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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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To learn more about the Australian Curriculum, visit the ‘Parents’sectionoftheAustralianCurriculumwebsite.Formoreinformationaboutyourchild,talktoyourschool.