Evidence resources

Students formulate questions about glaciers and climate change to show awareness that informed opinions are based on inter-related aspects of evidence rather than individual instances.

Task: Make careful observations of objects in a picture to assess the size of one of the objects.

Students categorise statements according to whether they are evidence or inferences. They make inferences about moa, supporting them with evidence. Assessment focus: thinking in scientific ways.

Task: Use features of velociraptors to make inferences about their life style. Assessment focus: using evidence to make inferences.

Task: Students decide whether four dinosaurs are meat-eaters or plant-eaters, and justify their answers. A list of features of each group is provided. It may be completed individually or as a group assessment. Assessment focus: using evidence.

Task: Make careful observations of a picture to decide what you can see and what you might know but can't see.

Task: Identify how features/adaptations of a starfish help it survive, and decide whether the amount of evidence from scientists' observations supports or does not support their theory/inference. Assessment focus: using observations as evidence to inform theories.

Students are required to identify whether a series of statements about the School Journal story 'Personal Mail' are true or false, and to support their opinion with evidence from the text. This task assesses students' retrieval and inferential comprehension skills. SJ-3-1-1991. Text provided.

Students read a story about a girl's first night in Samoa. Then they decide whether some statements are true or false and give evidence from the text to back up their responses. There is a link to the text used in the "Using this Resource" tab. SJ-1-1-1996. Text provided.

Students are provided with four diagrams of different types of fossils. Students are asked to explain the type of information each of these fossils could provide.

Task: Watch a video of two sofas burning, record the results, and use the evidence to make inferences about fire retardants. Assessment focus: using observations to provide evidence.