Lorraine Spiller, 2020
Science at Home
Science is everywhere; and there are opportunities for science thinking around every corner.
Below is a selection of classroom resources that are designed for teachers to use in the classroom but can be used by students and parents at home. Some resources can be downloaded and answered pencil and paper and others can be completed online.
To see your students' results of online resources, make sure you are logged in to your account and share the student URL with your students. Students can also email or download their results at the end of the tasks.
Levels 1 and 2
At Levels 1 and 2 children are encouraged to describe what they notice about the world around them. Careful observation (noticing) helps them build evidence. They use observations to look for patterns to help them understand how things work in the world. Here are some classroom resources to try about careful observation and looking at patterns.
Careful observation:
Students use information in a picture to:
- work out how big things are, e.g., What makes you think that?
- work out what they can really see or might know but can’t see, e.g., What you can really see
- combine their observations with some information provided to complete a story about what might have happened in a photograph, e.g., A mystery photo
- notice things in a photograph and think about the issues/problems these things might cause, e.g.,
Patterns:
Students notice things in a photograph and think about the patterns they make. They do this in different ways to:
- show information, e.g., Which graph matches the picture?
- show similarities and differences, e.g.,
Level 3
At Level 3 children are encouraged to test their ideas about things they have noticed. They include planning and carrying out investigations, recording data and thinking about what the results mean. Here are some classroom resources to try at home about investigations. Students:
- practise writing explanations, e.g., Rolling cars
- read and interpret graphs and tables, e.g.,
- understand about fair tests, for example, that we test things in an orderly way to build evidence, e.g.,
Level 4
At Level 4 children are continuing to develop their science understandings through investigations and reading about science. They are learning more about the special ways scientists communicate their ideas (e.g., in science reports, diagrams, graphs, and models). encouraged to test their ideas about things they have noticed. Here are some classroom resources to try at home about communicating ideas in science. Students:
- practise their understanding of classification keys, e.g.,
-
practise features of written science text, e.g., Information about Moa
- electric circuits: Switching on the bulbs
- food webs: Rocky shore food web
- food chains: My cat Sooty
- Venn diagrams: Features of fish
- light diagrams: Eclipse
- maps: Reading the weather maps
Level 5
At Level 5 children are working with more complex science investigations. They are drawing on evidence to argue for or against science claims. They are using more specialised science diagrams, symbols, and models. They may be interested in science issues and begin to contribute their own ideas. Here are some classroom resources to try at home about science issues and actions. Students look at evidence to back up claims such as:
- How adaptations support survival, e.g., Kererū II
- How people's opinions can be based on values, e.g., Wind farms ,
- Who decides on safety standards, e.g., How safe are your sunglasses?
- Evidence that builds theories, e.g., Crown of Thorn starfish II
They practise more complex ways of representing science ideas such as:
- Understanding the pH scale, e.g., Acids and bases
- Representing Light rays, e.g., Light rays II
- Patterns of the Periodic table, e.g., Patterns on the Periodic Table
- Interpreting distance/time graphs, e.g., A car journey
- Diagrams of states of matter, e.g., States of water
- Graphing data, e.g., Constructing a graph