# Integrated Week 1 — sealed-sample soil inquiry

Five **35-minute** blocks. Partial Year 3 Science links: `AC9S3U02` (observable properties of soils/rocks/minerals and their importance as Earth resources), `AC9S3H01` (data in explanations), `AC9S3I01`, `AC9S3I02`, `AC9S3I03`, `AC9S3I04`, `AC9S3I05`, `AC9S3I06` (question, safe plan, observation, representation, comparison, communication). This week works mainly on **observable soil properties and inquiry practice**; it does not complete the full Earth-resources description. Exact codes are checked against the Year 3 content-description records in the pinned [ACARA workbook](https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/downloads). The daily [English](../english/LESSONS.md) and [mathematics](../mathematics/LESSONS.md) lessons run separately.

**Safety and provenance:** Obtain two **closed transparent containers** of school-approved samples under local risk policy, label source/date only if permitted, and check school health requirements. Keep containers closed and stationary; no shaking, smelling, tasting, inhaling dust, opening, collecting from an unapproved site, bare handling or taking samples home. Do not use commercial potting mix or prepare dusty samples for this pack; see [Queensland Health](https://www.health.qld.gov.au/clinical-practice/guidelines-procedures/diseases-infection/diseases/legionnaires) and [Safe Work Australia](https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/duties-tool/agriculture/additional-info/dusts) on soil/potting-mix and dust hazards. Wash hands after handling the *outside* if school policy calls for it. No child data or faces in a public record. If genuine safe samples are unavailable, use labelled **adult-drawn models** and say this is a model comparison; do not claim direct soil observation. Accessible routes include high-contrast photos **taken by the school with rights/consent**, enlarged view, tactile clean-paper representation of observed grain sizes and a partner moving the container at a learner's direction. The pack itself includes no outside photographs.

Use [evidence board](../print/evidence-board.svg) or its [text version](../print/TEXT-ALTERNATIVES.md#evidence-board) every day. Keep `source / observation / inference / question` distinct. Samples A/B are neutral labels; there is no prewritten “better soil” answer.

## Day 1 — What can a closed sample show? (35 minutes)

1. **Set boundary · 3 min.** Show both closed containers. Say: “We can describe what we see through the wall. We cannot know everything about a sample from its look.” Remind the class of no opening or smelling.
2. **Model a careful look · 7 min.** Place A against plain paper. Say only what is truly visible, for example “I can see grains of more than one visible size” **if true**. If false, use another real feature. Put it in `observed`; ask whether “best for plants” belongs there (it does not).
3. **Child questions · 15 min.** Pairs choose a question about visible colour, grain size or layers. They observe A and B from the same seat/distance or an accessible matched view. Each child gives one prediction before a second look and names its clue; prediction stays separate from result.
4. **Record · 7 min.** Make a two-row A/B table with a labelled sketch or precise phrase. Ask: “Which word describes what your eyes found? Which sentence is an idea to investigate later?” Teacher samples 2–3 focus children while others compare with a partner.
5. **Close · 3 min.** Collect one question that cannot be answered through the container. Keep the source/date record for later; mark unknown origin as unknown.

**Teaching response:** if a child says “B is healthier,” ask what the container actually shows and turn health into a question needing different evidence.

## Day 2 — Make a comparison others can repeat (35 minutes)

1. **Recall · 3 min.** Ask: “Yesterday, did we compare containers at the same distance and background?” Point to the record, not memory alone.
2. **Model a scaffold · 7 min.** Put A then B against the **same** plain paper, in the **same** light, at the **same** marked viewing position. Say: “That helps us compare visible features. It is not a test of what caused the differences between soils.”
3. **Plan and observe · 15 min.** Pairs choose one feature, make a prediction, then use a simple `A / B / same or different / evidence` table. An adult moves containers if needed. If light varies, record it as a limit rather than pretending the observation is identical.
4. **Peer repeat · 7 min.** Another pair follows the written/diagrammed procedure and states whether they see the same feature. Ask what instructions were missing. Revise the procedure, not the other pair's perception.
5. **Close · 3 min.** Each child names one condition kept similar and one that might still differ. Save both versions of the procedure.

**Teaching response:** if a comparison uses different backgrounds, repeat it with the same background before drawing a conclusion.

## Day 3 — Count or describe what we can actually see (35 minutes)

1. **Open question · 3 min.** Say: “Can our record show a pattern that someone else can check?” Show the A/B table.
2. **Model a category · 7 min.** Choose a real visible feature from your samples, such as `light/dark visible patch` or `large/small visible grain` and define it on the page. Say a category is only as useful as its description. Avoid claims about unseen nutrients or minerals.
3. **Observe and mark · 15 min.** Learners make two dated drawings or verbal/tactile descriptions using the same category. If distinct visible pieces can be counted reliably, count them in a marked viewing square; otherwise use qualitative words and say why exact counting is not possible. Never fabricate a numerical dataset for a graph.
4. **Represent · 7 min.** Children choose a two-row table, paired labelled sketches or a physical model of observed feature sizes. Ask a partner to identify which mark came from A and which from B.
5. **Close · 3 min.** Ask, “What does your display help a reader notice? What does it leave out?” Record one limit with the display.

**Teaching response:** an attractive graph with made-up counts is replaced by a truthful sketch/table. The aim is evidence quality, not a chart at any cost.

## Day 4 — Compare two records without inventing a cause (35 minutes)

1. **Recall · 3 min.** Show anonymous records from Day 3 with no child names. Ask what each says directly.
2. **Model uncertainty · 7 min.** Say: “Our A record shows __ and B shows __,” using **actual** observations. Then add: “We cannot conclude from this alone why they differ or which grows plants better.” Put the second thought under `still need to know`.
3. **Group discussion · 15 min.** Children compare their observations with another pair. They mark `same / different / unclear` and give a possible reason for disagreement in viewing conditions, label or category. No group has to force consensus. Teacher asks whether repeating the view would help.
4. **Draw a bounded conclusion · 7 min.** Each child composes: “With our sealed samples and this view, we noticed __. We still need __ to answer __.” They point to a record for the first clause. If a finding differs, record it faithfully.
5. **Close · 3 min.** Collect one safe next question. A plant-growth test is **not** assigned without school-approved equipment, time and local safety review.

**Teaching response:** if a child makes a causal claim, ask which step changed one cause. This inquiry compared samples; it did not isolate what made them different.

## Day 5 — Explain to a reader, then invite a question (35 minutes)

1. **Purpose · 3 min.** Say: “Make a one-page record a learner who was away could understand. They should see what we looked at and where our idea stops.”
2. **Show model structure · 7 min.** On the board put `question → safe method → observation A/B → conclusion within evidence → next question`. Leave data spaces blank until using real records. Demonstrate citing a label/source only if permitted.
3. **Create · 15 min.** Learners choose labelled sketch, short report, tactile model with dictated labels or AAC presentation. Include actual source/date if known, observation route and one limit. Save an earlier draft if they revise. No public upload of child work.
4. **Reader test · 7 min.** A partner asks: “Which mark is your evidence? Could another learner repeat the look? What do we not know?” Learner revises one unclear part. Teacher collects individual evidence from a rotating few, others remain `not yet observed` if unheard.
5. **Next move · 3 min.** If source/observation are mixed, model that distinction next. If method is unclear, repeat the comparison scaffold. If the claim is sound, plan a new authorised question about Earth resources with an appropriate source.

**Rights:** Original activities © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026, SubjectNest, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); credit, link and note changes. Codes/descriptions retain [ACARA's rights](https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/copyright-and-terms-of-use). Local educator and safety review pending.