Identify differences, similarities, or changes related to scientific ideas and use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or support findings
How to tell they’ve got it
Tick these off as you see them — no test required.
🖨 Print this page to keep the checklist — it prints beautifully.
Try this together
?
When your child looks at their experiment results, can they spot patterns — like things that are similar, different, or changing — and use the evidence to back up their answer?
Where this sits on the map
Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.
Reading between the linesages 5–10Using evidence to answer scientific questions mirrors the skill of asking and answering questions about key details in informational texts in English
Could there be another explanation?ages 7–9Identifying similarities and differences in evidence opens up space for alternative explanations — patterns that differ from expectations prompt the habit of seeking alternatives
Spotting Patternsages 7–8Identifying similarities, differences, and changes in scientific data is the science form of the universal pattern-and-structure recognition habit
→
Using evidence to answer questionsthis skill · ages 7–9
Difficult Ethical Choicesages 9–11The SEL skill of navigating ethical grey areas benefits from scientific thinking: using evidence to identify differences, similarities, and changes before drawing conclusions
Reading Cladogramsages 9–11Identifying differences/similarities (curriculum inquiry skill) supports reading cladograms based on shared features
solid = must come firstdashed = helps
Curriculum alignment
Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).
Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 2 NSW · 3 VIC
compare methods and findings with those of others, recognise possible sources of error, pose questions for further investigation and select evidence to draw reasoned conclusions
AC9S4H01medium confidenceYear 4 · Science as a human endeavour
examine how people use data to develop scientific explanations
AC9S3H01medium confidenceYear 3 · Science as a human endeavour
examine how people use data to develop scientific explanations
NSW syllabus codes & stages only
ST3-SCI-01medium confidenceScience and Technology K-6 · Stage 3
ST1-DAT-01medium confidenceScience and Technology K-6 · Stage 1
VC2S6H02medium confidenceScience · Levels 5 and 6 · Science as a Human Endeavour strand
VC2S2H02medium confidenceScience · Foundation to Level 2 · Science as a Human Endeavour strand
These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.