Last updated: 25 Mar 2008

Introduction

Using the tasks to support teacher assessment

Tasks within this task package are designed to support teacher assessment. The criteria indicated within each task aim to help teachers interpret pupil's responses and judge their creditworthiness. Tasks might be used individually to assess understanding during teaching or the nine tasks might be used summatively to assess understanding.

The tasks

The collection of tasks consists of nine separate tasks. Each task includes assessment of Sc1 Scientific enquiry.

Task 1 - Plants
Task 2 - Balloons
Task 3 - Coins
Task 4 - Magnets
Task 5 - Animals
Task 6 - Electricity and sounds
Task 7 - Ourselves
Task 8 - Sound
Task 9 - Light and materials
Task 10 - Liquids
Task 11 - Packed Lunch

Resources

There are resource sheets within some of the tasks. These are clearly signalled in the introduction. Where resource sheets are used, the teacher will need to cut out the pictures before beginning the assessment.

Additional resources

A limited number of relatively easily available real materials may be used to support each assessment task. These materials are indicated within each task. Real materials help orientate children's thinking to the area of assessment. The use of these real materials is optional.

Groupings

Pupils might be assessed individually or in small groups. It is recommended that groups of no more than four pupils be assessed at any one time.

Using the task

Tasks 1-9

For each task, the left-hand column on each page is headed What to do; this gives a step-by-step guide to each activity, with reference to any related pupil sheet. The essential instructions are printed in bold. The notes in the right-hand column provide additional guidance for teachers.

The resources section in each activity lists the resources required for each pupil, or group of pupils, and for the teacher.

The section headed What to look for at the end of each activity provides guidance on anticipated responses to the questions.

Tasks 10 & 11

For each task the left-hand column on each page is headed 'What to do'. This gives a step-by-step guide to each activity with reference to any related pupil sheet. The second column is headed 'What to say' and gives example prompts that might be used to probe pupil's understanding.

The section headed 'What to look for' describes the criteria that are being assessed as described in the national curriculum programme of study or level statements. It also indicates in general terms the kind of responses that meet those criteria.

The fourth and final column is headed 'Example responses' and provides specific examples of responses that can be regarded as meeting the assessment criterion.

Making special arrangements

Any appropriate special arrangements which are available as part of the usual practice of teacher assessment may be made for the optional tasks.

Recording pupils' responses

The science pupil sheets are provided for those children able to record their own responses. These might also be used by the teacher to record the ideas of individual pupils. In some instances, opportunities for pupils to respond orally are made explicit in the 'What to do' and 'What to say' columns. Teachers should decide when oral responses are most appropriate.

Judging pupils' performance

The 'What to look for' column provides an indication of the criterion which should be used to assess a pupil's achievement. When each task is completed, achievement can be reviewed in term of performance criteria and recorded on the individual pupil record sheets provided with each task. It is not necessary for children to complete each of the tasks in this package of tasks. Judgements can be made on the basis of one task or a number of tasks depending on the amount and kind of information collected.

Task 1: Plants

Resources

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide
• Plate or chopping board.
• Knife.
• Six different packets of commercially produced fruit or vegetable seeds, comprising, for example, broad beans, runner beans, peas, sweetcorn, pumpkin, sunflower (optional).

For each pupil:

• Collection of four different fruits, comprising: apple, lemon, pear, tomato. (Alternative fruits can be used).
• Selection of six different types of leaf.
• Resource sheet 1 (optional). If children are handling seeds from packets they will not require resource sheet 1.
• Pupil sheets 1 and 2 (required).

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Task 2: Balloons

Resources

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide
• Fully inflated balloon.
• Balloon filled with water.
• Ice balloon. (A balloon filled with water that was placed in a freezer for 2 days previous to the activity.)

For each pupil:

• Balloon (not inflated).
• Fully inflated balloon.
• Pupil Sheets 1, 2 and 3 (required).
• Resource Sheet 1 (required).

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Task 3: Coins

Resources

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide

For each pupil:

• Collection of four 1p coins and four 2p coins. (Some coins should be shiny, some should be dull.)
• Two coins, one more shiny than the other.
• Smooth inclined surface, eg a piece of wood, a stiff card or plastic.
• Ball of soft modelling clay.
• Science Sorting Sheet (required).
• Pupil Sheets 1, 2, 3 and 4 (required)

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Task 4: Magnets

Resources

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide
• If children aren't required to write and answer on a Pupil Sheet, either question each child individually to elicit an answer or alternatively, ask each child to write their answer on a piece of paper and then ask to see what they wrote.

For each pupil:

• A selection of magnets different shapes and sizes.
• Paperclips
• 2 objects which are attracted to a magnet (scissors, iron nail)
• A selection of objects not attracted to a magnet (cork, soap, chocolate, wooden ruler, plastic bottle top).
• Pupil Sheets 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

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Task 5: Animals

Resources

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide
• N.B. Before administering the task, cut out the set of pictures from Resource Sheets 1 and 2.
• If children aren't required to write and answer on a Pupil Sheet, either question each child individually to elicit an answer or alternatively, ask each child to write their answer on a piece of paper and then ask to see what they wrote.

For each pupil:

• Pupil Sheets 1, 2 and 3
• Resource Sheets 1 and 2

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Task 6: Electricity and sound

Resources

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide
• N.B. Before administering the task, cut out the set of pictures from Resource Sheet 1. If children aren't required to write an answer on a pupil sheet, either question each child individually to elicit an answer or alternatively, ask each child to write their answer on a piece of paper and then ask to see what they wrote.

For each pupil:

• Battery
• 2 wires
• Bulb
• Pupil Sheets 1, 2, 3 and 4
• Resource Sheet 1

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Task 7: Ourselves

Resources

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide (including pupil and resource sheets).
• Before administering the task, cut out the set of pictures from Resource Sheet 1. If you do not want children to write an answer on a Pupil Sheet, either question each child individually to elicit an answer or alternatively, ask each child to write their answer on a piece of paper.
• Prepare the name labels for bar charts in advance.

For each pupil:

• Resource Sheet 1.
• Pupil Sheets 1 and 2.
• 2m length of string for each child (eg 4 children would need 8m length of string).
• Pair of scissors for each child; sellotape for sticking lengths of string.
• Length of calibrated paper tape (65cm approx) for each child.
• Sticky tape or glue.

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Task 8: Sound

Resources

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide (including pupil and resource sheets).
• A selection of musical instruments (optional).
• N.B. Before administering the Task, cut out the set of pictures from Resource Sheet 1. If you do not want children to write an answer on Pupil Sheet 1, either question each child individually to elicit an answer or alternatively, ask each child to write their answer on a piece of paper.

For each pupil:

• A selection of musical instruments (optional).
• Resource Sheet 1 (optional).
• Pupil Sheet 1 (optional).

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Task 9: Light and materials

Resources

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide (including pupil and resource sheets).
• A selection of materials which are opaque or transparent (optional), woollen sock, pencil case wood ruler, glass jar, cup, plastic bag, paper bag, plastic glove.
• Two blocks/cubes made of different materials (optional), eg glass, wood, plastic brick.

For each pupil:

• Resource Sheets 1 and 2 (optional).
• Pupil Sheets 1 and 2 (required).
• A selection of opaque or transparent materials (optional).
• Two blocks/cubes made from different materials (optional).

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Task 10: Liquids

The liquids task is based on the comparison of the properties of liquids with differing viscosities.

Assessing scientific enquiry

The task assess pupil's understanding of the following areas of scientific enquiry:

• describing events or objects they observe
• sorting and ordering instances or events
• planning and carrying out an investigation
• recording and presenting results
• considering whether or not findings were in line with what was expected.

Information about pupil's understanding of these areas provides a basis for helping pupils understand the different ways in which scientific evidence might be gathered, the way variables might be handled in an investigation and how results can be used to provide evidence to support or challenge ideas.

Resources

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide (including pupil and resource sheets).
• A set of four clear cylindrical containers with screw tops, for example small shampoo containers or test tubes with bungs might be used. (These should be handled with care.) Each container half-filled with a different liquid, for example shampoo, washing up detergent, water, syrup, cream, treacle, oil. Choose liquids having a range of viscosities.
• Resource sheet 1 - a sheet that the teacher can use to record pupil’s ideas of what makes a good plan.

For each pupil:

• Sets of four containers of the same height and circumference. (One set of containers for each child or pair of pupils completing the task.) Each container half-filled with a different liquid, for example shampoo, washing up detergent, water, syrup, cream, treacle, oil. Choose liquids having a range of viscosities.
• Pupil sheet 1 - an ideas sheet with a table that pupils can use to record their results.

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Task 11: Packed Lunch

The packed lunch task encourages pupils to find out which food is most popular in the packed lunches among pupils in the class.

Assessing scientific enquiry

The task assess pupil's understanding of the following areas of scientific enquiry:

• describing events or objects they observe
• sorting and ordering instances or events
• planning and carrying out an investigation
• recording and presenting results
• considering whether or not findings were in line with what was expected.

Information about pupil's understanding of these areas provides a basis for helping pupils understand the different ways in which scientific evidence might be gathered, the way variables might be handled in an investigation and how results can be used to provide evidence to support or challenge ideas.

Resources

Resources needed include:

• A selection of different foods. If your pupils do not bring packed lunches, a list of foods is presented on pupil sheet 2. This can be used to survey which food is most popular among pupils in the class.
• The range of foods should include fruits such as apples, oranges, bananas; vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, okra; bread such as pitta, brown loaf, white loaf, ciabatta, nan. Canned fish or meat, pasta shapes, biscuits, crisps.

For the teacher:

• Teacher's guide (including pupil sheets).

For each pupil:

• Pupil sheet 1 - an ideas sheet that pupils will use to record how they will collect information.
• Pupil sheet 2 - a record sheet that pupils will use to record the foods brought to school that day.

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