This term we will be studying biological sciences. Biological sciences involves the study of life and living organisms, including their physical/chemical structure, function, development and evolution.

Foundation students will investigate external features of plants and animals and describe ways they can be grouped based on these features. This will include:

• observing fruits and vegetables and identifying them as parts of plants such as roots, flowers, fruits or leaves

• recognising humans as animals, describing external features of humans and exploring similarities and differences compared with other animals

• using magnifying glasses or digital cameras to observe and identify external features of plants including seeds, flowers, fruits and roots, or of animals such as eyes, body covering, legs and wings

• sorting collections of model animals and explaining different grouping strategies

• recognising First Nations Australians’ use of observable features to group living things

• exploring how First Nations Australians’ observations of external features of living things are replicated in traditional dance.

Junior Primary students will identify how iving things grow, change and have offspring similar to themselves. This will include:

• representing personal growth and changes from birth

• recognising that living things have predictable characteristics at different stages of development

• exploring different characteristics of life stages in animals such as egg, caterpillar and butterfly

• observing that all animals have offspring, usually with two parents.

Middle Primary students will compare characteristics of living and non-living things and examine the differences between the life cycles of plants and animals. This will include:

• classifying a collection of objects as living, once living or non-living and explaining their reasoning

• observing and describing differences between metamorphic (such as butterflies, beetles or frogs) and non-metamorphic life cycles of animals, including humans

• comparing the physical characteristics of an animal such as a frog or moth with its activity at different stages of its life cycle

• representing stages of a plant or animal’s life cycle using drawings, digital photographs, graphic organisers or concrete materials

• investigating how First Nations Australians understand and utilise the life cycles of certain species.

Upper primary students will examine how particular structural features and behaviours of living things enable their survival in specific habitats. This will include:

• identify physical and behavioural characteristics that enable a plant or animal to survive, such as being able to see in dim light and being nocturnal

• exploring features of plants and animals that enable them to survive in Australia’s desert environments, such as bottle (or boab) trees and the water-holding frog

• investigating how camouflage is used by animals to hide from predators and to ambush prey

• using physical or digital simulations to explore how the shape of animals’ body parts, such as the beak of a particular bird species, influence their ability to find food and survive in a given environment

• investigating First Nations Australians’ knowledges of the structural features of certain species and how those features can be exploited.

During Term 2 we will be looking at the Chemical Sciences. Chemical sciences refers to the study of matter; dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions.

Foundation students will be investigating how objects can be composed of different materials and describing the observable properties of those materials. This will include: 

• observing and manipulating objects to identify the materials they are made of and recognising that some objects are made of more than one type of material

• recognising that tools such as magnifying glasses enable more-detailed observations

• sorting and grouping materials based on observed properties such as colour, hardness, texture and flexibility

• creating a display of different materials, naming each material and exploring language to describe properties of materials

• using a digital camera to collect images of objects on a materials scavenger hunt

• investigating the ways in which First Nations Australians make utensils for different purposes by combining different materials.

Junior Primary students will be investigating how recognise that materials can be changed physically without changing their material composition and explore the effect of different actions on materials including bending, twisting, stretching and breaking into smaller pieces. This will include:

• exploring how materials can be physically changed to suit a particular purpose, such as twisting strands of cotton or wool together to make the thread stronger, or folding paper to make it fly

• manipulating materials such as paper or fabric, and determining ways they can be physically changed by scrunching, twisting or bending, or broken into smaller pieces by cutting, tearing or crushing

• crushing a stick of chalk into a powder, comparing the properties of the stick and the powder, and discussing whether it is still the same material

• exploring how First Nations Australians make physical changes to natural materials to produce objects such as bowls, baskets and various fibre crafts

• creating an ‘odd one out’ game by providing samples of the same material that has been physically changed in different ways, and one sample of a different material, and challenging other students to identify the odd one out.

Middle Primary students will be investigating the observable properties of solids and liquids and how adding or removing heat energy leads to a change of state. This will include:

• observing the properties of substances and classifying them as solids (that hold their shape) or liquids (that fill the bottom of containers)

• investigating ice melting or water freezing in a sealed bag and explaining their observations

• using ice cubes, butter or chocolate to explore how changes of state involve the removal of heat or the addition of heat

• investigating how changes of state in materials used by First Nations Australians such as beeswax or resins are important for their use

• exploring how changes from solid to liquid and liquid to solid can help us recycle materials such as glass or plastics.

Upper Primary students will be investigating observable properties of solids, liquids and gases by modelling the motion and arrangement of particles. This will include:

• classifying substances as solids, liquids and gases and investigating their properties

• exploring examples that demonstrate that gases have mass, such as blowing air through straws to move objects or using a balance to compare an empty balloon to one filled with air

• using role-play to model the arrangement and motion of particles in solids, liquids and gases

• exploring, through guided discussion, ideas about what is between particles

• recognising First Nations Australians’ knowledges and understandings of solids, liquids and gases and how these knowledges are applied in a range of processes and practices, including the extraction of oils, medical therapies and cooking.

During Term 1 we will be looking at the Physical Sciences. Physical sciences refers to the study of nature and properties of matter and energy. Physical Sciences includes, heat, light, sound, electricity, magnetism, forces, forms of energy, and the structure of atoms.

Foundation students will be investigating how objects move and how factors including their size, shape or material influence their movement. This will include: 

• observing how toys move, and grouping them based on their movement

• observing and describing ways different and unusually shaped objects such as blocks, tubes or eggs move when rolled down a slope

• comparing the way different-sized, similar-shaped objects such as tennis balls, golf balls, marbles or basketballs roll and bounce

• exploring how the material a ball is made from affects the way it moves, such as plastic, foam, cloth or rubber balls on a surface

• exploring how the size and shape of traditional instructive toys used by First Nations Australians influence their movement.

Junior Primary students will describe pushes and pulls in terms of strength and direction and predict the effect of these forces on objects’ motion and shape. This will include:

• observing and manipulating everyday objects such as playground equipment, toys, windows or doors and identifying the forces used to move these objects

• investigating how the design of age-appropriate sporting equipment such as paddles, plastic bats and racquets help to produce stronger pushes and pulls

• recognising that pushing or pulling on an object can start or stop its motion or change its direction of travel

• exploring ways the shape of playdough can be changed when pushed or pulled

• designing playground equipment, toys or games and representing push and pull forces involved using models, digital drawings or role-play

• investigating the push and pull movements of traditional First Nations Australians children’s instructive toys

• exploring how traditional Asian toys and games such as a kendama, Daruma Otoshi or shuttlecock are played using a push or pull.

Middle Primary students will identify sources of heat energy and examine how temperature changes when heat energy is transferred from one object to another. This will include:

• exploring how we sense heat and identifying sources of heat such as the sun, fire, electrical devices and geothermal springs

• recognising that changes in heat energy can be measured using a thermometer

• observing and, with assistance, measuring, what happens when a cold object is placed in direct contact with a warm object and proposing explanations

• modelling the movement of heat from one object to another using drawing or role-play

• investigating how well heat is transferred by different types of materials such as metals, plastics and ceramics and identifying how materials are used to keep things hot and cold

• exploring how First Nations Australians developed clothing from animal skins such as possum furs and kangaroo skin cloaks that trap heat close to the body to stay warm.

Upper Primary students will identify sources of light, recognise that light travels in a straight path and describe how shadows are formed and light can be reflected and refracted. This will include:

• distinguishing between natural (such as glow worms, the sun and stars) and artificial (such as light bulbs or candles) sources of light

• investigating the shadows that are formed when light is completely or partially blocked by an object, such as when using a sundial or shadow puppets

• drawing ray diagrams to show how the path of light from a source reflects off surfaces into the eye

• observing refraction of light using prisms or water droplets and examining the rainbow effect produced

• exploring how 'holograph' videos use the refractive properties of light to create an image that appears to be 3-dimensional

• observing refraction of light using prisms or water droplets and examining the rainbow effect produced

• recognising First Nations Australians’ understanding of refraction as experienced in spearfishing and in shimmering body paint, and reflection as evidenced by materials selected for construction of housing.