Virginia SOL 6.1.c.iv

Science6th GradeScientific and Engineering Practices

The Standard

use data to evaluate and refine design solutions

Virginia Standards of Learning for Science · The student will demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices by

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students use test results to compare design solutions against set criteria and constraints. They identify weak points, choose a change supported by the data, and test the revised design.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can read a data table or graph and select the design that best meets the goal. The student can cite specific results to explain a revision and judge whether it improved performance.
Common Misconceptions: Students may choose the highest result without considering cost, safety, or other constraints. They may change several variables at once or claim improvement without comparing data from both tests.
How to Assess It: Give students test data for two paper bridges. Ask them to choose the stronger design, cite two data values, and propose one specific revision.

Lesson moves

Build paper bridges, test each with washers, record load capacity, then change one feature based on the results and retest.
Given two water-filter designs and a results table, write which design works better and cite two data values.
Play Design Detective by matching test-result cards to the best revision, then explain each match to a partner.
Compare packaging prototypes using drop-test damage and material cost, then recommend the best package for shipping a fragile item.

Keep exploring

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