Engage

The purpose of the Engage phase is to elicit students' prior knowledge, stimulate interest and
gather diagnostic data to inform teaching and learning. Each unit begins with a lesson that
mentally engages students with an activity or question. It captures student interest, provides
an opportunity for them to express what they know about the concept or skill being
developed, and helps them to begin to make connections between what they know and new
ideas.

Explore

Students carry out hands-on investigations in which they can explore the concept or skill.
They grapple with the problem or phenomenon and describe it in their own words. This phase
allows students to acquire a shared set of experiences that they can refer to to help each other
make sense of the new concept or skill. The Explore phase is characterised by multiple
opportunities for students to experience hands-on learning and represent their thinking.

Explain

The purpose of the Explain phase is to support students to develop scientific explanations,
drawing from experiences and observations, using representations. Students continue to
develop knowledge of concepts and demonstrate their developing understanding.

Elaborate

This phase provides opportunities for students to apply what they have learned to new
situations and develop a deeper understanding of the concept or greater use of their science
inquiry skills. It is important for students to discuss and compare their ideas with each other
during this phase. Investigations in the Elaborate phase build student capability for science
inquiry skills in a meaningful context.

Evaluate

The final phase provides an opportunity for students to review and reflect on their own
learning, and on their new understanding and skills. Students represent changes to their
understanding, beliefs and skills.