# Integrated Week 1: make a key that another person can use

**Five 35-minute Science + English sessions.** Year 7 ACARA v9: `AC9S7U01` and selected inquiry skills `AC9S7I01`, `AC9S7I02`, `AC9S7I04`, `AC9S7I05`, `AC9S7I06`, `AC9S7I08`; English `AC9E7LA08`, `AC9E7LY06`. This is an **opening model exercise**, not full coverage of biodiversity or evolutionary relationships. The six [printable model cards](../print/model-leaves.svg) are **invented leaf-like outlines, not botanical specimens**. Read the [full text descriptions](../print/TEXT-ALTERNATIVES.md) before using. No plant collection, cultural identification or site access is required.

**Equipment:** one set of cards per pair (paper or tactile outline), pencil, large-font key sheet, timer. Teacher may supply a familiar real specimen **only after local safety, collection permission and identification review**, as an extension rather than a requirement. Never ask children to taste or handle unknown plants. All sessions can run without screens. Optional camera enlargement stays local and contains no child image.

**Model card definitions:** S1 smooth outer edge, rounded tip, long stem; S2 smooth, rounded, short stem; S3 smooth, pointed, short stem; J1 jagged, rounded, long stem; J2 jagged, pointed, long stem; J3 jagged, pointed, short stem. “Long” means at least the width of the model blade on the printed card; this is a **local diagram rule**, not a botanical standard. The six have the same orientation, so compare the top tip, outer blade edge and bottom stem. The teacher uses the printed descriptors if artwork is hard to distinguish. A seventh **challenge card** is described in text: jagged on one side and smooth on one side, rounded tip, short stem. It is deliberately outside the six-card set.

## Day 1 — An observation must be repeatable

**Question:** Which card features can two people agree on? **Evidence:** a two-column trait record for all six cards.

1. **Notice · 3 min.** Say: “These are invented shapes. We are practising a tool for organising observations, not naming plants.” Give silent inspection time.
2. **Define · 5 min.** Model *tip*, *outer edge*, *stem* with one card. Contrast “interesting” with “rounded tip”; only the latter is repeatable as a rule.
3. **Pairs observe · 8 min.** Pairs describe each of six cards without names; partner matches a description to a card. Invite a spoken/AAC route or tactile outline.
4. **Record · 10 min.** Make a table with card label, edge, tip, stem. Read each row against the card. Do not treat a drawing trait as a real species trait.
5. **Reliability test · 6 min.** Swap tables. A new pair identifies one ambiguity and proposes a more precise wording. Teacher circulates to 2–3 focus learners.
6. **Exit · 3 min.** Everyone offers one observable trait and one vague alternative. Key: “pointed tip” is observable; “best looking” is a judgement. Revisit vocabulary tomorrow if uncertain.

**Access:** enlarged black outlines, raised string/card edge or adult-guided description; students direct a partner's inspection. No colour-dependent task.

## Day 2 — Build a two-choice route

**Question:** Can a small set of paired questions distinguish six models? **Evidence:** draft key and traced routes.

1. **Retrieve · 3 min.** Ask: “What does a two-choice question need to name?” Answer: a visible feature with mutually clear alternatives.
2. **Model · 5 min.** Write “1. edge entirely smooth → 2; edge includes jagged section → 4.” Point out that these choices cover the six cards and the mixed-edge challenge consistently.
3. **Construct · 8 min.** Pairs write the smooth route: “2. pointed → S3; rounded → 3. 3. long stem → S1; short stem → S2.” Ask a partner to trace S2.
4. **Construct · 10 min.** Pairs write jagged route: “4. rounded → J1; pointed → 5. 5. long stem → J2; short stem → J3.” Add terminal instruction: **verify every named feature against the full card descriptor; if one conflicts, record unmatched**.
5. **Swap test · 6 min.** Another pair follows the key on J2 and S3 without hints. Note any unclear word or skipped condition.
6. **Exit · 3 min.** Each learner says/writes the route for J3: 1 jagged → 4 pointed → 5 short → J3, then verify. If a route fails, revise wording rather than blame user.

**Access:** numbered large-print questions, tactile yes/no tokens, partner as scribe under learner direction. Screen-reader text route is in [text alternatives](../print/TEXT-ALTERNATIVES.md).

## Day 3 — Test, find the limit, revise

**Question:** What happens when a seventh card combines features outside the set? **Evidence:** test log, scope statement and one revision.

1. **Predict · 3 min.** Describe the challenge card without showing a picture: one jagged side, one smooth side, rounded tip, short stem. Ask which first-route wording is safest.
2. **Model assumption · 5 min.** Contrast “edge is jagged” with “edge includes any jagged section”; the latter tells two people how to handle a mixed edge. Identify this as a rule we chose for the model.
3. **Independent trace · 8 min.** Students trace the challenge: 1 jagged → 4 rounded → J1; full-descriptor check fails because J1's stem is long and challenge stem short. Record **unmatched**, not “J1” as a forced identity.
4. **Revise · 10 min.** In pairs, add a route for jagged+rounded+short or keep the six-card key but clearly state “outside set”. Both are defensible; test the chosen revision with all original cards so no route is broken.
5. **Critique · 6 min.** Compare two keys. Ask whether a successful classroom key proves biological relatedness. No: it sorts chosen visible features of models only.
6. **Exit · 3 min.** Everyone writes “The seventh card shows our key's limit because ___; our response is ___.” Sample focus learners' reasoning and mark support used.

**Access:** physical route arrows, enlarged challenge description, quiet solo tracing before talk. Allow “unmatched” card token rather than written sentence, then capture the learner's explanation.

## Day 4 — Represent and explain the method

**Question:** Which diagram and wording let an unfamiliar user repeat the classification? **Evidence:** peer-tested key plus a short explanatory caption.

1. **Purpose · 3 min.** Say: “Someone who was absent should be able to use your key.”
2. **Model · 5 min.** Put numbers and arrows on a clean key. Caption: “This key sorts six fictional model cards by edge, tip and stem; it may leave new shapes unmatched.”
3. **Make · 8 min.** Learners redraw or type their key, using two choices at each decision and full labels at endings. A text-only numbered route is equal evidence.
4. **Blind peer test · 10 min.** Partner receives two cards and the key, not oral hints. Record card, route, result and any confusing phrase. Swap roles.
5. **Improve · 6 min.** Revise one phrase or end check based on evidence. Students write why the change improves reproducibility.
6. **Exit · 3 min.** Everyone submits a caption naming scope and one limit. Feedback: if two people diverge, inspect ambiguous rule; if card cannot fit, record unmatched.

**Access:** no requirement to draw neat arrows; typed route, raised card pathway or adult transcription valid. Read labels aloud on request.

## Day 5 — Communicate a defensible conclusion

**Question:** What does this exercise show about classification, and what does it not show? **Evidence:** individual claim–evidence–limit response.

1. **Recall · 3 min.** Revisit an actual class wording change (anonymised). Ask what evidence caused it.
2. **Model · 5 min.** “Our second user reached the same label for S3, so the route is reproducible for that card. We have not tested real plants.” Label claim, evidence and limit.
3. **Individual check · 8 min.** Learners trace S1 and J3 using a clean key, then respond: “What would you do with a new shape that does not fit?” This is a check, not a timed test of drawing.
4. **Exchange · 10 min.** Pairs compare results and explain one discrepancy using the written route. Teacher observes 2–3 focus learners and records independent/prompted/not yet observed.
5. **Next question · 6 min.** Students name what real biological classification would require beyond our models (e.g. verified specimens and more evidence). Do not infer evolutionary relationships from outline alone.
6. **Close · 3 min.** Everyone states one useful role and one limit of this key. Use the key below for next teaching.

**Key/next moves:** S1 route = 1 smooth → 2 rounded → 3 long → S1. J3 route = 1 jagged → 4 pointed → 5 short → J3. New unmatched item: record features, check wording and scope, then revise/test or leave unmatched. If a learner gives a label based on appearance without tracing, ask them to verbalise each branch. If they think a key proves ancestry, compare identification by chosen visible traits with evidence of relationships; defer broader taxonomy to later sequence. If the only barrier is print visibility, repeat with text/tactile descriptions before judging concept learning.

**Teacher record:** `day | focus learner code | exact route or explanation | independent/prompted/not yet observed | access route | next move`. Keep locally under school policy; no child data is sent to SubjectNest.