Fifth-grade teacher Tracy Polte explains the importance of making predictions— in this video segment from Teaching Middle School Life Science. In this case, students predict how long it would take for a crayfish to crawl 15 inches—and then comparing these predictions with actual test results. She wants students to understand that it’s not important that the prediction be correct. Instead, she explains that predictions are a reflection of how students are using what they have learned in the course of their study to inform their thinking.