Staff guide · The creek-model visitor
Use only after the own attempt. These local criteria are examples of evidence, not an official grade or a unique required phrasing.
Complete selected source
Made-up story. A visitor to a pretend creek exhibition asks, “How could water from the sea reach land as rain?” A model card lists: sea liquid → evaporation → invisible water vapour in air → condensation → cloud droplets → precipitation → land water. A second branch shows cloud precipitation to sea instead. The model has no amounts or travel times and is not a weather forecast. The visitor wants a short useful explanation, not a prediction about tomorrow. You may use a drawing, labels, speech, signing, dictation or typed words.
Q1
Prompt: Make a short answer for this visitor using the three process names.
Minimum meaningful evidence: Accurately explains evaporation/condensation/precipitation in the stated sea-to-land relationship.
Worked example: Sea liquid can evaporate to vapour; condensation forms cloud droplets; precipitation can bring water to land.
Next teaching: Reteach the particular missing link with new cards before later D.
Partial national link: AC9S4U02
Actual response / support / next appointment: ______
Q2
Prompt: What does the second branch change?
Minimum meaningful evidence: Identifies precipitation destination sea instead of land, without assuming all water must take one path.
Worked example: It shows precipitation to sea rather than land; both are possible model paths.
Next teaching: Use an unassessed two-destination cloud model.
Partial national link: AC9S4I04
Actual response / support / next appointment: ______
Q3
Prompt: Who is your explanation for, and what question does it help answer?
Minimum meaningful evidence: Identifies the visitor and their sea-to-land rain question as the useful need.
Worked example: It helps the visitor understand how sea water can reach land as rain.
Next teaching: Choose a different visitor/question and match a relevant explanatory purpose.
Partial national link: AC9S4H02
Actual response / support / next appointment: ______
Q4
Prompt: Give one useful limit for the visitor.
Minimum meaningful evidence: Communicates no forecast/amount/time limit relevant to that audience.
Worked example: This model does not tell you whether or when it will rain tomorrow.
Next teaching: Practise a short audience-specific limit on a different model.
Partial national link: AC9S4I06
Actual response / support / next appointment: ______
Use after Day 39. Preserve the earlier response and what was subsequently taught. New complete stories have familiar taught process/representation components; do not claim all-unseen answers, matched statistical difficulty or automatic improvement. Fiction/source reasoning does not establish actual measurement or conduct.
Modified from Year 4 Science alignment, standard elaborations and Years 3–4 techniques and conditions, © State of Queensland (QCAA) 2023, covered CC BY 4.0 with exceptions. Our task criteria are original; these are not official A–E bands. Actual folio and on-balance professional judgment remain necessary.