Years 3–4 Years 7–8 Years 9–10Foundation Years 1–2 Years 5–6Information for parentsTHE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM – YEARS 5 AND 6

Foundation Years 1–2 Years 3–4 Years 7–8 Years 9–10Years 5–6

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: The Australian Curriculum – an overviewforparents.

YEARS 5 AND 6

In Years 5 and 6, students develop an abilitytotakepositiveactionsfortheirwellbeing;theyrelatetoothersandcommunicatewellwithothers;theyaskchallengingquestionsandseekanswers;theymakeinformeddecisionsandactresponsibly.

The development of information and communicationtechnologyskillsincreasesacrossthecurriculumatthislevel.

Years 5-6 Learning Areas

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English

Maths

Science

Health & PE

Technologies

The Arts

Humanities

Languages

School choice

Years 3–4 Years 7–8 Years 9–10Foundation Years 1–2 Years 5–6

EnglishStudentsreadandcomparecomplextexts,forenjoymentandlearning,andcanexpresstheirthoughts

andopinionsaboutwhattheyhaveread.Theycanwriteawidevarietyofwell-constructedtexts

suchasreviews,reportsandnarratives.Studentsdevelopskillstocommunicatewithothersinmost

settings.TheycantransfertheliteracyskillsdevelopedinEnglishtoothersubjects.

Typically, students will:

analyseandexplainhowauthorsorganisetheirtexts

selectvocabularytorepresentideas,charactersandevents

compareandanalyseinformationindifferenttexts

useevidencefromatexttoexplaintheirresponsetoit

usingelectronicdevices,createdetailedtextsaboutarangeoftopics,includingtopics

theyhavebeenstudying

demonstrateunderstandingofgrammar,includingtheabilitytowritecomplexsentences

developanexpandingvocabulary

use accurate spelling and punctuation

usespeakingstrategiesincludingquestioning,clarifyingandrephrasingtocontribute

toclassdiscussions.

MathematicsStudentsextendtheirknowledgeofthekeyareasofmathematics, particularlyoffractionsanddecimals.Theyincreasinglyusemodels, picturesandsymbolstorepresentandcommunicatemathematicalideas.Typically, students will:

place positive and negative numbers on a number line add and subtract fractions and decimals compare and interpret statistical graphs convertbetween12-and24-hourtimeandinterprettimetables continueandcreatesequences,involvingwholenumbers,fractionsanddecimals,

and describe rules measurelength,area,volume,capacityandmass,andcalculateperimeterandarea of rectangles listoutcomesofchanceexperiments applyfractions,decimals,percentages,anglesandmeasurementstosolveproblems explainmentalstrategiesforcalculations poseappropriatequestionsforstatisticalinvestigations.

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Years 3–4 Years 7–8 Years 9–10Foundation Years 1–2 Years 5–6

HealthandPhysicalEducationStudentsbecomeevenmoreconnectedwiththeirpeersandtheworldaroundthem. Theylearnwhatinfluencesthem,howrelationshipschangeovertimeandhowtopromotehealth.Theydevelopmorecomplexmovementskills.Typically, students will:

learnskillsforcopingwithpuberty learnskillstoestablishandmanagerespectfulrelationships,includingdealingwithfriendships understandhowmediaandimportantpeopleintheirlivesinfluencethem experienceandlearnaboutrolesandresponsibilitiesinteams developtheirabilitytoparticipateinoutdooractivitiesandlearnhowthiscansupportwellbeing learnhowtofindoutplacestheycangetreliableinformation

orhelpabouthealth,safetyandwellbeing developmorespecialisedskillsforgames,

sportsandotherphysicalactivities,andplay gamesfromtheirownandothercultures.

Humanities and Social SciencesStudentsdrawontheirgrowingexperienceofthe widerworldanduseconcreteinformationsourcestolearnabouthistory,geography,civicsandcitizenship,andeconomicsandbusiness.Typically, students will:

investigateAustralia’sdevelopmentfromcolonyto nation, migration and settlement patterns, and contributions of people and groups exploregeographiccharacteristicsofEurope,NorthAmericaandAsia,andtheworld’sculturaldiversity learnaboutstrugglesforcitizenshipandhumanrights indifferentgroups,inAustralia’spastandpresent explorepeople’suseofnaturalresourcestosatisfyneedsandwants,andhowconsumerchoices affect other people and the environment learnaboutAustralia’sdemocraticvalues,laws,government and elections investigatepeople’sparticipationinthecommunity toachievecivicgoals.

ScienceStudentslearnhowtolook

forpatternsand

relationships.Theyrecognisetheimportant

roleofvariablesininvestigations.They

developexplanationsbasedonevidence.

Typically, students will:

investigate adaptations in living things and

theirinteractionswiththeenvironment

addgasestotheirstudyofmaterialsand

investigate chemical changes

investigatethesolarsystemandthe

behaviour of light

investigatevolcanoesandearthquakes

deepen their understanding of historical

and cultural contributions to science

understandhowscienceinfluences

community decisions.

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Communicates ideas

using labelled graphic

representations and text

Years 3–4 Years 7–8 Years 9–10Foundation Years 1–2 Years 5–6

The Arts

Studentsexplorethewaytheworldis

representedbyartistsaswellascontinue

todeveloptheirownunderstandingsand

experiences.Theyfurtherdeveloptheirtechnical

skillsandexplorehowotherscreateartworks.

Typically, students will:

in Dance, dance using balance and

coordination,byfollowingasetofsteps

in Drama, rehearse and perform a

varietyofplays,usingexpressionto

engage an audience

inMediaArts,explore,planandproduce

mediaartworkssuchasadvertisements

in Music, rehearse, sing and perform

musicwithrhythmandpitch

inVisualArts,explorewhyartistscreate

artworksandwhomtheartworksare

createdfor.

LanguagesStudentsmayhaveanopportunitytolearnalanguage otherthanEnglish.Typically, when learning a language, students will: usethelanguagetocommunicatemoreaccuratelyandfluentlytoexchangeinformation,expressideasandfeelings usevocabularyandgrammaticalresourcestocompose andcomprehendvarioustypesoftexts use a range of cues and strategies to assist their comprehension reflectontherelationshipbetweenlanguage, cultureandidentity.

TechnologiesStudents use design processes to produce solutions.Theyfurtherdeveloptheirknowledgeandunderstandingofdigitalsystemsanddata;theyimprovetheircomputationalthinking.Typically, students will:

in Design and Technologies usematerialsortechnologieswhen

designing, producing and evaluating solutions,forexample,aplanforanewkitchengarden

representideasandsolutionsinavariety ofways,suchassketchesandmodels

developplanstocompletetasks

in Digital Technologies use simple coding to develop and evaluate

digitalsolutions,suchasgamesorquizzes acttoensuretheirpersonalsafetywhen

engaging online collect, interpret and manage a range of

data,usingdigitalsystems.

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