# Separate descriptive interpretation and next invitations

Read only after the held first response. These are informal selected-component checks, not formal QCAA examinations, A–E grades, complete investigations or a full Year 7 achievement award. Interpret the scientific meaning of the actual response in its mode; do not infer understanding from a copied line, adult making or silent exposure. Teacher reading/transcription is named; an adult-chosen reason is assistance. Private/pass/not yet encountered/unfinished stays distinct from incorrect science. A selected component can be useful now with others later. Keep first response and later taught revision separate.

## Small teacher record

Task/date/source/version, actual learner component in their words/mode, help/prior access, one descriptive interpretation and one next invitation. No whole-class rubric form or home data is required. The prepared resource is an opportunity; learner attainment is observed separately, not collected by the author. Actual full expert reading, model enactment, field observation and willing-user feedback are only recorded when encountered.

## Selected-component rubric

| Component | Starting connection | Connected response | Deliberate response / possible next move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food-web representation (U02/I04) | One correctly sourced food→consumer relation or accurate verbal pair | Several relevant relations with a clear key/resource labels | Chooses a representation for purpose, preserves alternate paths and explains what the graph leaves unknown. Next: test one unlabelled or reversed arrow. |
| Matter and energy (U02) | Names matter or chemical energy in feeding | Separates energy-only sunlight input from feeding matter/energy | Explains a selected matter loop/carbon exchange versus ongoing energy flow/heat dissipation. Next: trace one pathway; no universal percentage required. |
| Question/prediction (U02/I01) | A possible effect or relevant question tied to a path | Mechanism, changed input and condition/time recognised | Compares assumptions, competing paths or uncertainty; can frame a model comparison. Next: name one outcome and held-same condition. No actual experiment inferred. |
| Source/claim analysis (I06/I07 selected elements) | Identifies a source fact or an unsupported assertion | Separates fact, assumption and unknown; gives a source locator | Weighs conflicting or insufficient support and cites ethically within authority/rights. Next: ask whether a full source, local identification or permission is missing. Cultural protocols are not presumed fulfilled. |
| Communication (I08 selected elements) | A useful chosen component is intelligible in the learner's mode | Language/labels suit a chosen purpose; reason/source connected | Refines organisation or wording with an actual reason/use if available. Next: invite one self-use question. Digital tools and public delivery are optional and not credited without use. |

**Not yet observed** is a separate status for every component; do not force a whole rubric level. No fixed route is assigned to a learner. A plan can show model reasoning/composition without claiming physical construction or actual user response. A correct link alone does not complete U02, I04, all I07 cultural/ethical components or the year standard.

## FW-C — source-specific open interpretations

Exact source arrows: P→R, P→T, R→H, T→H. A different layout or accurate spoken network is valid. Reversed consumer→food arrows conflict with this source key; ask for a repair with the key before further teaching. Feeding arrows transfer some matter/chemical energy; sunlight, if added as an explanation, is energy-only and not a stipulated feeding arrow.

Less light reducing P production is an **input**, not a supplied P population decline. It could reduce food for R/T; if this food limits survival or reproduction and other pressures/resources do not compensate, R/T abundance could later decline. H could later face lower prey availability and decline under relevant food-limitation assumptions. This is a conditional pathway, not the only answer. Stable/delayed responses can be justified by reserves, time, food adequacy or other clearly named assumptions; these assumptions are not supplied facts. Increasing a selected population needs a coherent additional mechanism/assumption rather than assertion. The source is too sparse for amounts, immediate timing or guaranteed equal effects.

A useful question might compare production/resource sufficiency over time while other model conditions stay fixed. A chosen unknown can itself be sound evidence: how much production is reduced, whether food is limiting, how long the model represents. Do not demand both grazers and H predictions, the full network, chemical equations or all process paths. Matter recycling may be described as a selected nutrient/carbon cycle; energy flows and dissipates as heat rather than returning from soil to sunlight. A learner can address that distinction in a later sitting.

Next invitations: clarify whether the learner confuses production with population; trace one two-step effect; add an explicit “if food limits …” condition; contrast a prediction with a supplied fact. Do not print these answers into the learner source or ordinary model.

## FW-D — source-specific open interpretations

Exact arrows: M→A, N→A, M→B, A→B, B→H. B decreasing is a hypothetical input, not a measured prior outcome. A can plausibly increase if reduced B predation eases a limiting pressure while food/other pressures allow it. H may decline later if B is limiting prey and other food/pressures do not compensate. Stable/delayed or uncertain effects can be justified by explicit assumptions; no supplied quantity settles them.

For M, B consumes M directly, while A consumes M and can be eaten by B. Less B might reduce direct consumption of M, while potential A increase might increase consumption of M. These pathways compete; M's net direction is not fixed by the arrow diagram. N may face more consumption if A increases, but A's response and resource sufficiency remain conditional. A learner need not solve every node. “I cannot assign M a direction without knowing the relative changes in A/B feeding” with both paths is a strong reasoned response. It is not a missing answer.

Different predictions remain valid when supported by the source graph plus openly named assumptions. Do not accept “always doubles,” an exact percent, “all populations decrease,” arrow count as a numerical rule, or imaginary actual results. Invite a repair, not a speed/completion penalty. A novel question about one pathway, a selected model comparison or communication choice can provide partial I01/I06/I08 evidence if actually made. No model manipulation constitutes field inquiry/equipment measurement.

## Ordinary worked interpretations

- F1/F2 arrows end at caterpillars; leaves are named. F4/F5 end at glider but their parts are pollen/nectar/sap or sap, not leaves. F6 is one listed glider→monitor interaction, not every local glider or a measured rate.
- Producer plants transform light energy and use carbon dioxide/water; mineral nutrients are matter, not recycled sunlight. Feeding transfers both matter and some chemical energy. Energy is conserved through transformations, including heat dissipation; it does not recycle into plant light through soil. A selected mineral-nutrient loop is only part of matter cycling; carbon also exchanges with air through photosynthesis/respiration/decomposition. Not all fungi are decomposers.
- Fewer caterpillars may affect gliders depending on alternatives and time. Remaining F4/F5 paths do not prove sufficient compensation. A glider is not necessarily at one fixed trophic position because the source includes both plant resources and animal prey.
- “Wattle leaves replace lost insects” needs resource correction to sap and removal/qualification of the sufficiency claim. A historical report's 2024 upload folder is not its 2008 publication year. General NPWS mammal diet supports a broader category, not independently the specific F6 claim.
- An actually revised model can be described as revised. If previous work or use is absent, retain a new component or evaluation plan; inventing improvement, reader success or field observation is not valid evidence.