A student testing stream water with a pipette beside test tubes and a tablet

Science · Years 7–8 · NZ Curriculum

Science practices

What Science intermediate students in Aotearoa New Zealand learn under science practices, and where it shows up across Kōkiri Learn's inquiry worlds.

Science · 11 inquiry worlds cover this strand

New Zealand Curriculum, Phase 3

The teaching sequence

Year 7 sequence

Fair tests and controlled variables
Recording and analysing data
Evidence-based explanations

Year 8 sequence

Designing investigations and judging reliability
Models to explain and predict
Evaluating claims

Where this shows up

Kōkiri Learn inquiry worlds that cover this strand

The whole class works on one world at a time — these are where this strand's focus actually comes up.

5 weeks
Explain It: Non-fiction and Feature Writing
Year 7 sequence · Evidence-based explanations of local science
4 weeks
What the Data Shows
Year 7 sequence · Planning fair data collection with repeated measurements and controlled conditions (reaction times, rainfall, bird counts)
4 weeks
Ngā Tohu o te Taiao: Signs in Our Environment
Year 7 sequence · Planning investigations into abiotic factors (temperature, light) with probes or thermometers, fair comparisons with controlled variables, and evidence-based explanations
5 weeks
The Hidden World of Cells
Year 7 sequence · Recording cells with labelled diagrams and digital images, and designing and carrying out investigations into the requirements for photosynthesis and respiration
5 weeks
Matter on the Move: Heat, Mixtures and Change
Year 7 sequence · Planning a fair test of insulating materials: one changed variable, controlled variables and repeated temperature readings
5 weeks
Push, Pull and Pressure
Year 7 sequence · Naming independent and dependent variables, changing one thing at a time and repeating runs for reliable results
5 weeks
Te Pūnaha Hauropi: Investigating Ecosystem Change
Year 8 sequence · Designing investigations, judging reliability from repeats and sample size, using models to predict, and evaluating claims such as 'wasp traps protect the forest'
5 weeks
Fuel, Breath and Family Traits
Year 8 sequence · Investigating enzymes with a model experiment, measuring lung volume, and testing seed dispersal distance, then interpreting patterns in data
5 weeks
Spark: Static and Circuits
Year 8 sequence · Using circuit models to predict what will happen, then testing, measuring and judging how reliable the results are
5 weeks
Rocks to Stars: Earth and Space
Year 8 sequence · Using physical models (a scale Solar System, a lamp-and-ball Moon) to explain and predict, and judging what each model gets right and wrong
5 weeks
Te Awa Tupua: Rivers, Floods and People
Year 7 sequence · Fair tests: comparing how fast water soaks into grass, bare soil and asphalt