Florida SC.6.N.1.5
The Standard
Recognize that science involves creativity, not just in designing experiments, but also in creating explanations that fit evidence.
Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use creative thinking to plan investigations and build explanations from observations and data. They propose possible explanations, then decide which one best fits the evidence.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can design a reasonable test or create more than one explanation for the same evidence. They support their choice with data and revise ideas that conflict with the evidence.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think scientists only follow fixed steps and never use imagination. They may also think a creative explanation can be invented freely, even when evidence does not support it.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A powder fizzes in vinegar, does not dissolve in oil, and warms water by 3°C. Write two explanations, then choose one and cite two supporting observations.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Teams build paper helicopters, change one feature, test flight times, and create an evidence-based explanation for the results.
Ask students to write: How can two scientists use the same evidence but create different explanations?
Give groups evidence cards and explanation cards, then have them race to match each explanation with supporting and conflicting evidence.
Show data from a local fish die-off and ask students to compare pollution, low oxygen, and disease as possible explanations.
Free download
Printable SC.6.N.1.5 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SC.6.N.1.5, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
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Related Standards
- SC.8.N.1.6
Understand that scientific investigations involve the collection of relevant empirical evidence, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imaginatio...
- SC.5.N.2.1
Recognize and explain that science is grounded in empirical observations that are testable; explanation must always be linked with evidence.
- SC.4.N.1.8
Recognize that science involves creativity in designing experiments.
- SC.4.N.1.7
Recognize and explain that scientists base their explanations on evidence.
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