Science Sharing

Lower Block (P4)

14 March 2015

Content of Presentation

Primary Science Curriculum

IBL (Inquiry based learning) approach in teaching of Science concepts

Common errors in answering OE questions

LSC technique in answering exam-based questions

How to write – structures and styles

Science Teachers

• Primary 4

4A – Mdm Esther Chew

4B – Mdm Esther Chew

4C – Mr Peter Ho

4D – Mr Lim Boon Bing

4E – Mdm Nancy Tan

4F – Mdm Chua Kiat Eng

Primary Science Curriculum

Topics organised across

•5 themes: Diversity, Cycles, Systems,

Energy, Interactions

•2 blocks: Lower block (P3-P4), Upper block

(P5-P6)

P4 Science Topics

• Cycles

– Life Cycles of plants and animals

– Matter, states of matter

P4 Science Topics

• Energy

– Heat

– Light

P4 Science Topics

• Revision on P3 topics at SA exams

• Diversity of living things and materials

• Human Digestive system

• Plant system (basic)

• Interactions – Magnets

Science Curriculum

Framework

The curriculum

seeks to nurture

the student as an

inquirer.

The Inquiry Approach

• Encourages pupils to

derive the science

concepts through:

– Questioning

– Investigation

– Observation

– Deduction

• Knowledge is then

reinforced through

application

IBL Package

• A set of lesson plans

and activities

designed by CPDD to

teach pupils Science

through the inquiry

approach.

• Used in conjunction

with the activity book

from publisher.

Skills

• Observing

• Comparing

• Classifying

• Using apparatus

and equipment

• Communicating

• Inferring

• Predicting

• Analysing

• Generating

possibilities

• Evaluating

• Formulating

hypothesis

Skills

• This is the skill of using our senses to gather information about objects or events (includes use of instruments)

Observing

• Identifying similarities and differences between two or more objects, concepts or processes

Comparing

• Grouping objects or events based on common characteristics

Classifying

Skills

• Interpret and explain observations or pieces of data or information Inferring

• Identify the parts of objects, information or processes, patterns and relationships between these parts

Analysing

•Transmitting and receiving information presented in various forms – verbal, pictorial, tabular or graphical

Communicating

Skills

• Assess the likelihood of an outcome based on prior knowledge of how things usually turn out

Predicting

•Exploring all the alternatives, possibilities and choices beyond the obvious or preferred

Generating Possibilities

•Assessing the reasonableness, accuracy and quality of information, processes and ideas. Includes assessing quality and feasibility of objects

Evaluating

Skills

• Knowing the functions and limitations of various apparatus and developing the ability to select and handle them appropriately for various tasks

Using apparatus

and equipment

•Making a general explanation for a related set of observations or events (extension of inferring)

Formulating Hypothesis

Common errors in

OE questions

Common errors in

OE questions

• Incomplete answers

• Fail to use appropriate scientific

words / equivalent in answers

• Did not use comparative words when

needed

Incomplete answers

• What is one difference between the life cycle

of a chicken and a butterfly?

– The chicken has a 3-stage life cycle.

(incomplete: What about the butterfly?)

Suggested answer:

The chicken has a 3-stage life cycle while the butterfly

has a 4-stage life cycle.

The young of the chicken looks like the adult while the

young of the butterfly does not look like the adult.

Comparing

Incomplete answers

• Why does magnet B appear to float on magnet C?

- Because the two poles are like poles. (incomplete: why would like poles cause the ‘floating’?)

Suggested answer:

The like poles of the two magnets are

facing each other and resulted in

repulsion.

Inferring

Did not use

appropriate words

• What is one difference between the life cycle of a chicken and a butterfly?

– The young of the butterfly looks like a worm, while the young of the chicken looks like the mother.

Errors:

Larva is not the same as a worm.

The young chick looks like the male chicken too.

Suggested answer:

The young of the chicken looks like the adult while the young of the butterfly does not look like the adult.

Comparing

Did not use

comparative words • The table shows the number of clips which two

magnets can pick. Which is the stronger magnet and why?

– B is the stronger magnet because it can pick up 20 clips.

Stating 20 clips does not indicate B is stronger.

Suggested answer:

B is stronger because it can pick up more clips than A.

Magnet No. of clips attracted

A 10

B 20

Inferring

& Communicating

LSC Technique

the strategy in answering OE

questions

LSC Technique

L : Link - the appropriate concepts to answer the

question

S : Specific - Specific concepts, topics, key words.

C: Comparing - using comparative & appropriate

scientific language/vocabulary

Step What you should do

1 Read and understand the question.

2 Identify the specific topic/concepts related

to the question.

3 Link/Apply the appropriate concepts to

answer the question.

4 Craft answer using specific key words

related to the concept/topic.

5 Refine answer using comparative sentence

structures and adjectives.

LSC Technique

31 Damian conducted an experiment as shown below.

Set-up 1 Set-up 2 Set-up 3 Set-up 4

hole

frog

fly

water

Applying LSC

Question

• Damian conducted an experiment

as shown below. In which set-up

will the frog stay alive for the

longest time? Give a reason for

your answer.

Apply

• Link (to the topic)

– Topic: what living things need to survive

• Specific words

– Water, air, food, survive

• Compare

– There are 4 setups so comparison is required.

The frog will stay alive the longest in set-up 4.

Only set-up 4 has air, food and water for the

frog to survive the longest while the other

set-ups are short of some of the conditions.

Applying LSC David pushed an inverted empty plastic cup in

a container of water. The diagram below

shows the cup in the container of water. While

the cup was in the water, David pierced a hole

at the base of the cup.

(a) Describe what she would observe after

that.

(b) Give a reason for your answer.

Apply

• Link (to the topic)

– Topic:

Matter occupies space

• Specific words

– Air, water, occupies

space, volume,

escapes

• Compare

– Not applicable because:

– We are not comparing

2 or more objects.

– We are not comparing

‘before’ and ‘after’

scenario.

(a) David would observe air bubbles coming out of

the hole.

(b) Air in the cup escapes through the hole. Water

from the container enters the cup to occupy the

space left by the air.

How to write: structures and

style

Common question stems

1. State one difference/similarity between

‘X’ and ‘Y’.

2. What is the relationship between……

3. What is the aim of the experiment…….

4. Give a reason…..

• Each type has its answering ‘style’.

1. State difference/similarity

Style

• Difference:

– ‘A’ has _______ while ‘B’

has ______

• Similarity:

– Both ‘A’ and ‘B’ has

___________

Example

The frog has a 3-stage life cycle

while the mosquito has a 4-stage

life cycle.

Both the frog and the mosquito

life cycles start with an egg stage.

Comparing &

Communicating

Study the two life cycles below.

State one difference and one similarity between

the two life cycles.

2. What is the relationship…

Style

• As/When __(A)___

increases/decreases,

____(B)____

increases/decreases.

Example

Time (A) Height of plant

(B)

Day 6 10 cm

Day 8 15 cm

Day 10 20 cm

Day 12 25 cm

As the height of the seedling

increases, the mass of the seed

leaves decreases.

The graph below shows how the mass of the

seed leaves of a green bean seedling

changed as the seedling grew.

What is the relationship between the mass

of seed leaves and the height of the

seedling?

Height of seedling (cm)

Mass of seed leaves (g)

Analysing &

Communicating

3. What is the aim of the

experiment…

Style

• The aim is to investigate

how ___(A)________

affects __(B)__________

Example

Pot Amount of

water given per

day

Average height

of seedlings

P 20 ml

10 cm

Q 40 ml

14 cm

R 60 ml

20 cm

S 80 ml

23 cm

T 100 ml

25 cm

The aim is to investigate how the

amount of water given per day

affects the average height of

seedlings.

What is the

aim of the

experiment?

(A) (B)

Evaluating &

Communicating

4. Give a reason……..

Example

Give a reason why the water flows

more easily in the second beaker.

The water flows more easily in

the second beaker. This shows

that there is space in the beaker

for the water to enter. This is

because some air in the beaker

has escaped through the tube.

Beaker 1 Beaker 2

Evaluating &

Communicating

Now it’s your turn to practise…

How You Can Support

• Encourage your child to read widely to improve

language skills and general knowledge.

• Practice reasoning skills via the question ‘why’.

• Encourage your child to describe/compare

events and objects using specific

adjectives/verbs and comparative sentence

structures.

Thank you…

Q & A