Asking scientific questions
Ask simple scientific questions and recognise that they can be answered in different ways including observation, testing, and research
What a learner can do afterwards
- Ask at least three 'how' or 'why' questions about the natural world
- Suggest different ways to answer a question: observing, testing, asking an expert, reading a book
- Choose an appropriate method to investigate a specific question
1 · Read
A science question asks about the world. How do birds fly? Why do leaves fall? How many legs does an ant have? Questions can start with different words. 'I like birds' tells a feeling instead of asking something.
Choose a method that fits. To find a plant's height now, measure with a ruler. To find a flower's petal count, look and count. To find how long ice takes to melt, watch and time it with an adult. These are observations and measurements.
A guess needs checking. Dry soil could be a clue that a drooping plant needs water, but it does not prove the cause. A test compares what happens when you change something, such as the water given to similar plants.
You can ask someone who knows or read a science book with an adult. To learn about an extinct dinosaur such as Triceratops, use books or museum information. You cannot watch a living Triceratops.
Ask about the world. Choose a way to find out: observe, measure, test, ask someone who knows, or read.
The reading about matching an investigation method to a question was written for this learning dataset.
More to read
Match the method to the question
Sam sees a puddle by a tree. He asks, 'How big is it today?' With an adult, he can measure across it and write down the distance.
He also wonders what animals visit the tree at night. Watching only at lunchtime cannot answer that question. An adult could help him find information about local animals or plan a safe way to observe them.
Say what you want to find out. Then choose a method that can give you that information.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.