pri app sci_std_file_y1_s1

1 of 17 The National Strategies Primary Assessing Pupils’ Progress in primary science

APP primary science standards file: Trenyce (Year 1 secure level 1)

Child profile As is often the case for Year 1 children, Trenyce makes observable progress within level 1 over a relatively short period, and here her work moves from very simple low level 1 achievement to a secure level 1 judgement.

The evidence 1. Light and dark

2. Life cycles: ourselves

3. Life cycles: butterflies

4. Teddy materials

5. Investigating how to keep Teddy dry

6. The Garden Gang – growing plants

QCDA 01063-2009PDF-EN-03 © Crown copyright 2009


1 Light and dark

Assessment focuses AF2, AF3, AF4

Context The class shared the book, Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear? The children were keen to communicate and then investigate their ideas to help Little Bear in the dark cave.

Little Bear is afraid of the dark and Big Bear provides lanterns of increasing size to light up their cave. Finally, they go outside and Big Bear shows Little Bear the Moon.

The children were asked to brainstorm the names of some light sources. They each then chose five or more of them to make drawings and to order them, from the brightest to the dimmest.

In the following lesson, without any initial discussion, they were given four pictures of light sources to sequence.

Waddell, M. illustrated by Firth, B (2005) Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear? Walker Books Ltd., UK



The evidence



Teacher’s notes When Trenyce was prompted, encouraged and supported, she could show her understanding of this topic in different ways: verbally by sharing ideas and describing observations, presenting evidence in a template provided, and through her own drawings.

Her responses were not always correct and she often referred to an adult to seek clarification. She remembered using candles for birthday cakes and, when asked, said that they were not any good for lighting up a whole room.

Next steps

Use of bright and dim torches to explore things in the dark (using a very large box with various objects inside).

Investigating the differences between light sources and objects that reflect light.

Assessment commentary Trenyce can begin to order objects according to their features and can use a fixed format to present a conclusion based on previous learning. She is beginning to show awareness of links between ideas developed at school and her prior experiences at home.



2 Life cycles: ourselves

Assessment focuses AF3, AF5

Context Children had considered ideas about themselves in their work in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The activity here was planned as a diagnostic assessment task at the beginning of a unit on ‘Ourselves’ to find out about their current understanding. They were asked to draw pictures of themselves as babies, as they are now, and as they think they might be as adults. They then talked about the changes.



The evidence



Teacher’s notes Trenyce drew the pictures independently putting an individual drawing in each box. She did not follow the template correctly and, when asked, it was clear that this was a reflection of her reading ability. Her drawings do not clearly show the changes from being a baby to being an adult, other than the increase in size. However, she could say that when she was a baby she ‘couldn’t walk or feed myself’. She said that when she was an adult she would have ‘longer hair and wear bigger clothes’.

Next steps

Use of visual and creative aids, including scaled cut-outs of stages of the human life cycle, and sorting these and cards with text labels into a sequence.

Assessment commentary The evidence shows Trenyce describing the changes from baby to adult, using some everyday terms, and presenting this independently in a template, although not in the prescribed order.



3 Life cycles: butterflies


Context This activity took place towards the end of the unit of work about ‘Ourselves’. The children had previously looked at how we grow from babies to adults and they had compared people to other animals.

The children had the opportunity to look closely at caterpillars, in specially provided jars with food supplies, and to discuss how the caterpillars would change as they grew and got older.

As a class, they were asked to think about where butterflies came from. They looked at pictures and a video clip of butterflies and their life cycles.

They were asked to record what they knew about the life cycle of butterflies, so that they could apply their previous learning and combine this with the new information from observations, discussions and the films. It was suggested that they used arrows to show the sequencing, as they had seen before, but after that they were free to devise their own representations.

The evidence



Teacher’s notes When observing the caterpillars, Trenyce said that they were ‘getting bigger’. She asked some questions including, ‘What is the stuff in with them?’ and ‘Will they really turn into butterflies?’

She drew the different stages of the life cycle in the correct order and attempted to use simple arrows, although she shows the stages in a linear way. She was working with an adult at her table and was given some support in structuring her drawings but was able to talk about the stages independently. By the end of the lesson she showed confidence in talking about the life cycle of a butterfly.

Next steps

Clarification of the use of the term ‘cycle’ to indicate that the pattern repeats, with the butterflies producing eggs to start the next generation of life.

Further work on reporting sequenced events in graphic format, including use of ICT for work on life cycles.

Focus on observation drawing (do caterpillars really have smiley faces?), linked with art.

Assessment commentary Trenyce asks questions stimulated by her observations and successfully reports a sequence of events based on observation and on secondary information sources.



4 Teddy materials


Context Children were asked to bring in different materials that they could find in their indoor and outdoor environments.

They reviewed earlier work about senses, and talked about the look and feel of the materials and how they could be sorted into groups.

They were given a template of a teddy with various labels, such as ‘soft’ and ‘shiny’. All the materials were placed together in the middle of the room and children had to work independently to find the right ones to stick onto the different parts of the teddy.



The evidence

Teacher’s notes Trenyce used phrases such as, ‘this is crackly’, ‘it’s shiny’, and ‘it’s all soft’. No support other than encouragement was given and she did manage to find suitable materials for most of the properties.

Next steps

Opportunities for Trenyce to begin to develop her own questions to investigate based on properties of materials and their suitability for different purposes.

Consideration of how properties can be used to sort and group materials, objects and living things.

Assessment commentary Trenyce was able to name and talk about properties of materials that can be detected using appropriate senses.



5 Investigating how to keep Teddy dry

Assessment focuses AF2, AF4, AF5

Context The children brought different materials into school, and they were asked how they could find out which one would be best at keeping Teddy dry in the rain.

They were provided with the structure for a simple investigation, which involved sitting Teddy underneath different materials and pouring water on from a watering can. The children were asked to comment on what they might observe and what might happen.

The children then carried out the investigation outside, substituting plastic animals for the teddy.

The evidence

Teacher’s notes When speaking to the whole class, Trenyce did not volunteer suggestions about how to find out an answer. However, in a smaller group she was able to say that, ‘we could put Teddy in the rain’. With further questioning and encouragement, it was evident that she understood that Teddy would have to wear different things in the rain to see what was best to keep him dry.

After the experiment she was initially unable to say what we had found out, but when asked which material was best for keeping Teddy dry she correctly pointed to the plastic. She explained that she knew this ‘because the water fell off of it’.

Next steps

Further investigations to encourage recording of observations and measurements using simple equipment.

Assessment commentary Trenyce is able to identify a link to science in a familiar object. With prompting, she makes simple suggestions about how to find an answer and uses her senses and simple equipment to make observations. She can state some expectations of a simple investigation and can provide a meaningful comment on what happens.



6 The Garden Gang – growing plants

Assessment focuses AF2, AF3, AF4, AF5

Context This work was linked to a literacy activity based on The Garden Gang series of books.

The class had been learning about food. They had sorted different types of food and talked about what farmers do. They looked at some potatoes, grown some time before in buckets. The buckets had become waterlogged, the potato plants were beginning to die back, and the potatoes themselves were starting to decay.

Following suggestions from the children, the class planted potatoes, runner beans, radishes, peppers, onions and grass seed. For the runner beans, each child also planted a bean in a clear plastic beaker with a wet paper towel. The children were able to observe how the beans were growing, making comparisons between the one in the beaker and the one in the soil.

The various plants also provided contexts for some work in mathematics, and the children made model gardens for design and technology work.

Fisher, J. (1979–1980) The Garden Gang series, Ladybird Books Ltd., UK

The evidence

Trenyce could say that the runner bean ‘needs soil to grow’ and with prompting she could also say that she would have to ‘give it water’ and ‘put it outside for the sun’. She said it would ‘grow leaves’ but didn't say what might happen to the bean in the plastic beaker.



She actively visited the beans each morning and was enthusiastic about showing how the bean in the beaker was ‘growing up’. As both beans grew she was able to talk about the leaves and the roots ‘getting bigger’. When asked what would happen to the beans, she said, ‘we could eat them’.

She asked about the grass seedlings, ‘Is this the same as the grass in real gardens?’

Teacher’s notes Trenyce said, when talking about the potatoes, ‘there’s too much water, it’s all soggy’. When asked what she would expect to find when she pulled up the plants she knew that there would be potatoes ‘by the roots’. She observed that the potatoes were ‘a bit squashy’.

Next steps

Investigate the conditions that plants need to grow.

Discussion of how farmers and gardeners use ways to make sure that their plants grow as healthily as possible.

Simple comparison of life processes of plants and animals.

Assessment commentary Trenyce recognises that the plants she has grown can be eaten. She uses everyday terms to talk about her sensed observations of plants and the changes they go through.



Assessment summary AF1 Thinking scientifically

Trenyce asks questions and provides simple descriptions, recognising basic features and properties, and draws on her everyday experience.

AF2 Understanding the applications and implications of science

She understands that plants provide food and, in simple terms, that the conditions in which plants are grown make a difference to them. She is beginning to identify links to science in familiar contexts.

AF3 Communicating and collaborating in science

She uses everyday terms to communicate her observations and uses a given template for them, and also a given format to show a sequence of events.

AF4 Using investigative approaches

In talking about materials, butterflies and plants, Trenyce shows that she is using her senses and some simple equipment in her observations, and she is beginning to make simple suggestions about how to find things out through observation.

AF5 Working critically with evidence

In simple ways in spoken language, Trenyce can make statements of what she sees, including changes to living things. She is beginning to be able to make a statement of her expectations of a simple investigation.

Overall assessment judgement The first pieces of evidence in this collection show Trenyce working at low level 1 but she makes progress through the level during the two terms from which this evidence is drawn, and her further work is at secure level 1.




APP primary science assessment guidelines: levels 1 and 2

AF1 – Thinking scientifically AF2 – Understanding the applications and implications of science

AF3 – Communicating and collaborating in science

AF4 – Using investigative approaches

AF5 – Working critically with evidence

L2

Across a range of contexts and practical situations pupils:

Draw on their observations and ideas to offer answers to questions

Make comparisons between basic features or components of objects, living things or events

Sort and group objects, living things or events on the basis of what they have observed

Respond to suggestions to identify some evidence (in the form of information, observations or measurements) needed to answer a question


Express personal feelings or opinions about scientific or technological phenomena

Describe, in familiar contexts, how science helps people do things

Identify people who use science to help others

Identify scientific or technological phenomena and say whether or not they are helpful


Present their ideas and evidence in appropriate ways

Respond to prompts by using simple texts and electronic media to find information

Use simple scientific vocabulary to describe their ideas and observations

Work together on an experiment or investigation and recognise contributions made by others


Make some suggestions about how to find things out or how to collect data to answer a question or idea they are investigating

Identify things to measure or observe that are relevant to the question or idea they are investigating

Correctly use equipment provided to make observations and measurements

Make measurements, using standard or non-standard units as appropriate


Say what happened in their experiment or investigation

Say whether what happened was what they expected, acknowledging any unexpected outcomes

Respond to prompts to suggest different ways they could have done things


Ask questions stimulated by their exploration of their world

Recognise basic features of objects, living things or events

Draw on their everyday experience to help answer questions

Respond to suggestions to identify some evidence (in the form of information, observations or measurements) that has been used to answer a question


Identify a link to science in familiar objects or contexts

Recognise scientific and technological developments that help us


Use everyday terms to describe simple features or actions of objects, living things or events they observe

Present evidence they have collected in simple templates provided for them

Communicate simple features or components of objects, living things or events they have observed in appropriate forms

Share their own ideas and listen to the ideas of others


Respond to prompts by making some simple suggestions about how to find an answer or make observations

Use their senses and simple equipment to make observations


Respond to prompts to say what happened

Say what has changed when observing objects, living things or events

L1

BL

IE

Overall assessment (tick one box only) Low 1 Secure 1 High 1 Low 2 Secure 2 High 2

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