Engage: What Is Alive?

Overview

In this Engage lesson, the first of a five-part plant life-cycle sequence, students use a mystery plant or seed to compare living and non-living characteristics and activate prior knowledge. They observe seed dispersal, germination, growth, flowering, pollination and seed production as stages to wonder about, without investigating or explaining them in depth. Students pose questions, make predictions and record an initial visual representation to prepare for later lessons on plant life-cycle investigation and communication. A carefully selected local First Nations Australian perspective is introduced respectfully through an Indigenous-authored or community-approved source, without generalising or discussing restricted knowledge.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify and compare observable characteristics of living and non-living things.
• WALT notice and wonder about stages in a plant life cycle: seed dispersal, germination, growth, flowering, pollination and seed production.
• WALT pose questions and make predictions from observations.
• WALT record initial observations in a simple visual representation or model.
• WALT listen respectfully to one specific, locally relevant First Nations Australian perspective about how a plant’s life cycle is understood and utilised, using an Indigenous-authored or community-approved source.

Success criteria

• I can identify and compare a living thing with a non-living thing using an observable characteristic.
• I can use words such as seed dispersal, germination, growth, flowering, pollination, seed production, stage and life cycle.
• I can record what I notice in a labelled drawing, sequence, model or other simple visual representation.
• I can ask a question and make a prediction using evidence from an observation.
• I can listen respectfully to one specific First Nations Australian perspective without assuming it represents all First Nations Australians.
• I can explain one idea I am ready to investigate in a later lesson.

Curriculum links

• AC9S3U01 — Science understanding: Identify and compare characteristics of living and non-living things and begin recognising stages in plant life cycles, including seed dispersal, germination, growth, flowering, pollination and seed production.
• AC9S3I01 — Science inquiry: Pose questions and make predictions from observations.
• AC9S3I04 — Science inquiry: Record initial observations in a simple visual representation or model.
• Science as a human endeavour: Encounter one specific, respectfully presented local First Nations Australian perspective on how a plant’s life cycle is understood and utilised, using Indigenous-authored or community-approved sources and avoiding generalisation or restricted knowledge.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 min · Mystery plant or seed observation. Present a mystery seed, fruit, flower, leaf or local plant sample, with photographs if handling is unsuitable. Students observe silently, sketch or describe what they notice, and predict what it might be and what could happen next. Do not reveal or explain the full life cycle.

2. 8–18 min · Living and non-living prior knowledge. Students compare the plant or seed with a non-living object using picture cards and sentence stems: “I notice…”, “I think it is living because…” and “I am not sure because…”. Record prior ideas without correcting them through detailed explanation.

3. 18–28 min · Plant life-cycle wonder. Show a small set of images representing seed dispersal, germination, growth, flowering, pollination and seed production. Students sequence or group the images only as an initial prediction, then add questions to a class “What we notice / What we wonder” chart. Emphasise that later lessons will investigate the stages.

4. 28–38 min · Respectful local connection. Share a short extract, image or object from an Indigenous-authored or community-approved source about how one selected local plant’s life cycle is understood and utilised by one specific First Nations Australian community. State the community and source context, avoid generalisation, and do not discuss restricted knowledge. Students record one respectful notice and one question; they are not asked to imitate, reproduce or speak for the community.

5. 38–52 min · Notice, wonder and prediction model. Model a simple visual representation such as a circular life-cycle sketch or movable-card model. Students create their own initial representation of the plant life cycle, labelling what they think may happen and marking uncertain stages with a question mark. They add one prediction: “I predict ___ because I noticed ___.”

6. 52–60 min · Share and prepare. Pairs share one notice, wonder or prediction using an agreed listening routine. Collect representations as baseline evidence and explain that later lessons will investigate the stages and develop a clear communication product. Add student questions to the unit question wall; do not require final conclusions or reports.

Resources

• Mystery seed, fruit, flower, leaf or local plant sample, with photographs where needed
• Carefully selected non-living comparison object
• Photographs or cards showing seed dispersal, germination, growth, flowering, pollination and seed production
• Indigenous-authored or community-approved source about one selected local plant and one specific First Nations Australian community’s understanding or utilisation of its life cycle
• Hand lenses, observation mats and trays
• Picture vocabulary and sentence-stem cards
• Notice-and-wonder chart and unit question wall
• Paper, pencils, drawing materials, movable cards or approved digital modelling tools
• Teacher observation checklist and prediction/visual-representation template

Assessment

• Observe whether students identify and compare living and non-living characteristics using evidence from the mystery plant or seed.
• Collect initial visual representations to assess whether students record observations and recognise that a plant life cycle includes stages, without assessing detailed accuracy at this point.
• Record students’ questions and predictions, including whether predictions refer to an observation.
• Listen for respectful engagement with the specific First Nations Australian perspective; assess respectful listening and questioning, not reproduction of cultural knowledge.
• Use the observations, questions, predictions and representations as baseline evidence to plan the later plant life-cycle investigation and communication lessons.

Differentiation

• Offer real objects, photographs, hand lenses, tactile materials, gestures and picture vocabulary; allow students to observe without handling when required.
• Provide sentence stems: “I notice ___”, “I wonder ___”, “I predict ___ because ___” and “I think it is living because ___”.
• Allow drawing, arranging cards, building a tactile model, pointing, oral recording, home-language discussion or adult scribing instead of extended writing.
• Use fewer stages, enlarged or high-contrast images, pre-labelled templates, peer support, repeated modelling and additional processing time for students requiring adjustments or EAL/D support.
• Present the cultural source in an accessible format, name its specific community context, and consult Indigenous cultural advisers or approved sources. Do not require students to represent or generalise First Nations Australian knowledge.
• Provide an alternative plant sample or digital observation for students with allergies, sensory needs or mobility requirements.

Extension

• Invite students to create a more detailed predicted visual model showing how the six plant life-cycle stages might connect, using arrows and uncertainty markers where appropriate.
• Ask students to pose several testable questions for the later investigation and explain which observation led to each question.
• Challenge students to compare two plants’ predicted life-cycle stages, identifying a similarity and a difference without claiming that either prediction is confirmed.
• Invite students to identify what evidence they would need in a later lesson to check one prediction, without carrying out the investigation in this lesson.