Pattern seeking

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Key Features:

  • children observe, measure and record events, systems or phenomena
  • variables cannot be controlled
  • survey or collect data from secondary sources
  • identify relationships or patterns in observations or measurements
  • can involve learning about causal relationships/cause and effect

Possible enquiries

Reception
Are all daisy leaves the same? is there a pattern to where they grow?
Do all apples have the same number of seeds?

Year 1
Are the oldest children in the class the tallest?
Do the children with the biggest feet have the biggest hands?

Year 2
Where do we find the most snails/spider/worms/woodlice?
Do different birds come to the bird table to feed at different times?

Year 3
Do all flowers have the same number of petals?
Can children with longer legs run faster?
Are all metal objects magnetic?
How does the structure of a fruit relate to how the seeds are dispersed?
What happens to shadows when the light source is moved about?
How do magnets behave in relation to each other?

Year 4
Are objects that are magnetic always good electrical conductors?
How do the sounds made by different objects/materials similar or different?
What happens when you add/remove batteries/lamps as part of an electrical circuit?

Year 5
Does every planet take the same time to orbit the Sun?
Is there a relationship between the orbit of a planet and its size?

Year 6
How is pulse rate affected by exercise?
How are breathing rate and pulse rate linked?

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