Day 31 — What would our collection help us find?

Useful outcome: Choose a useful question before collecting clues.

Prepare: O1; two broad question slips; blank question mat.

Partial opportunities: AC9HS1S01, AC9HS1S02, AC9HS1S03. Refer to whole authority and explicit limits in the linked curriculum scope; opportunity is not observed mastery.

1. Start ·3: Read child invitation I01 in the ordinary source menu. Invite a wanted useful product. Offer private work, rest, pass, stop or another route.

2. Source/model ·5: A separate invented coat tag states cotton but not the maker; a material question can use it, a maker question stays open. Adult demonstration stays separate from child evidence.

3. Guided source work ·part of 10: Read O1. Its three descriptions identify material/shape and two stated uses, but do not identify makers. Ask which source could help with “What are these made from?” and which missing question cannot yet be answered.

4. Own useful work ·rest of 10: Child develops a question they want this small collection to help answer. Collect two relevant O1 details with their source labels. Mark the maker as unknown if chosen; do not turn adult question choices into child-developed evidence.

5. Compare ·5: Try finding each collected detail in O1. Ask whether the question needs an object clue, a catalogue or a person's account. Keep or change the question only at the child's direction.

6. Notice and teach next ·2: If questions are only titles, use an unrelated invented kite label with material stated and builder missing; model a what/who question. If every source is assumed to answer everything, contrast that label with a blank maker field.

Three ways to take part

(a) Question delivery: Place or direct a broad question slip beside the source detail that can help. A reachable seated layout works.

(b) Clue notebook: Draw, dictate or describe two details under a chosen question; preserve their source names.

(c) Listener challenge: Tell a willing listener one question and ask them to point to a useful O1 detail. Self-read is equally complete; record only an actual reply.

All routes retain the access/attribution/stop choices above. Observe: One developed source-related question and relevant collected details, with an honest missing answer.

Extra contexts: C01/C02; home: H01; optional larger making: X01; written read-aloud: N01. Full source/own/staff separation follows the linked assessment selection guidance.

Complete selected sources

O1 — The play-clue tray

Original fiction, three description cards recorded 2026. ItemP is a rectangular paper path with four broad spaces; its card says players choose a space in turns. ItemQ is a cloth square with a stitched star; its card does not describe how it was used. ItemR is a wooden wheel-shaped piece; its card says it was part of a toy cart. No card names a maker, owner or making date. The descriptions are supplied text, not a child's observation or an image of a real collection. These items can help a material question; the maker is unknown.

Short child start · Home · Larger project · Capture/support · Curriculum scope.

Sources and reuse · Original educational work © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026, CC BY 4.0. Linked authority/provider exceptions and learner ownership stay separate.