Curriculum

Social Studies

Continuity and Change

• Level 2: Understand how time and change affect people's lives
• Level 4: Understand that events have causes and effects

Place and Environment

• Level 2: Understand how places influence people and people influence places
• Level 3: Understand how people view and use places differently

Identity, Culture, and Organisation

• Level 4: Understand how people participate individually and collectively in response to community challenges

Economic World

• Level 5: Understand how economic decisions impact on people, communities, and nations.

The Nature of Science

Participating and contributing

• Levels 1-2: Explore and act on issues and questions that link their science learning to their daily living.
• Level 3-4: Use their growing science knowledge when considering issues of concern to them.

Understanding about science

• Levels 1-2: Appreciate that scientists ask questions about our world that lead to investigations and that open-mindedness is important because there may be more than one explanation.
• Level 3-4: Identify ways in which scientists work together and provide evidence to support their ideas.

Communicating in science

• Level 3-4: Begin to use a range of scientific symbols, conventions and vocabulary.

Planet Earth and Beyond

• Level 2-5; Explore and describe natural features and resources

Gather and interpret data

Learners make careful observations and differentiate between observation and inference.

Science knowledge is based on data derived from direct, or indirect, observations of the natural physical world and often includes measuring something. An inference is a conclusion you draw from observations – the meaning you make from observations. Understanding the difference is an important step towards being scientifically literate.

Use evidence

Learners support their ideas with evidence and look for evidence supporting others' explanations.

Science is a way of explaining the world. Science is empirical and measurable. This means that in science, explanations need to be supported by evidence that is based on, or derived from, observations of the natural world.

Critique evidence

Not all questions can be answered by science.

In order to evaluate the trustworthiness of data, students need to know quite a lot about the qualities of scientific tests. 

Interpret representations

Scientists represent their ideas in a variety of ways, including models, graphs, charts, diagrams and written texts.

Learners think about how data is presented and ask questions such as:

• What does this representation tell us?
• What is left out?
• How does this representation get the message across?
• Why is it presented in this particular way?

Engage with science

This capability requires students to use the other capabilities to engage with science in “real life” contexts.

It involves students taking an interest in science issues, participating in discussions about science and at times taking action.

Nature of Technology

• Level 1-3; Understand how technological development expands human possibilities and how technology draws on knowledge from a wide range of disciplines.

Number and Algebra

Level 3: Use a range of additive and simple multiplicative strategies with whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percentages

Level 4: Use a range of multiplicative strategies when operating on whole numbers

Level 4: Generalise properties of multiplication and division with whole numbers

Speaking, Writing and Presenting 

1. uses an increasing understanding of the connections between oral, written, and visual language when creating texts
2. creates a range of texts by integrating sources of information and processing strategies with increasing confidence

1. making the connection between web conferences, Background Pages, Videos, and own discussion when generating written responses
2. assimilate information from web conferences, Background Pages and Videos to create a range of texts

Listening, Reading and Viewing

1. selects and reads for enjoyment and personal fulfilment
2. recognises connections between oral, written, and visual language
3. integrates sources of information and prior knowledge confidently to make sense of increasingly varied and complex texts
4. thinks critically about texts with increasing understanding and confidence

1. printed copies of Background Pages could be part of classroom library
2. making links between web conferences, Background Pages, and Videos
3. web conferences and Videos can be used to make sense of Background Pages and Diaries and generate questions to put to experts for further clarification.