GROW · Science · Week 5A · Explore
Planning a Fair Test
🧭
Science mission
Science Detective: repair a test that cannot answer its own question.
Science Detective: repair a test that cannot answer its own question.
Visual model: use it to predict and explain — not as decoration.
Aut1·W5 — Plan and carry out a fair test about forces; record results.
🎯 Learning objective: I can identify what to change, what to measure and what to keep the same in a fair test.
✅ Success criteria
- I can identify independent, dependent and control variables.
- I can spot when a test changes too many things.
- I can explain why units and repeats improve evidence.
ArrivalStarterI DoWe DoI Do 2We Do 2Independent evidenceExit + one Lundy close
v3 40-minute route · derived from current GROW lesson Science_Teesside/Grow/SCI_G_W5_Fair_Test.html at main SHA 93d570041f4c · repository originals untouched.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Space → Voice → Audience → Influence runs through the lesson; it is not an extra activity at the end.
⏱ 4 min
Arrival
Staff influence opener — SAY, don’t record: “Last lesson your evidence showed ___. Today we are starting by remembering ___.”
Retrieve the previous lesson: Aut1·W4 — in the lever investigation, the load was kept the same while pivot position changed and effort was compared.
Not here last lesson? Everything you need is in the box above — read it, then answer.
◆ Supported — three retrieval questions and one lead-in
R1 Last lesson
Point to where the pivot was when lifting was easiest.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — Last lesson you moved the pivot. What happened to the effort needed?
R2 Week 4
Name one machine that helps you lift.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — Week 4: name a lever, a pulley or a gear and say what it changes.
R3 Week 3
Say one place friction helps.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — Week 3: what does friction do to a sliding object?
Lead-in Into today
Look at the test. Point to the one thing that should change.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — If two things change at once in a test, why can we not tell which one mattered?
▲ Standard — three retrieval questions and one lead-in
R1 Last lesson
Last lesson you moved the pivot. What happened to the effort needed?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — Last lesson: explain the trade you found when the pivot moved nearer the load.
R2 Week 4
Week 4: name a lever, a pulley or a gear and say what it changes.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — Week 4: explain why a mechanism cannot give you something for nothing.
R3 Week 3
Week 3: what does friction do to a sliding object?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — Week 3: you compared surfaces. What made that comparison believable?
Lead-in Into today
If two things change at once in a test, why can we not tell which one mattered?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — A test changes two things at once. Say exactly what it can no longer prove.
★ Stretch — three retrieval questions and one lead-in
R1 Last lesson
Last lesson: explain the trade you found when the pivot moved nearer the load.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Point to where the pivot was when lifting was easiest.
R2 Week 4
Week 4: explain why a mechanism cannot give you something for nothing.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Name one machine that helps you lift.
R3 Week 3
Week 3: you compared surfaces. What made that comparison believable?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Say one place friction helps.
Lead-in Into today
A test changes two things at once. Say exactly what it can no longer prove.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Look at the test. Point to the one thing that should change.
Rule: Arrival retrieves three times and then leads in. R1 is last lesson, R2 is the previous week, R3 is older material, and the lead-in opens today without teaching today’s concept.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Influence is made visible here: retrieve what the previous lesson actually showed before adding new Science.
⏱ 4 min
Starter👀 Notice❓ Wonder🎯 Predict🗣 Explain
🔍 Bridge into today
Watch a deliberately bad test: I change the surface AND push the trolley harder. The trolley goes further. What caused the change?
🎯 Commit to a prediction
Before we repair it: this test changes surface AND ramp height. Can it answer the question?
Choose one. Say it, point to it, or press it.
Nothing here is right or wrong yet. Nothing is marked, scored or stored. A prediction still counts when it turns out differently. That is what makes the test worth running.
Frame 1 / 4
WHAT IS THE QUESTION?
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Frame 2 / 4
CHANGE ONE THING
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Frame 3 / 4
MEASURE WITH UNITS
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Frame 4 / 4
PLAN REPEATS
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Low prior knowledge is expected. Notice, choose, predict or ask a question. The scientific explanation comes next.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Voice first: low-entry prediction or noticing before today’s explanation is taught.
⏱ 5 min
I Do
🧠 Watch the thinking, not just the finished answer.
Teacher-controlled model: reveal the invisible Science as you narrate.
✔ What this model helps us seeIt shows one deliberate change set against the variables you decided to control.
✘ What this model does not showIt leaves out how much error there is in each measurement, and the judgement about how big a difference has to be before it counts.
Start with the question: ‘Does surface affect how far a trolley rolls?’
Label I CHANGE = surface; I MEASURE = distance; I KEEP THE SAME = trolley, ramp height, release point.
Explain why two deliberate changes would make the result impossible to interpret confidently.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Space first: the model makes invisible thinking visible while support staff observe access and readiness.
⏱ 5 min
We Do
Commit before reveal: What is the dependent variable in ‘Does surface affect how far the trolley rolls?’
Choose an answer. A first attempt is information, not a score.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Voice → Audience → Influence: everyone commits; the response decides re-model, recheck, adapt access or move on.
⏱ 4 min
I Do
🧠 Watch the thinking, not just the finished answer.
Every measurement needs a unit: a number alone is incomplete evidence.
Repeats help show whether a result is consistent or a one-off.
Unexpected data is recorded first. Then the method is checked and, if useful, the measurement is repeated.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Space first: the model makes invisible thinking visible while support staff observe access and readiness.
⏱ 4 min
We Do
Explore together: Repair the method
🧩 Repair the method
Question: Does surface affect how far the trolley rolls? Surface should change. Turn OFF any other deliberate changes.
Repair the method, then explain why your controls matter.
📏 Measure and Unit Lab
The repair tool above fixes what CHANGES. This lab does the other arm: what you will measure, and in what unit.
Step 1 · Predict, before you test
Our question is: does surface affect how far the trolley rolls? What should we measure?
Choose one. Say it, point to it, or press it. Nothing here is right or wrong yet.
Step 2 · Test each one
Press one to see what it does.
Frozen results — these stay on the page
Nothing tested yet.
Step 3 · Explain
SCIENCE GLITCH: “A number on its own is enough to record.”
Use your frozen list as the evidence. Decide, then say why.
Every step is a button, and each option carries a shape and a word as well as its colour. Say it, point to it or have an adult press it — the route does not change the Science.
Talk move: “What changed? What stayed the same? What does that make you think?”
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Voice → Audience → Influence: everyone commits; the response decides re-model, recheck, adapt access or move on.
⏱ 10 min
Independent
✏️ Your independent product / decision
Plan tomorrow’s force fair test. Do this before you touch any equipment. Complete I CHANGE / I MEASURE / I KEEP THE SAME. Write the unit you will use. Then decide how many repeats you can really do.
🧪 PRACTICAL READY · HANDS-ON WHERE IT HELPS LEARNING
EquipmentVariable cards, three-box planning frame, trolley/ramp as a brief demo, unit cards, example result slips.
Safety / sensoryKeep the Explore lesson mostly equipment-light. Model rather than repeatedly run the practical.
Evidence targetPupil-authored plan showing change / measure + unit / controls / repeats.
10 minutes. Supported / Standard / Stretch are routes, not identities. Pupils can move when the core is secure.
◆ Use the variable cards. Use the word bank too. Then fill in the three-box planning frame.
Icons: ◆ CHANGE one thing · ▶ MEASURE with unit · ■ KEEP SAME. Take one box at a time. Adult can read cards aloud. You can point to your card. Sentence: ‘I will change __, measure __ in __, and keep __ and __ the same.’
Fade it: remove the first prompt that is no longer needed; do not keep a scaffold because it was used once.
▲ Write the method frame on your own. Pick two control variables. Then give a reason for each one.
Sentence: ‘I will change __, measure __ in __, and keep __ and __ the same.’ Fill each gap from your plan. Check the unit is there.
Fade it: remove the first prompt that is no longer needed; do not keep a scaffold because it was used once.
★ Name one likely source of variation. Then explain how your method cuts its effect.
Add this line. ‘This control matters because if it changed, __ could affect __.’
Fade it: remove the first prompt that is no longer needed; do not keep a scaffold because it was used once.
Evidence can look different:
Completed planning framePhoto of arranged variable cards + pupil explanationScribed plan using pupil’s exact decisionsTeacher-approved digital planning diagram
A photo on its own is not proof. Add what the pupil decided, explained, found or judged.
1 · Pupil decisionPrediction, choice, plan or question.
2 · Observable ScienceAction, model, product, result or re-attempt.
3 · Pupil meaningExplanation, evaluation or next step.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
The pupil authors a product/decision; adult support fades and evidence shows thinking, not attendance.
📖 WORD HELP
variablea thing that can change
controlkeep it the same on purpose
fair testonly one thing changed on purpose
Use the scientific word first. Ask for help only when you need it. TA fade route: model the word. Then prompt for it. Then wait for it. Drop a step as soon as the pupil no longer needs it.
⏱ 4 min
Exit
◆ Supported
How many things do we deliberately change in a fair test?
▲ Standard
Name one control variable for the planned force test and explain why it stays the same.
★ Stretch
Explain why repeats help us judge the quality of evidence.
🔁 GROW Lundy close — ONE line only.
1) Pupil answers the Science question. 2) Adult genuinely receives it and gives one next step. 3) Pupil writes: “Next I will ______.”
No adult signature, initial or second receipt mark. If nothing needs changing, the next step can be transfer to a new example or greater independence.
✍ GROW written close — the pupil writes this line
“What I said, and what it changed:”
No adult initial is required. The adult is audience for this line, not verifier. There is no signature, initial, tick or receipt mark. The line closes when it is written and received.
If writing is hard: say it, and an adult writes down your exact words. Or point to what changed and say it aloud. Or draw it and give it one spoken caption. Or record it in the school’s own workflow. The line always stays. The route changes how you answer, not the Science.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Adult genuinely receives the exit response, gives one next step, and the pupil writes one closure line. No signature.