Pre-Primary

All animals, including humans, use their sensory organs to gather information about their environment. The sharp eye, the cocked ear, or the careful sniffing of air can warn animals of dangers that might threaten their survival. Humans use 
senses to gather information not only critical for our immediate
safety, but also for planning to meet our basic needs for things
such as food, water and shelter. Students have the opportunity
to investigate the basic needs for survival of animals, including
humans, and how their senses help them stay alive. Students’ 
​understanding of basic needs and their importance in our lives
will be developed through hands-on activities. Through investigations, students will explore the needs of a class pet and compare them to their own needs.

Year 1

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The world is teaming with animal life. Even the most unexpected places can host a diverse range of creatures. As humans, we share our wonderful planet with many other animals. Taking the time to really look at another species can provide a window into the similarities and differences among living beings, and can help us to  appreciate how we are all part of a single, gloriously complex ecological system. By observing the features and behaviour of small animals, students glimpse the diversity of animal life. Students observe the external features of small animals leading to a better understanding of how their features help them survive in their habitats.
Through investigations, students learn how animals move, 
feed and protect themselves. They explore and compare the 
​habitats of different animals.

Year 2

 

All living things have their own life story, but all species share in the same cycle of growth, change, reproduction and death.

Understanding more about the life cycles of various species can help us in many ways. It might help us to protect and

preserve endangered species, to manage and control unwanted

species like insect pests, or to  improve animal husbandry. Students are provided the opportunity to explore the growth of a range of living things and explore the processes of growth

and change, of reproduction and death that apply to all animals.

Through hands-on activities and investigations, students

compare the growth of living things under different conditions.

Year 3​

 

What is that? Is it alive? How is it like other things I know?  Humans have always sought to make sense of the world 
around them by grouping things they see, for example, as edible, threatening or useful. Scientists develop classification systems to try to understand the diversity of life and how species are related throughout history. As more and more species disappear from the face of the Earth, we are caught up in a race to discover what we 
never knew we had. Students are provided the opportunity to explore features of living things, and ways they can be grouped together. Through hands on activities, students explore how living things can be grouped on the basis of observable features and can be distinguished from non living things. They use this knowledge to investigate the animal groups in the leaf litter of their own school grounds.

Year 4

 

Who would think that insects as small as the bee and ant would play such a pivotal role in the world’s ecosystems and the

survival of humankind? Bees are the major pollinators of our

food crops. There are more than 1500 plant species in Australia that rely on ants for seed ​dispersal to continue their life cycle. Students are provided the opportunity to explore the special

relationship between plants and animals, such as bees and ants.Through ​investigations students investigate about the life

cycles of these species as well as the mutually beneficial

relationships these species have with one another.

Year 5​

It can be hard to imagine how any form of life could survive in the extreme temperatures and dryness of a desert environment. Yet even in such places an amazing diversity  of plants and animals can still be found. Their structural features and adaptations not only help them to survive, but thrive under these conditions. Students are provided the opportunity to explore some of structural features and adaptations of desert plants and animals, and to compare them with plants and animals that live in other environments. 
They pose questions and develop evidence-based claims supported by their reasoning. Through hands on activities,  students investigate how the structural features of desert ​plants and animals help them to survive in their own natural  environment.

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Year 6

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Micro-organisms affect everyone. Some are helpful, while 
​others are harmful. Pathogenic micro-organisms can
cause diseases like sore throats, influenza, tuberculosis 
and AIDS. Decomposer micro-organisms decay rotting
plant and animal matter, returning important nutrients 
back into the soil. Food spoilage micro-organisms like
mould ruin stored food. Other bacteria and yeasts are
vital to the production of food and drinks like yoghurt 
and bread, and beer and wine. Students are provided the
opportunity to develop an understanding of the role of 
micro-organisms in food and medicine. Students investigate
the conditions micro-organisms need to grow, learn about 
yeast and the bread making process, and research the 
​development of penicillin.

Pre-Primary

 

All around us are things made from interesting materials that have observable properties. Who would once have imagined things like CDs, self adhesive notes or floppy silicone ovenware? Materials that we now take for granted are the products of imagination and exploratory science. What new materials will be part of the world of the future and how might existing materials be used in new ways?
What might materials allow us to make and do? Through investigations, the students develop skills of observing, 
describing, comparing and communicating and opportunities 
​to explore, through hands on activities, what things are made of in the school environment and the properties of the materials used to make them.

Year 1

Changes are happening all around us. Chocolate melts in the sun, water evaporates from puddles and cement hardens in the open air.  Predicting the changes that can happen to everyday materials is important in understanding the best way to manage things such as, food handling and cooking, construction and packaging. By observing change, students glimpse the diversity of materials in their world. Students explore change through the context of food including spaghetti, chocolate and popcorn. Students learn about how heating or cooling a food can change its properties and whether the change can be reversed or not.  An investigation about which type of chocolate melts the fastest will help students draw conclusions about how fast or slow changes can happen and the consequences of change.

Year 2

We are surrounded by mixtures — the air we breathe, the food we eat and drink, and our personal grooming products. Chefs try mixing ingredients in different ways to make tasty combinations and interesting textures. Through inquiry, scientists have developed mixtures that are useful for all kinds of purposes, such as alloys, amalgams and paints, to name but a few. Indeed, it can be surprising just how many things that we take for granted every day are the result of inquiry into mixtures. For example, how different our lives would be without the myriad of inks, glues and detergents at our disposal. Students learn about materials that don’t mix well, and others that are difficult to separate. Through hands-on investigations, students explore how changing the quantities of materials in a mixture can alter its properties and uses.

Year 3

 

Every day we see or use things that have been melted or  frozen, heated or cooled. All around us are items that we find both useful and attractive that have been moulded into different shapes using heating and cooling. These can range from cast iron frying pans and plastic rubbish bins to chocolate bilbies. Understanding the properties of materials and how they change state under different 
conditions can help materials scientists to develop even more extraordinary products to help improve our quality of life. While exploring how solids or liquids are influenced by temperature, students experience the way items from their everyday lives can change. Through hands-on investigations, students investigate how the size of the pieces affects the melting time of chocolate.

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Year 4

 

Packaging has become a huge industry in the modern world. Everything from food to furniture can come in a package which might be made from materials such as metal foil or plastic film—materials that didn’t exist even a few decades ago. Packages need to protect and preserve contents while being economical, attractive for marketing purposes and preferably having minimal environmental impact. Little wonder that they are often the product of imaginative design and rigorous testing. Students are provided ​with opportunities to develop an understanding of the design of packages and the choice of appropriate materials to use. Students design and test a package that will safely deliver a fragile gift. Through investigations students observe and gather information about what makes a successful package.

Year 5

Matter is all around us. It can be as small as the particles that make up the tiniest cell in our skin or as large as the whole galaxy. Anything that takes up space and has mass is called matter. The matter that we experience every day and the matter that we are made of is only a tiny fraction of the matter that exists in the universe. By investigating and understanding matter, scientists are able to find out more about the universe and its possibilities. Through hands-on investigations, students explore the properties of solids, liquids and gases, and plan and conduct an investigation of how the properties of materials change with temperature.

Year 6

 

What makes things change and what affects how fast they

change? Why do some things burn more fiercely, rust more quickly or smell more strongly? The whole world is made up of particles that are constantly moving and reacting with one

another in fascinating ways. Science seeks to understand why and how substances change, and this has led to advances in everything from food preservation to fire control. Students have opportunities to explore melting,  evaporating, dissolving, burning and chemical reactions. Students’ understanding of the factors that influence the rate of change will be developed through hands-on activities and student-planned investigations. Students
become detectives who identify and explain physical and 

chemical changes in everyday materials.