessary to throw it harder
• make observations about familiar forms of energy e.g. how do you make toys work? what does the wind do? what give us energy?
• investigate and compare the properties of familiar materials, noticing, for example, that some are bouncier or softer or more likely to break, and suggest why we use particular ones in particular situations e.g. rubber for gum boots
• observe and describe how some familiar materials change e.g. mixing, freezing, heating
• describe characteristics, needs and stages in the life cycle of some familiar animals
• identify some of the different groups that common animals belong to, such as fish, insects, plants
• observe and describe different features and processes, such as mountains, moon, weather types
• observe and describe cycles such as day and night or the seasons
• explain how they can care for their local environments
Standard one–science as a human endeavour
Students should be provided with learning opportunities that develop their ability to:
Main idea |
Stage one |
Stage two |
Stage three |
Scientists work, think, inquire and know in particular ways
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• observe that some people like to find things out and make things
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• understand that work or hobbies can involve science
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• understand that scientists find out how the world works and help make useful things.
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Applications of science have shaped and changed the world
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• identify some things that help us e.g. scissors, computers, washing machines
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• describe some ways in which the products of science assist people e.g. glasses to assist vision
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• speculate what their lives would be like without the products of science
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Applications of science have systems impacts |
• recognise that we should care for living things e.g. pets have needs that have to be met
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• recognise that they share the world with other living things, and therefore need to care for the condition of their immediate environment
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• understand that the world is shared and that living things depend on other living things and their environment to survive
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Possible learning contexts
Contexts should be drawn from Science as a body of knowledge.
Sample learning activities
Scientists work, think, inquire and know in particular ways
• being encouraged to ask questions about the things they notice in their lives
• talking about what significant adults who work with science do e.g. My father / mother designs bridges . My uncle / aunt has to decide which cows will give the most milk . My brother / sister has to make sure that all the food is put away and that the benches are all cleaned so that germs don't make people sick.
• naming familiar health-care workers (e.g. physiotherapist, occupational therapist, nurse, doctor) and talking about some of the things they do and have to know about
• talking about the work of people such as gardeners, wildlife park operators and meteorologists, and discussing how they use science in their work e.g. They have to know how much fertiliser to add to make the vegetables grow. They have to decide what to feed the animals and what sort of enclosure to keep them in. They have to collect information about how much rain there has been.
• discussing how scientists find out e.g. Do they use their senses? Do they use instruments? How might instruments enhance what we are able to see? What might a magnifying glass show us compared to just using our eyes? What might be hidden from us that we haven't learnt to see yet?
• wondering about different ways to sense the world, practising being more ‘alive' to seeing the world
• role-playing someone who uses science e.g. vet, doctor, wildlife presenter
• mimicking being a scientist e.g. doing experiments, finding things out for themselves, inventing things
Applications of science have shaped and changed the world
• exploring what things help them in their lives (e.g. a fridge keeps my food cold, a stove heats it up) and selecting images from the picture libraries in Kidspiration ® to show their understandings
• identifying specialised equipment that assists them or people they know e.g. wheelchair, glasses, communication board, hearing aid
• explaining healthy hygiene practices for food preparation (e.g. washing hands beforehand, cleaning, preparation of surfaces, cleaning utensils) and using Microsoft PhotoStory ® to tell the story of how food should be prepared
• providing examples of applications of science in their daily lives e.g. electrical goods, food, cars, cleaning, clothing and realising that the people who invented them are scientists
• telling stories about what they do each day and how it uses some science or technology
• imagining what it might be like if there were no science products or processes in the world today
• imagining inventions that could help people or the environment and using KidPix ® to draw their inventions
• drawing a picture of someone using a science application
Applications of science have systems impacts
• telling the class about their pet, what it needs to eat and what they might be doing to care for it and using Microsoft PhotoStory ® or MaxShow ® to create a presentation about their pet and its care
• caring for a class pet, worm farm, school pond or growing vegetables, and explaining what is important for them to survive (e.g. food, water, sun) and what happens if you interfere too much e.g. by pulling a carrot out to see if it is growing or by lifting a stone to see if the ants are still there
• discussing what it means to share a world e.g. Who are we sharing it with? What are our needs / rights, What do animals or plants need?
• exploring what different families they belong to (e.g. personal family, family of people, family of animals, family of earth dwellers, my neighbourhood family) and using Kidspiration ® to create a family tree or ArtRage ® to draw their family
• exploring how everyday events have causes and relationships e.g. discussing the effect of littering and considering what would happen if litter was dropped just anywhere
• discussing why it is important to be careful of other living things e.g. why not to step on insects or the plants in the garden
• exploring relationships between animals, plants and their environment e.g. bees pollinate flowers
• drawing pictures of things that are related and describing how they are related
• describing how things change and sequences of events e.g. day / night, seasons, tides
• talking about why things need the sun and using the Learning Federation object, Day sky night sky to explore changes in the sky between day and night