A1.1 Research
Research answers a question by gathering what is already known. Choose reliable sources — a field guide, a museum site, an expert — and compare them. Take notes in your own words and keep the source's name.
Example
Find out: Which trees in our neighbourhood are native to Ontario?
- Observe: photograph leaves and bark on your street.
- Compare with a field guide and a conservation-authority website.
- Record: name, native or not, and which source told you.
A1.2 Experimentation
Example
Test: Does a plant grow taller with more light?
- Same: pot, soil, seed type, water each day. Change: only the hours of light.
- Measure height with a ruler every three days; record in a table.
- Repeat with two plants per condition, so one odd plant does not decide the answer.
A1.3 Engineering design
Example
Design a paper tower that stands as tall as possible without falling.
- Criteria: height. Constraints: ten sheets, one metre of tape.
- Build, then test with a gentle push from the side.
- Improve: widen the base or add a brace; test again and keep what stood.
A1.4 Safety
Example
Choose the safety steps for planting seeds in soil and testing a ramp with a heavy cart.
- Soil: apron and gloves; wash hands after, because soil carries tiny living things.
- Cart: clear the run-out area; nobody stands where the cart will stop; goggles if it can tip.
Remember: Any tool: carry it tips down, use it only for its job, put it back.
A1.5 Communicating findings
Example
Share the light experiment with your class and with the school newsletter.
- Class: a line graph of height over days for each condition; words like variable, measure, result.
- Newsletter: one photo, one sentence with the result, one sentence on what it means for a windowsill garden.
- State what surprised you and what you would test next.
Summary
- Reliable sources, compared and named.
- One variable; measure; repeat.
- Criteria and constraints; test; improve.
- Gear on, area clear, tools for their job.
- Graph for peers, sentence for the public.