Inquiry Cubes: Patterns Help Us Make Predictions

The activity is designed to simulate how scientists look for patterns in evidence to make claims, and back them up with reasoning. There are some important takeaways that students will make: students cannot always test to see if a theory is correct, sometimes a pattern looks different depending on the perspective, and sometimes nature limits our options

Materials: printout of the “inquiry cube” OR virtual inquiry cube line.
Scissors
whiteboard or chart paper to capture what is shared out in the discussion.

Agenda Day 1: 60 Minutes

Physical models or virtual models
“Notice/Wonder”
Discussion

Agenda Day 2: 30 Minutes
Engage: What are theories?
Explore: A NEW piece of evidence- make a square
Explain: NEW evidence changes theory