Scientific Inquiry Reflection

Lesson 8 of 8: Developing Further Questions: The Scientific Process

Year level: 6
Class size: 25
Duration: 60 minutes

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Curriculum Alignment (Victorian Curriculum - Science, Year 6)

• Science Inquiry Skills:
  • AC9S6I05: Compare methods and findings with those of others, recognise possible sources of error, pose questions for further investigation and select evidence to draw reasoned conclusions.
  • AC9S6I01: Pose investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictions.
  • AC9S6I06: Write and create texts to communicate ideas and findings for specific purposes and audiences, including selection of language features, using digital tools as appropriate.

These are the key content descriptions driving this lesson and capture the importance of reflecting on scientific inquiry, evaluating investigations, and generating new questions for ongoing investigation.

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WALT (We Are Learning To)

• Reflect on what we have learned about matter in motion through scientific investigations.
• Understand how asking questions drives scientific discovery.
• Develop new, investigable scientific questions inspired by our learning.
• Appreciate the role of scientific inquiry in uncovering knowledge and solving problems.

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Success Criteria

I can:

• Explain how the scientific process helps us learn about the world.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses in scientific investigations.
• Ask my own clear, investigable scientific questions.
• Communicate my ideas clearly in writing and speaking.
• Work collaboratively and respectfully with my peers.

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Values Integration

• Responsibility: Taking care in how we design investigations and communicate results.
• Respect: Listening to others’ ideas and recognising diverse perspectives in scientific thinking.
• Honesty: Being truthful about our findings and acknowledging errors.

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction & Warm-up (10 minutes)

• Activity: Class Circle Discussion
  • Prompt: “What have we discovered about matter in motion through our experiments?”
  • Teacher notes how students describe scientific inquiry and what they learnt.
• Reinforce why scientists ask questions: curiosity leads to discovery.

Inclusion strategy: Provide a dyslexia-friendly handout summarising key inquiry terms with visuals to support discussion.

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2. Review Past Investigations (15 minutes)

• Activity: Small Groups (3-4 students)

  • Each group reviews their notes from a previous investigation in the unit.
  • Guided questions to support reflection:
    • What was our question?
    • What did we find out?
    • What worked well?
    • What problems or errors did we encounter?
    • What new questions do we now have?

• Groups prepare a short summary to share with the class.

Differentiation:

• Provide sentence starters for students who need support (e.g., “Our question was...”, “One thing we noticed was...”).
• Extension: Encourage advanced students to suggest improvements or alternative methods.

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3. Sharing and Class Discussion (15 minutes)

• Groups present reflections and proposed further questions.
• Teacher mediates discussion connecting these new questions to the scientific process of ongoing inquiry.
• Highlight how findings lead to more questions in real science.

Inclusion: Use clear, large-font visual prompts on board with keywords to support comprehension.
Encourage all students to contribute by using ‘think-pair-share’ if shy.

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4. Creative Question Development (15 minutes)

• Activity: Individual or paired brainstorming session

  • Use “question stems” such as:
    • What if... ?
    • How does... affect... ?
    • Why does... happen when...?
  • Encourage students to write at least 2–3 investigable scientific questions related to matter in motion (pushing, pulling, friction, forces).
  • Teacher circulates, providing feedback and helping students shape clear questions.

• Students may use tablets or computers to type their questions (digital tool option).

Extension: Advanced learners think about how they might set up investigations to answer their questions.

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5. Reflective Whole-Class Wrap Up (5 minutes)

• Teacher summarises the importance of asking questions as the foundation of science.
• Invite volunteers to share one question they are curious about now.
• Reinforce the values of responsibility, respect, and honesty when conducting science.

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Assessment

• Formative: Observation of group discussions and participation.
• Written: Student-generated scientific questions collected and reviewed for clarity and investigability.
• Reflection: Students explain in a sentence or two how asking questions helps science progress.

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Resources

• Reflection question handout (dyslexia-friendly font, visuals).
• Student notes and previous investigation records.
• Digital devices (optional) for typing questions.
• Whiteboard/visual aids for group sharing.

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Differentiation Strategies

• Provide sentence starters and graphic organisers to support students needing literacy assistance.
• Use buddy systems to support students with learning difficulties.
• Offer extension tasks for advanced learners such as designing simple possible experiments or identifying variables.
• Use multimodal communication (oral, written, visual) to cater to multiple learning styles.

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This lesson plan highlights the Victorian Curriculum's emphasis on inquiry processes, reflective thinking, and communication, culminating in the development of new questions as a core part of the scientific process. It supports student engagement through collaborative and individual work and respects diverse learning needs and school values.