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.
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources-and-support/parent-information/introduction
