Science // Scientific Inquiry

Simple tests and experiments

Perform simple tests and use observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions

Ages
5 to 7
Type
Method
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
2 topics
Standards
2 codes

Quick check

Can the learner do a simple experiment — like testing which paper towel absorbs the most water — and use what they find out to answer the question?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Carry out a simple test with one thing changing at a time
  • Observe what happens and describe the result
  • Use the result to suggest an answer to the original question

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic

You are here

Simple tests and experiments

Ages 5 to 7 // Method

Leads to

2 topics
  • Recording DataRequired

    Scientific Inquiry // Ages 5 to 7

    Must perform tests before learning to gather and record data

  • Fair testingRequired

    Scientific Inquiry // Ages 7 to 9

    Must do simple tests before setting up formal fair tests with controlled variables

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For children aged 5–7 learning to perform simple fair tests: turn a real question into a doing-and-observing loop — change ONE thing, keep the rest the same, watch and describe what happens, then use that observed result to answer the starting question. Because the objective is to PERFORM a test, the enacted test the child runs (on-screen or with real ramps/materials) is the core; tap-to-reveal scenes, planning talk, and a short review act as primers or checks around the actual doing.

Common misconceptions

  • Thinking a test is just playing or 'having a go', not a way to answer a question.
  • Changing several things at once, so it's unclear what caused the result.
  • Deciding the answer from what you already believed rather than from what you observed.
  • Believing the 'right' result is the one that matches your prediction.
  • Not connecting the result back to the original question (doing the test but not drawing the answer).
  • Thinking you only need to do a test once and can't repeat or check it.

Useful representations

  • Question → test → observe → answer loop
  • Side-by-side comparison set-up (same except for the one thing being changed)
  • Predict-then-test card (what I think → what happened)
  • Simple result record (drawing/tally of what was observed)
  • 'One thing changed' highlight showing what was kept the same

Teaching practices

  • Start from a real question the child cares about, so the test has an obvious purpose (answering it), not just an activity to complete.
  • Establish 'change one thing, keep the rest the same' informally, even before the vocabulary of variables, by doing side-by-side comparisons.
  • Insist the answer comes from what was OBSERVED ('the car went furthest from the high ramp') rather than from prior belief.
  • Use predict–do–observe: let children say what they think will happen, then test, so results can surprise and inform them.
  • Keep tests concrete and physical (ramps, materials, floating/sinking) so cause and result are directly visible.
  • Model the loop explicitly: question → test → observe → 'so my answer is…', naming each step.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Test Bench: which ramp sends the car furthest?

    Why it works: A test is a way to make the world answer your question: when I change one thing and watch, the result shows me the answer instead of me just guessing.

    1. Start from a real question the child cares about, e.g. 'Which ramp makes the toy car roll the FURTHEST?'
    2. Say your guess first (predict), then set the ramp low, release the car, and mark where it stops with a flag.
    3. Change ONE thing — raise the ramp height — release the same car again, and mark where it stops with a new flag.
    4. Compare the flags and finish the sentence 'The car goes furthest when the ramp is…' by choosing the answer the flags actually show.
    5. If tempted to also swap the car or the floor surface at the same time, change only one thing so you can tell what made the difference.
  2. 2

    Which surface lets the car roll furthest? (real materials)

    Why it works: To compare fairly, release the same car from the same start point the same way (no extra push) and change only the surface — then the answer comes from what you observed, not what you expected.

    1. Set out a ramp, a toy car and three floor surfaces at the bottom of the ramp — carpet, smooth wood, bubble wrap — with the question 'which surface lets the car roll the furthest?'
    2. Release (don't push) the same car from the same spot on the same ramp onto each surface in turn, changing only the surface.
    3. Watch and describe how far the car goes each time (mark or tally the distance).
    4. Keep everything else the same each time so each surface gets a fair go.
    5. Finish by answering the question directly from your own marks, e.g. 'the [surface], because the car rolled furthest on it' (add 'every time' only if you repeated the runs and it won each time).
  3. 3

    Spot the test: a primer before you build one

    Why it works: A test has a question, one thing that changes, and a result you watch — and a real test means you change it yourself and see what happens.

    1. Explore a test set-up by revealing its parts, e.g. tap the ramp to see how high it is, tap the car to see how far it went.
    2. Name what the test is trying to find out (its question) and what single thing is being changed.
    3. Then move on to running your own test, where YOU change the one thing and generate the result.

Topic // Standards

Curriculum standards

Codes for the curriculum statements this topic maps to. Each publisher owns its standard text.
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
KS1.Sci.WS.3KS1.Sci.WS.5

Science // Scientific Inquiry

More in Scientific Inquiry

All 30 topics