Years 3–4 Years 5–6 Years 9–10Foundation Years 1–2 Years 7–8Information for parentsTHE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM – YEARS 7 AND 8
Foundation Years 1–2 Years 3–4 Years 5–6 Years 9–10Years 7–8
THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUMThe Australian Curriculum is designed to develop:
• successfullearners• confidentandcreativeindividuals• activeandinformedyoungpeoplewho
arereadytotaketheirplaceinsociety.
Itsetsthegoalforwhatallstudentsshouldlearnastheyprogressthroughtheirschoollife–wherevertheyliveinAustraliaandwhateverschooltheyattend.
TheAustralianCurriculumwithitseightlearning areas provides a modern curriculum foreverystudentinAustralia.Includedinthecontent of learning areas are seven general capabilitiesintendedtohelpprepareyoungAustralianstolearn,liveandworkinthe21stcentury.Therearethreecross-curriculumpriorities that are also a focus across the learningareas.
TheAustralianCurriculumisflexiblesothatteachers can plan the learning for all their students,alsotakingintoaccounttheirlocalschoolcommunity.
For more information, see our fact sheet: TheAustralianCurriculum–anoverview forparents.
YEARS 7 AND 8
In Year 7 (Year 8 in South Australia), students starthighschool,whichpresentsneworganisationalandpersonalchallenges. TheAustralianCurriculumistaughtmostly bysubject-specialistteachers.
At this age, there is a focus on developing students’abilitiestomaintainpersonalhealthandwellbeing,andmanagepersonalrelationships.
Years 7-8 Learning Areas
1
English
Maths
ScienceHealth & PETechnologies
The Arts
Humanities
Languages
School choice
Years 3–4 Years 5–6 Years 9–10Foundation Years 1–2 Years 7–8
EnglishInYears7and8,studentsareprovidedwithopportunitiestoreadandinterpretawidevariety
of
literature,andcreatetextstoinfluencetheiraudience.
Typically, students will:
readandinterpretarangeofchallengingfictiontexts
compare,analyseandquestionideasandinformationintexts
selectevidencefromtexts,whichshowshowauthorsrepresenttheirviewpoints
createtextsfordifferentpurposesandaudiences
writeaseriesofwell-organisedparagraphstopresentanargumentorconveyinformation
readonlinetextsandusearangeof softwaretocreatetexts
recogniseanduseawiderangeof languagefeaturessuchassub-headings
knowanduseawiderangeofwords,includingthosefromtechnicalandliterarylanguage
give presentations that include visual and digitalfeatures.
Mathematics InYears7and8,studentsextendtheirknowledgeofnumbers,includingirrationalnumbers.Theystarttousealgebrato solve problems, develop geometric reasoning and consider statisticalsampling.
Typically, students will:
connecttheknownpropertiesofarithmeticwiththestudy of algebra
develop simple logical geometric arguments findestimatesofmeansandproportionsofpopulations comparepricesofproductspackagedindifferentquantities representsimplealgebraicrelationsbygraphs calculate areas of shapes and volumes of simple solids applyratiosandinterpretstatisticalgraphs calculateaccuratelywithpositiveandnegativenumbers.
2
Writes using the style and structure of a
stimulus poem using their own experiences.
Years 3–4 Years 5–6 Years 9–10Foundation Years 1–2 Years 7–8
HealthandPhysicalEducationStudentslearnabouthowtheirchangingworldoperates astheyfacemorecomplexlifedecisions.Studentsanalyse andrefinemovementskills,experienceoutdoorrecreation anddevelopleadershipandteamworkskills.Typically students will:
developcoping,assertivecommunication,problem-solvingandrefusalskills valuedifferenceanddevelopempathytowardsothers’viewsandsituations talkabouthowandwhomtoaskregardinghelpfortheirownandothers’health evaluatefoodandnutritioninformationandcreatetheirownfitnessplans promotehealthandwellbeingmessagesintheircommunity modifyrulessothatactivitiesaresafer,fairerandmoreinclusive usefeedbacktoimprovetheirmovementskills.
Humanities and Social SciencesInYears7and8,studentsuseinquiryskills to develop social, historical, geographical, environmental, civic, political, business and economicknowledgeandunderstandings, andviewissuesfromalocaltoaglobalscale.Typically students will:
in History, investigate ancient to modern societies of Europe and other regions, and the legacyoftheirideasintoday’sworld
in Geography,explorefactorsandchallengesthatinfluencehowpeopleaccessresourcesandmakeplacesliveable;linksbetweenplaces,peopleandenvironments,andhowchangescanbemanagedsustainably
in Civics and Citizenship, learn about citizenship, laws,andthedemocraticvaluesandgroupparticipationthatpromoteacohesivesociety in Economics and Business, understand modernandtraditionalmarkets;rolesof,andrelationshipsbetween,consumers,businesses,entrepreneursandwork;andfactorsthatmightaffectworkinthefuture.
ScienceStudents develop their understanding
ofmicroscopicandatomicstructures.
Theyadoptamoresophisticatedviewof
evidenceandbegintodevelopacapacityto
calculatechangesaccuratelyandcompare
relativeamounts.
Typically students will:
further develop their understandings of
systemsthroughastudyofecosystems
andcellularsystems
explorerenewableandnon-renewable
resources, and the applications of
science to solve important issues
explorechangesinmatterataparticle
levelandlinkthemtophysicaland
chemical changes
investigatetheroleofenergyincausing
changeinsystemssuchasthecycleof
formingrocks considerethicalimplication
sofscientific
researchanddevelopment.
3
Years 3–4 Years 5–6 Years 9–10Foundation Years 1–2 Years 7–8
The Arts
Byrespondingcriticallyandcreativelyina
varietyofartforms,studentsexploreand
questiontheirimmediateexperienceand
theirunderstandingofthewiderworld.
Typically students will:
in Dance, choreograph dance
sequencestocommunicateideas,
and rehearse and perform dances
in Drama, plan and rehearse
dramatic performances to
communicateideasexpressively
in Media Arts, plan and design
media arts to engage an audience
in Music, improvise, combine and
perform a range of music using
elementssuchasrhythmandpitch
in Visual Arts,explorehowartists
createartworks,andplan,create
anddisplayvisualartworksforan
audience.
TechnologiesStudentsdevelopknowledge,understandingandskillsthroughtheTechnologiessubjects.Typically, students will: in Design and Technologies, design, produce and evaluate solutions, such as an engineered device or afoodproduct.Createandrepresentdesignideasusingavarietyoftechniques,suchasmodellinganddrawingtoscale.Selectarangeofmaterialsandequipmenttosafelyandefficientlyproducesolutions in Digital Technologies, develop their computational thinking,create
a range of digital solutions, such aswebsitesandrobotics, using programming;communicate and collaborate onlinewithanunderstanding of cyber-safetyandlegalresponsibilities.
LanguagesInYears7and8,studentsfurtherdevelopcommunicationskillsinalanguageandexplorethelanguage’sculturaldimensions.
Typically, students will: use unplanned and rehearsed language to participate in classroom interactions and discussions explainandpractiselanguageformsandfunctions,andusevocabularyandgrammarwith
increasingaccuracy readandinterpretmorecomplextexts,identifyingrelationshipsbetweentexts,contextsand
intended audience exploreinterculturalperspectivesandexperiencestointeractwithrelevantlanguage-speaking
communities.
4
4
To learn more about the Australian Curriculum, visit the ‘Parents’sectionoftheAustralianCurriculumwebsite.Formoreinformationaboutyourchild,talktoyourschool.