Using evidence to answer questions
Identify differences, similarities, or changes related to scientific ideas and use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or support findings
Typical age: 7–9 years
“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?”
0 / 3 mastered
Explore graph
Needs first
- Drawing conclusions from evidenceREQUIRED
Must draw conclusions before identifying patterns and using evidence to support findings
- Reading between the lines
Using 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?
Identifying similarities and differences in evidence opens up space for alternative explanations — patterns that differ from expectations prompt the habit of seeking alternatives
- Spotting Patterns
Identifying similarities, differences, and changes in scientific data is the science form of the universal pattern-and-structure recognition habit
Unlocks next
- Difficult Ethical Choices
The SEL skill of navigating ethical grey areas benefits from scientific thinking: using evidence to identify differences, similarities, and changes before drawing conclusions
- Controlling variables
Pattern identification supports planning targeted enquiries
- Reading Cladograms
Identifying differences/similarities (curriculum inquiry skill) supports reading cladograms based on shared features