# Foundation Science Weeks 1–2 · original sources, actual-observation gate and access routes

## Before any real inquiry · teacher preflight and provenance

Choose school-approved **clean, broad, intact** objects such as a plain paper sheet, a wide corrugated-cardboard rectangle and a large washable fabric square. Verify each actual object's material from a reliable local source or known preparation, rather than guessing from colour/appearance. Prepare on a clear table at a comfortable height, with no small/loose, sharp, hot, electrical, food or unknown substances. Check allergies, site policy, handling and access. A child may watch an adult move an object instead of touching it, use AAC/sign/point or direct a placement. Do not taste or smell an unknown object, require touch, photograph a child, collect a personal story or visit an outdoor site. If a local item fails preflight, replace it or use the fictional model and mark **REAL OBSERVATION NOT AVAILABLE**.

For every actual observation, write **local date; object identity and source; verified material label or UNKNOWN; who moved it and how; visible/tactile feature actually noticed; access route; child question/prediction if any; result; adult prompt; still unknown** on the [blank observation log](observation-log.svg). Use the same exact conditions when comparing one gentle try to another as far as practical and note differences. “Bent in this try” is evidence about this object/action, not all paper, fabric or cardboard. Nothing in this public pack says what any local object did.

## A · Safe-notice routine · original process poster

[A4 SVG](safe-notice.svg) · [PDF](safe-notice.pdf). Six adult-read steps: **1 LOOK / 2 ASK / 3 PREDICT / 4 TRY SAFELY / 5 RECORD SOURCE + DATE + RESULT / 6 SHARE OR KEEP PRIVATE**. A child can choose a route at every step; a pass or adult demonstration is allowed. “Look” means use the individual's accessible route, including agreed tactile access or an exact adult description. Log an adult description as a **reported source**, not as the child's independent sensory observation; direct observation requires the child's own accessible sensory evidence. The poster is a routine, not a record of an investigation that happened.

**Exact nonvisual/tactile route:** adult reads steps in that order. Place six large numbered cards or raised-number tabs left to right; child points, AAC-selects, signs, says or directs an adult to advance. No colour or sound cue carries the order. Explain where the table/source is and ask before any object contact.

## B · Real-object set and gentle test · local, not prefilled

**Suggested set:** broad plain paper sheet, broad corrugated cardboard rectangle, broad fabric square. A teacher can use other approved objects with material labels verified locally. They may be laid side by side and described **without** a fixed result. Optional one-action try: with a child watching or consenting, an adult gently lifts one short edge of each broad item over the same marked mat and releases it, without forcing a crease, and records what each **actually** did; if handling conditions differ or the object must not move, record that. A prediction such as “I think this one may bend” is not a result. A child may make an equally valid visible-feature observation such as edge shape or surface pattern without a bend test. To explore a multi-material object, use a locally verified broad cardboard backing with a broad fabric panel secured by the teacher; identify the two source-verified parts and record each actually observed feature. If the construction/material cannot be verified or safely offered, leave that component out and do not claim a composite-object observation.

[Prediction/check mat SVG](prediction-check.svg) · [PDF](prediction-check.pdf) has separate **QUESTION / MY PREDICTION / OBJECT + SOURCE + DATE / WHAT WE ACTUALLY DID AND SAW / SAME OR DIFFERENT / STILL TO CHECK**. An adult may scribe verbatim. A child can compare predicted and observed after an actual local try; a paper-only example remains model practice.

## C · Invented model-card diagram · representation only

[A4 diagram SVG](model-not-object.svg) · [PDF](model-not-object.pdf). This **MODEL CARD** is an original invented rectangle outline containing **one large oval outline** and **one short straight horizontal line above the oval**. It does **not** depict a supplied real object. The diagram contains no material label, scale, thickness, texture, bend result, smell, safety conclusion or location. A child can truthfully say what lines are drawn; they cannot infer whether an actual object is cardboard, has a hole rather than a printed oval, or bends. If a teacher later prepares a real card for comparison, record its date/source/feature separately and do not say the printed model itself was observed.

**Exact linear/tactile route:** “A single broad rectangle outline. Inside is one large oval outline. A short straight horizontal line sits above the oval. Nothing on the page tells material, thickness or whether the oval is a hole.” Build with three broad raised-line strips or describe; the child may direct adult placement and may decline touch. The raised model is still a model, not a real-object observation.

## D · Symbol key and representation record · original, non-official

The [printable local symbol key SVG](symbol-key.svg) / [PDF](symbol-key.pdf) uses only three explicitly explained marks: **▭ = a straight edge recorded as seen; ◯ = a curved edge recorded as seen; ? = not checked**. These are temporary record marks, not official safety symbols or universal scientific notation. Children may choose words, tactile line/curve cards, AAC or their own consistent marks. A mark goes into the **DIRECT** record only after the child accessed the actual feature under recorded conditions; an adult description goes into **ADULT REPORT**. On a picture-only model, write **DRAWING SHOWS**, not a real-object feature. Exact nonvisual/tactile key: read in order “outlined rectangle means straight edge in named source; outlined circle means curved edge in named source; question mark means not checked”; use one broad raised straight line, one broad raised curved line and a large NOT CHECKED word card. The key does not identify material or safety. Use the [representation record SVG](representation-record.svg) / [PDF](representation-record.pdf): **SOURCE + DATE / FEATURE: DIRECT OR ADULT REPORT OR NOT AVAILABLE / MARK OR DRAWING SHOWS / WHAT IT DOES NOT TELL US / ONE NEXT QUESTION**. Adult reads labels in order and makes a broad tactile/linear equivalent.

## E · Fresh-case boundaries for the teacher

The [Day 5 and Day 10 checks](ASSESSMENT.md) are held separately and use new teacher-approved source objects if actual observation is possible. Their paper fallback assesses representation reasoning only; it does not create local data. The [key](TEACHER-KEY.md) describes how to interpret both paths without substituting one for the other. Actual room signs from the integrated Week 2 guide have communication/design purposes; they are Science evidence only if the child links a new sign/mark to an actual dated observation and can state what remains unknown.

All original poster, diagram and template outputs © 2026 NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Ordinary real objects are teacher-provided, not licensed assets in this pack.