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| Questions/instructions:
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| %
responses 2003 ('99) |
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| y4
|
y8 |
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| 1.
Tell me about where the possum lives. Where does it make its home? |
bush/forest/trees
|
98
(98) |
99
(99) |
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| 2.
Tell me about where the rabbit lives. Where does it make its home? |
Usual
habitat: |
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fields/hills/grass/paddocks
|
41
(43) |
47
(35) |
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underground
in holes/burrows/warrens |
79
(76) |
86
(89) |
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| Give student picture 1: possum. | |||||||||||||
| 3.
Let’s look at the possum. What is special about this animal that
helps it survive and live in its natural surroundings? Prompt: How does that help it to survive? |
Possible
features: [claws for climbing/eating; fur for warmth or camouflage; tail for balance; whiskers for sense of space; large eyes to see in dark; sharp teeth for eating] |
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2
or more relevant features plus good justification |
18
(20) |
38
(44) |
|||||||||||
1
relevant feature plus good justification |
23
(30) |
25
(17) |
|||||||||||
2
or more relevant features but no justification |
5 (8) |
7
(9) |
|||||||||||
1
feature, not justified |
11
(7) |
9
(13) |
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| Give student picture 2: rabbit. | |||||||||||||
| 4.
Let’s look at the rabbit. What is special about this animal that helps it survive and live in its natural surroundings? Prompt: How does that help it to survive? |
Possible
features: [large feet and claws for digging burrows; large back legs for running fast; large ears to hear danger easily, fur for warmth and camouflage; large eyes to see in dark; big sharp front teeth for cutting/eating grass and leaves] |
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2
or more relevant features plus good justification |
20
(26) |
38
(42) |
|||||||||||
1
relevant feature plus good justification |
22
(22) |
19
(21) |
|||||||||||
2
or more relevant features but no justification |
7 (9) |
9
(9) |
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1
feature, not justified |
7
(9) |
9
(5) |
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|
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| 5.
This time look carefully at the animals’ feet. Why do you think possum and rabbit feet are different? |
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| 6. What is special about a possum’s feet that helps it live and survive? | |||||||||||||
| 7. What is special about a rabbit’s feet that helps it live and survive? | |||||||||||||
| Based on all three questions: | |||||||||||||
explains
that feet have different functions (e.g. climbing for possum, digging for rabbit) |
58
(55) |
81
(73) |
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| Possums’
feet: [sharp claws for feeding, climbing, defense] |
mentions
claws and 2–3 functions |
12
(15) |
23
(22) |
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mentions
claws and 1 function |
43
(37) |
51 (49) |
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mentions
claws but no function |
24
(24) |
18
(18) |
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| Rabbits’
feet: [large back legs for fast travel, defense and burrowing; front feet for holding food, defense and burrowing] |
1
or more features with good explanation |
33
(31) |
52
(48) |
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| 1
or more features without useful explanation |
30
(36) |
30
(31) |
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Total
Score: |
17–20
|
8
(8) |
23
(24) |
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13–16
|
22
(21) |
33
(27) |
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9–12
|
26
(31) |
26
(28) |
|||||||||||
5–8
|
31
(31) |
15
(20) |
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0–4
|
13
(9) |
3
(1) |
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| Commentary Students showed quite good knowledge and analytical skills about the habitats and adaptation of possums and rabbits. About 25 percent more year 8 than year 4 students scored above 12. Overall, there was no discernible change between 1999 and 2003. |
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