What makes you think that?

This task is about using information in a picture to work out how big things are.

Teaching and learning:

The key ideas in this resource are about:

making careful observations of objects in a picture to assess the size of one of the objects, and
giving an explanation that clearly describes the evidence used to make a decision.

Diagnostic and formative information:

Questions	Student explanations
a) Sienna says the bird in the picture is small. Do you agree with Sienna?	Students were able to recognise a sense of scale when both objects were familiar and small e.g., a hand size. Nearly all of the students said the bird was small.
Why do you think this?	Just under half of students who answered this question compared their knowledge of the size of one of the objects to the other object, e.g., It is little because it is small as the hand the bird is in the person's hand, and the person's hand is bigger fits in one hand. However some students just gave an opinion without giving a comparison, e.g., It is little It looks small Or they made an inference, e.g., It is a baby It might be tucking up.
b) Maia says the cow in the picture is big. Do you agree with Maia?	Students were able to recognise a sense of scale when both objects were familiar and large e.g., a fence and a cow. Nearly all of the students said the cow was big.
Why do you think this?	Half of the students who answered this question compared their knowledge of the size of one of the objects to the other object e.g., Because the caw is biger then the fence because cows are big and it's bigger than the fence Or they used a measurement or near and far as a scale, e.g., cause it's 1 meter Because it can not fit in to a hand because we are looking far away However many students just gave an opinion or used their prior knowledge without giving any evidence, e.g., Because it looks big It's big because it is a cow because its an adult cow.
c) Jayden says the bee in the picture is large. Do you agree with Jayden?	Students were able to recognise a sense of scale when both objects were familiar and one object was much smaller than the other. Nearly all of them said the bee was small.
Why do you think this?	Half of the students who answered this question compared their knowledge of the size of one of the objects to the other object, e.g., because a bee is tiny and it can fit in a tiny space and thats a flower It's kind of small and it's smaller than flowers Because it will fill up the flower Or they used their own form of measurement or near and far as a scale, e.g., Because it could fit into your hands Because it is close up in the picture zoomed in However many students just used their prior knowledge without giving any evidence, e.g., I know bees are small.

Based on a sample of 76 Year 1 and 2 students completing the assessment online.

Next steps:

The first part of each question in this assessment is about the capability of gathering and interpreting data. Here students are asked to make careful observations of objects in a picture to assess the size of one of the objects. The second part of each question is about the capability of using evidence. Here students are asked to give an explanation that describes the evidence they used to make their decision.

Capability: Gather and interpret data

An important component of this assessment is to make observations about relative size/measurement.

To help students to assess the size/ relevant measurement of objects give them opportunities to make comparisons about relevant sizes or measurements in a range of objects. A good strategy is to share observations of measurements, so they build on others' ideas. Things they could look for:

Can they use non-standard units to measure, e.g., hands, feet, blocks?
Can they find different ways to measure something, e.g., viewing objects that are far or near?
Can they make a comparison of one object against another and then vice versa, e.g., objects in the playground, classroom etc?

Capability: Use evidence

Science is a way of explaining the world. What sets scientific explanations apart from other ways of explaining the world is their reliance on evidence and their ability to evolve as new evidence comes to light.

To help students develop good explanations about what evidence is, give them opportunities to share and discuss their ideas. Things they could look for:

Can they distinguish between evidence and inference, e.g., what they can see (bird in a hand) rather than what they think/infer (the bird is a baby)?
Can they make comparisons in their explanations by using cause and effect language (e.g., because, so, therefore, because of this)?

a) Yes	Any explanation that compares the size of a known object to an unknown one, e.g., A person's hand is small and so the bird nestled in the hand is small.
b) Yes	Any explanation that compares the size of a known object to an unknown one, e.g., A fence is big so the cow which is bigger/larger than the fence is big.
c) No	Any explanation that compares the size of a known object to an unknown one, e.g., A flower is small so the bee sitting on the flower is also small.

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