Investigating Plants
| Grade | Work Samples |
|---|---|
| End of Stage 4 (end of Year 8) | |
| Grade B | Huong Nicky |
| Grade C | Jules Shane |
| Grade D | Jerry Ali Bailey Ariel |
| Grade E | Shannon |
Description of activity
Students plan and perform a controlled investigation to test a question or hypothesis. They record their measurements and communicate their method, results and conclusion in a report. An information sheet is given to students which provides some examples of questions that could be investigated and instructions for planning their experiment.
Context
Students have an understanding of plant growth requirements and the role of the root, stem and leaf in flowering plants. They have developed skills in planning and performing first-hand investigations to test ideas. Students have written reports that clearly record data and information and include a discussion of their findings.
Areas for Assessment
Outcomes
A student:
4.10 identifies factors affecting survival of organisms in an ecosystem
4.13 clarifies the purpose of an investigation and, with guidance, produces a plan to investigate a problem
4.17 evaluates the relevance of data and information
4.18 with guidance, presents information to an audience to achieve a particular purpose
4.19 draws conclusions based on information available
Criteria for assessing learning
(These criteria would normally be communicated to students with the activity.)
Students will be assessed on their ability to:
- write a hypothesis to be tested in a first-hand investigation
- design an investigation to test the hypothesis that is fair and includes a control
- record gathered data and information using tables, graphs and diagrams
- write a report which includes a method, results and conclusion as record of the investigation
- discuss results and problems that arise in the investigation.