Help your pupils build confidence and fluency in science with effective scaffolding approaches that boost recall, literacy and graphing skills
Scaffolding complex concepts for SEND learners can be both challenging and rewarding. Ready-made resources to help are few and far between, so I have developed my practice through research and trial and error. During this process, I found that while not every approach suits every learner, there are some strategies that help support most of the pupils in my classes.
Start small and build up to long answers
Build long answers
Over the years, I have noticed that pupils struggle with short- and long-answer questions. This is especially true when compared with recognition tasks such as multiple-choice and true-or-false questions, which they find much easier. I used to mix the two without recognising they demand different types of thinking: open questions require pupils to retrieve, organise and write, while recognition questions mainly check recall.
The research of academic and former teacher Carl Hendrick was very valuable in helping me understand why sequencing matters. When I order tasks more intentionally, learners build confidence with the easier questions first, making them more willing to attempt the harder questions later. This approach has been especially powerful for my learners with SEND.
Tip: Group tasks and exam questions by type. Start with recognition questions before moving on to open-ended ones.
Help pupils improve their graph-drawing skills
You’d be surprised how tricky drawing a simple graph can be. A competent graph demands several secondary skills, from labelling axes to choosing an appropriate scale and drawing a clear line of best fit (which differs from the approach in maths). For some pupils, this combination of steps can feel overwhelming.
Improve graph skills
You’d be surprised how tricky drawing a simple graph can be. A competent graph demands several secondary skills, from labelling axes to choosing an appropriate scale and drawing a clear line of best fit – which differs from the approach in maths (rsc.li/4rNnNUM). For some pupils, this combination of steps can feel overwhelming.
One strategy I have found helps is giving learners a graph with some of the structure already in place: a labelled axis, a suggested scale or a lightly-marked grid. This allows them to focus on one skill at a time and removes the paralysis caused by a blank set of axes. Each step offers an opportunity to scaffold, and I remove these supports gradually as their confidence grows.
Tip: Fade scaffolding bit by bit and praise pupils so they can see their progress.
Make recall as habit
Science is full of vocabulary and core knowledge pupils must learn. So much so, I often joke that it’s like learning a foreign language. For instance, I have never said strong electrostatic forces outside a classroom. Teacher Adam Boxer’s work has strongly influenced my approach to retrieval practice in this respect, especially with SEND learners.
Embed recall
Science is full of vocabulary and core knowledge pupils must learn. So much so, I often joke that it’s like learning a foreign language. For instance, I have never said strong electrostatic forces outside a classroom. Teacher Adam Boxer’s work has strongly influenced my approach to retrieval practice in this respect, especially with SEND learners (rsc.li/4r3QOtY).
A simple strategy is to increase the frequency of recall tasks and turn some of them into games. I present pupils with a list of five key facts for the subtopic. Throughout the lesson, we revisit these facts with pair quizzing, mini whiteboards and low-stakes games such as the hot-seat challenge. In the latter, pupils ask prepared questions to two classmates in the hot seat. I have found using a pair reduces fear as they encounter the questions several times throughout the lesson, meaning they are less likely to freeze. The cognitive load stays low and the activity remains enjoyable. I then reintroduce these questions in later lessons to strengthen retention.
Tip: Lead the quiz first, then hand it over so learners quiz each other using the same question-and-answer sheet. They gain twice the retrieval practice and twice the confidence.
Show what good looks like
Model good
I used to mistakenly assume pupils understood what a strong scientific answer looked like. Once they had gained some fluency, I would show model answers with clear success criteria and this, with some tweaks, changed everything. Initially, I shared model answers but failed to explain why they were effective. Now, I annotate models live under the visualiser and narrate my thinking as I write. When pupils see the reasoning process, the quality of their own answers improves significantly.
Tip: Ask pupils to apply the success criteria to their own answers first. Then model an improved version under the visualiser to build their fluency.
Final thought
For me, scaffolding is about making learning more inclusive, not easier. Scaffolds give learners repeated opportunities to celebrate success. These strategies help give learners the structure they need to progress and show them that science can be accessible to everyone.
Michael Prince
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