Gather and interpret data resources

Task: Match birds and nests, and explain why the choice was made. Assessment focus: using environmental cues to make inferences.

In this task students compare two photographs of a river with normal flow and a river in flood. They make inferences based on their observations.

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

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.

Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important and give reasons for the choice.

Task: Read information and compare the special features that influence the chances of survival of black robins and fantails. Assessment focus: interpreting text to identify risk factors for survival.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important, and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: (1) observation, and (2) identifying and prioritising cause and effect relationships.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important, and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: (1) observation, and (2) identifying and prioritising cause and effect relationships.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important, and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: (1) observation, and (2) identifying and prioritising cause and effect relationships.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: observing, identifying risk.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important, and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: (1) observation, and (2) identifying and prioritising cause and effect relationships.

Task: Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important, and give reasons for the choice. Assessment focus: (1) observation, and (2) identifying and prioritising cause and effect relationships.

Students look closely at a photograph taken on the beach and record their observations. They think and write about the consequences of the things they see.

Students combine their observations with some information provided to complete a story about what might have happened in the photograph.

Task: Look for the similarities and differences in leaf patterns to answer questions about observations and evidence.

Task: Match insects to their adaptations for protection against enemies, and infer two ways stick insects are adapted for their protection against predators. Assessment focus: using observations to make suggestions about survival methods.

Four different vertebrate animals are illustrated. For each animal the student needs to name the body part used by each animal to move, and then explain how this part makes the animal move.

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.

For this practical task students make a prediction about which lot of ice will melt first. Then students record their observations and explain why one lot of ice melted faster than the other.

For this task students are provided with photographs of four different types of weta. Students are asked to give two features that weta have in common with each other and to give two features that show weta belong to the group insects.

This practical task assesses students' ability to identify the larger group that four animals belong to and then to identify the features that those groups have using animal cards and labels.

Students explain the terms physical and chemical change. Then they read a passage of text and identify the six changes that have occurred and state if each change is a physical or a chemical change.

Task: use features to group small animals, identify differences between 3 animals, and identify the insects. Assessment focus: using features to group small animals.

Task: Students describe two features of a skull that suggest it comes from a herbivore. Assessment focus: features of a herbivore's skull.

In this task, students look for patterns in electron arrangement in the periodic table. They use their ideas to place missing elements in the table, answer some questions about the patterns, and use the patterns to predict the properties of some elements.