Science · Kindergarten

Active learning ideas

Making Predictions

Active learning builds the habit of making predictions by giving students immediate, hands-on experiences that connect their thinking to real outcomes. When students predict before acting, they practice using evidence to explain their ideas, which prepares them for both science investigations and everyday reasoning.

• Common Core State Standards
• K-ETS1-1

• 15–25 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Plan-Do-Review
• 25 min · Whole Class

Prediction Chart: Change One Thing

Set up a simple ramp with a small car. Make one change (steeper angle) and ask students to predict before testing: 'Will the car go farther, the same distance, or not as far? Why?' Record predictions on a class chart, run the test, and compare results. Repeat with a second change (heavier car).

Predict what would happen if we changed one thing about our experiment.

Facilitation Tip

During Prediction Chart: Change One Thing, circulate and listen for students to state their predictions in complete sentences that include the word 'because' to encourage reasoning.

What to look for

Give students a picture of two primary colors of paint. Ask them to draw what they predict will happen when the colors are mixed, and write one sentence explaining why they think that will happen.

• Remember
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Playdough Color Mixing

Give each pair a small ball of red and yellow playdough. Ask them to predict what color they'll get when they mix the two, then record their prediction by drawing it. After mixing, compare the result to the drawing. Ask: 'Were you right? What would you predict if we mixed blue and yellow next?'

Justify your prediction about what will happen when you mix two colors of playdough.

Facilitation Tip

For Think-Pair-Share: Playdough Color Mixing, pause after the first prediction round to ask, 'What evidence from the colors made you think that?' to reinforce grounding predictions in observation.

What to look for

During a simple experiment, such as rolling a ball down a ramp, ask students: 'What do you predict will happen to the ball when I make the ramp steeper?' Record their predictions and the reasons they give.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Plan-Do-Review
• 15 min · Individual

Prediction Journal Entry

Each student draws and writes a prediction for the day's experiment before any testing begins. After the experiment, they draw and write what actually happened. At the end of the unit, students flip through their journals to notice patterns: were they better predictors for some types of experiments than others?

Explain how making a prediction helps us learn in science.

Facilitation Tip

Use Prediction Journal Entry to model writing with a pen to emphasize commitment to a prediction before testing it.

What to look for

After an experiment where a prediction was made and tested, ask: 'Was your prediction correct? How did making a prediction help you understand what happened?' Encourage students to share their thoughts with a partner.

• Remember
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teaching prediction works best when you model uncertainty and curiosity, treating surprises as learning opportunities rather than mistakes. Avoid rushing students from prediction to test. Give them time to articulate their reasoning and compare results with care. Research shows that students who verbalize their predictions before testing retain concepts better and develop stronger analytical habits.

Successful learning looks like students confidently sharing predictions based on what they observe, testing those predictions, and then reflecting on differences between what they expected and what actually happened. They should be able to explain their reasoning clearly and see value in surprises.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Prediction Chart: Change One Thing, watch for students who say a wrong prediction means they made a mistake.

  Use the chart to highlight surprising results as opportunities to ask, 'What do you notice that is different from what you expected?' Guide students to add new observations to their chart to explain the difference.

• During Think-Pair-Share: Playdough Color Mixing, watch for students who describe their prediction as a guess rather than a reasoned idea.

  After sharing, ask, 'What did you see in the colors that made you think that?' If students cannot answer, prompt them to look closely at the shades and textures before making a new prediction.

• During Prediction Journal Entry, watch for students who erase or change their prediction after testing.

  Remind students that their journal is a record of their thinking, not a final answer. Use the journal to discuss how the test result adds new information to their original prediction.

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Methods used in this brief

• Plan-Do-Review
• Think-Pair-Share