Drawing conclusions from evidence

Mastery Evidence

Write or present a clear report of findings from an investigation
Draw a conclusion that answers the original question, supported by data
Make a prediction for a new situation based on the results, and suggest improvements to the method

Assessment Prompt

“After finishing an experiment, can [child] explain what they found out, what it means, what they'd predict for next time, and how they could improve the test?”

Curriculum Standards2 alignments

KS2L.Sci.WS.6The national curriculum in England

Reporting on findings from enquiries

reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions

Science · Lower Key Stage 2

KS2L.Sci.WS.7The national curriculum in England

Drawing conclusions and making predictions

using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions

Science · Lower Key Stage 2

Prerequisites4

Teaching It Back
softAges 7—8
Classifying living things
hardAges 7—9
Building Writing Stamina
softAges 6—7
Fair testing
hardAges 7—9

Show full prerequisite tree

Teaching It Back soft
Reporting scientific findings in your own words draws directly on the universal self-explanation habit
- Explaining Mathematical Reasoning soft
  The universal self-explanation habit (LtL 7-8) builds on the maths-specific practice of explaining reasoning when prompted (MT 6-7)
  - Showing Your Working hard
    Age 6-7 explaining with diagrams/logic builds on age 5-6 showing and telling with objects
    - Numbers up to 10 into pairs soft
      Explaining part-part-whole decompositions exercises showing and telling
      - Addition as combining or putting together two hard
        Decomposing numbers into pairs requires understanding addition as combining
        
        How Many in Total? hard
        Understanding addition as combining groups requires knowing numbers represent quantities (cardinality)
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
    - Number bonds to 9 soft
      Explaining how to find number bonds to 10 exercises showing thinking with objects
      - Numbers up to 10 into pairs hard
        Making 10 is a specific application of decomposing numbers into pairs
        
        Addition as combining or putting together two hard
        Decomposing numbers into pairs requires understanding addition as combining
        
        How Many in Total? hard
        Understanding addition as combining groups requires knowing numbers represent quantities (cardinality)
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
    - Listening and responding soft
      Explaining mathematical reasoning orally requires basic listening and responding skills
  - What the equals sign means soft
    Determining whether equations are true/false exercises evaluating and justifying
    - Reading +, −, and = symbols hard
      Deep understanding of = requires already being able to read and write number sentences
      - Reading and writing numbers to 20 hard
        Writing number sentences requires reading and writing numerals
        
        How Many in Total? hard
        Reading/writing numerals 0–20 requires understanding that numerals represent quantities (cardinality)
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
        
        Writing digits 0-9 hard
        Writing numerals requires the motor skill of forming digits 0-9 (taught in English handwriting)
        
        Sitting and holding a pencil soft
        Same motor skills for digit formation
      - Addition as combining or putting together two hard
        Reading/writing the + symbol requires understanding what addition means
        
        How Many in Total? hard
        Understanding addition as combining groups requires knowing numbers represent quantities (cardinality)
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
      - Subtraction as taking away or separating hard
        Reading/writing the − symbol requires understanding what subtraction means
        
        How Many in Total? hard
        Understanding subtraction as taking away requires knowing numbers represent quantities (cardinality)
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
  - Addition in any order soft
    Justifying why a+b=b+a exercises logical mathematical argument
    - Addition as combining or putting together two hard
      Understanding commutativity of addition requires understanding addition
      - How Many in Total? hard
        Understanding addition as combining groups requires knowing numbers represent quantities (cardinality)
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Thinking Before Starting hard
  Explaining in your own words requires connecting new learning to existing knowledge already held in mind
  - Persisting When It's Hard hard
    Activating prior knowledge requires the foundational habit of persistent engagement with new material
Classifying living things hard
Must present data before reporting conclusions and making predictions
- Pictograms and tally charts soft
  Science data presentation (tables, bar charts) builds on maths pictogram/table skills
  - Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
    Constructing pictograms, tally charts, and bar charts requires these display vocabulary terms
  - Sorting into categories hard
    Constructing pictograms and tally charts requires classifying and counting objects first
    - Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
      Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
      - Counting objects to 20 soft
        Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
        
        How Many in Total? hard
        Answering 'how many?' requires the cardinality principle
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Counting objects to answer 'how many?' requires one-to-one correspondence
    - Counting objects to 20 hard
      Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
      - How Many in Total? hard
        Answering 'how many?' requires the cardinality principle
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
      - One-to-one counting hard
        Counting objects to answer 'how many?' requires one-to-one correspondence
  - Sorting Data into Categories soft
    Data representation formats (pictograms, tally charts) support organising data
    - How Many in Total? soft
      Counting data in categories requires understanding cardinality
      - One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
    - Pictograms and tally charts (age 6+) hard
      Organising and representing data requires data, tally, frequency, and category vocabulary
    - Sorting into categories hard
      Organising data in categories builds on classifying and counting objects in categories
      - Comparing groups: more or fewer soft
        Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities
        
        Counting objects to 20 soft
        Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20
        
        How Many in Total? hard
        Answering 'how many?' requires the cardinality principle
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Counting objects to answer 'how many?' requires one-to-one correspondence
      - Counting objects to 20 hard
        Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects
        
        How Many in Total? hard
        Answering 'how many?' requires the cardinality principle
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
        
        One-to-one counting hard
        Counting objects to answer 'how many?' requires one-to-one correspondence
- Measuring accurately hard
  Must take accurate measurements before presenting complex data
  - Measurable Attributes of Objects soft
    Systematic scientific measurement builds on understanding measurable attributes from maths
  - Observing with simple equipment hard
    Must observe closely before taking systematic measurements
    - Asking scientific questions hard
      Must ask questions before learning to observe closely
      - Asking Questions soft
        Formulating scientific questions builds on the general skill of asking relevant questions to extend understanding, developed in English speaking and listening
        
        Question Words hard
        Generating effective questions requires knowledge of question words (who, what, where, when, why, how)
        
        Listening and responding soft
        Listening and responding supports learning question words
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding needed before asking questions
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Related speaking skill supports this topic
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
      - Observation vs Interpretation soft
        Asking good scientific questions requires noticing the distinction between observation and interpretation — a question like 'why did this happen?' only makes sense once you've separated what you saw from what you inferred
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Noticing the observation/interpretation distinction requires monitoring your own thinking — the universal comprehension-monitoring habit applied to scientific reasoning
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
      - Feeling of not understanding soft
        Asking scientific questions is the science-domain expression of the universal comprehension-monitoring habit: noticing what you don't yet understand
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
      - Persisting When It's Hard soft
        Scientific enquiry requires persistence through uncertainty — the universal persistence habit underpins willingness to keep investigating
- Recording Data hard
  Must gather data simply before presenting in charts and diagrams
  - Simple tests and experiments hard
    Must perform tests before learning to gather and record data
    - Observing with simple equipment hard
      Must observe closely before performing simple tests
      - Asking scientific questions hard
        Must ask questions before learning to observe closely
        
        Asking Questions soft
        Formulating scientific questions builds on the general skill of asking relevant questions to extend understanding, developed in English speaking and listening
        
        Question Words hard
        Generating effective questions requires knowledge of question words (who, what, where, when, why, how)
        
        Listening and responding soft
        Listening and responding supports learning question words
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding needed before asking questions
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Related speaking skill supports this topic
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
        
        Observation vs Interpretation soft
        Asking good scientific questions requires noticing the distinction between observation and interpretation — a question like 'why did this happen?' only makes sense once you've separated what you saw from what you inferred
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Noticing the observation/interpretation distinction requires monitoring your own thinking — the universal comprehension-monitoring habit applied to scientific reasoning
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Asking scientific questions is the science-domain expression of the universal comprehension-monitoring habit: noticing what you don't yet understand
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
        
        Persisting When It's Hard soft
        Scientific enquiry requires persistence through uncertainty — the universal persistence habit underpins willingness to keep investigating
Building Writing Stamina soft
Reporting science findings orally and in writing draws on the non-fiction writing skills (recounts, explanations) established in English
- Joining Letters soft
  Joined handwriting supports sustained writing stamina
  - Forming Capital Letters soft
    Capital letter formation supports correct sizing in joined writing
    - Sitting and holding a pencil hard
      Master lowercase formation before capitals
  - Sitting and holding a pencil hard
    Joining letters builds on Y1 lowercase letter formation
- Expressing Feelings with Words soft
  Writing about real events draws on the ability to put feelings into words — the SEL skill of expressing emotions verbally before encoding them in written form
  - Triggers and Causes of Feelings soft
    Expressing feelings in words benefits from understanding triggers
    - Feelings Change and Differ soft
      Identifying triggers benefits from knowing feelings change
      - Naming Basic Emotions soft
        Understanding feelings change benefits from naming basic emotions
  - Simple Calming Strategies soft
    Expressing feelings in words benefits from calming down first
    - Naming Basic Emotions soft
      Calming strategies benefit from naming the emotion you're trying to manage
    - Words for Big Feelings hard
      Calming strategies (calm, breathe, settle) rely on knowing this vocabulary to name and apply the techniques
- Writing to inform soft
  Informative writing skills support writing for different purposes
  - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
    Informative writing requires knowing 'genre', 'audience', 'purpose', and 'detail' as concepts
  - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
    Oral rehearsal precedes informative writing
    - Describing Aloud soft
      Oral description supports oral rehearsal
      - Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
      - Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
    - Building sentences hard
      Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
    - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
      Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
- Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending hard
  Writing about real events builds on narrative writing skills
  - Rote counting to 100 soft
    Sequencing events in narrative writing draws on the ordinal/sequential thinking developed through counting
    - One-to-one counting hard
      One-to-one correspondence requires knowing the number name sequence
  - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
    Writing simple narratives requires 'narrative', 'sequence', 'beginning', 'middle', 'ending' as shared vocabulary
  - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
    Oral rehearsal precedes written narrative
    - Describing Aloud soft
      Oral description supports oral rehearsal
      - Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
      - Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
    - Building sentences hard
      Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
    - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
      Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
  - Characters, settings, and events soft
    Story elements from reading inform writing
    - Listening to Texts Read Aloud hard
      Need to engage with stories before identifying elements
  - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
    Handwriting needed for written narrative
- Writing Process Vocabulary hard
  Writing for different purposes requires the vocabulary of purpose, genre, recount, and instruction
Fair testing hard
Must conduct fair tests before reporting on findings from enquiries
- Simple tests and experiments hard
  Must do simple tests before setting up formal fair tests with controlled variables
  - Observing with simple equipment hard
    Must observe closely before performing simple tests
    - Asking scientific questions hard
      Must ask questions before learning to observe closely
      - Asking Questions soft
        Formulating scientific questions builds on the general skill of asking relevant questions to extend understanding, developed in English speaking and listening
        
        Question Words hard
        Generating effective questions requires knowledge of question words (who, what, where, when, why, how)
        
        Listening and responding soft
        Listening and responding supports learning question words
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding needed before asking questions
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Related speaking skill supports this topic
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
      - Observation vs Interpretation soft
        Asking good scientific questions requires noticing the distinction between observation and interpretation — a question like 'why did this happen?' only makes sense once you've separated what you saw from what you inferred
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Noticing the observation/interpretation distinction requires monitoring your own thinking — the universal comprehension-monitoring habit applied to scientific reasoning
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
      - Feeling of not understanding soft
        Asking scientific questions is the science-domain expression of the universal comprehension-monitoring habit: noticing what you don't yet understand
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
      - Persisting When It's Hard soft
        Scientific enquiry requires persistence through uncertainty — the universal persistence habit underpins willingness to keep investigating

Unlocks2

Fair testing (age 9+)
hardAges 9—11
Using evidence to answer questions
hardAges 7—9