Syllabus Links
NSW Syllabus links
Stage 4:
Earth and Space
Outcome
Describes the dynamic nature of models, theories and laws in developing scientific understanding of the Earth and solar system.
Content
ES2 Scientific knowledge changes as new evidence becomes available. Some technological developments and scientific discoveries have significantly changed people's understanding of the solar system.
Students:
a. explain that predictable phenomena on the Earth, including day and night, seasons and eclipses are caused by the relative positions of the sun, the Earth and the moon (ACSSU115)
b. demonstrate, using examples, how ideas by people from different cultures have contributed to the current understanding of the solar system
c. compare historical and current models of the solar system to show how models are modified or rejected as a result of new scientific evidence
d. describe some examples of how technological advances have led to discoveries and increased scientific understanding of the solar system
Stage 5:
Earth and Space
Outcome
Describes changing ideas about the structure of the Earth and the universe to illustrate how models, theories and laws are refined over time by the scientific community SC5-12ES
Content
ES1: Scientific understanding, including models and theories, are contestable and are refined over time through a process of review by the scientific community.(ACSHE157, ACSHE191)
Students
a. Outline some of the major features contained in the universe, including galaxies, stars, solar systems and nebulae (ACSSU188)
b. Describe, using examples, some technological developments that have advanced scientific understanding about the universe
f. Outline how scientific thinking about the origin of the universe is refined over time through a process of review by the scientific community
Stage 6:
Investigating Science
Outcome
Examines the use of inferences and generalisations in scientific investigations.
Content
Scientific inquiry follows on from humans making inferences and generalisations from commonly held understandings. Such inferences and generalisations have led to a wide range of investigations being performed throughout history, culminating in breakthroughs in scientific understanding. Students consider primary and secondary-sourced data and its influence on scientific investigations.
Students:
- investigate the practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples that relate to observations and inferences
Stage 6:
Science Extension
Outcome
Analyses historic and cultural observations, ethical considerations and philosophical arguments.
Content
Students explore historic and cultural observations, the way scientific research has changed over time, and how ethical frameworks have influenced this process.
Students:
- use historical examples to evaluate the contribution of cultural observational knowledge and its relationship to science, including:
- post – 49000 BCE, exemplified by Aboriginal cultures
Australian curriculum links
Year 7
Science Understanding
Content Descriptor:
Predictable phenomena on Earth, including seasons and eclipses, are caused by the relative positions of the sun, Earth and the moon (ACSSU115)
Elaborations
- Researching knowledges held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples regarding the phases of the moon and the connection between the lunar cycle and ocean tides (OI.3, OI.5)
- Researching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples oral traditions and cultural recordings of solar and lunar eclipses and investigating similarities and differences with contemporary understandings of such phenomena (OI.3, OI.9)
- Investigating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ calendars and how they are used to predict seasonal changes (OI.3, OI.5)
- Investigating natural phenomena such as lunar and solar eclipses, seasons and phases of the moon
Science as a Human Endeavour
Scientific knowledge has changed peoples’ understanding of the world and is refined as new becomes available (ACSHE119)
Science knowledge can develop through collaboration across the disciplines of science and the contributions of people from a range of cultures (ACSHE223)
Science Inquiry Skills
Questioning and predicting:
Identify questions and problems that can be investigated scientifically and make predictions based on scientific knowledge (ACSIS124)
- recognising that the solution of some questions and problems requires consideration of social, cultural, economic or moral aspects rather than or as well as scientific investigation
Processing and analysing data and information
Summarise data, from students' own investigations and secondary sources, and use scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusion based on evidence (ACSIS130)
- use diagrammatic representations to covey abstract ideas and to simplify complex situations
Year 8
Science as a Human Endeavour
Content Descriptor:
Science knowledge can develop through collaboration across the disciplines of science and the contributions of people from a range of cultures (ACSHE226)
Elaborations
- investigating how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples connect knowledge from the disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology and geology in the development of material culture (OI.3, OI.5)
Year 10
Science Understanding
The universe contains features including galaxies, stars and solar systems, and the Big Bang theory can be used to explain the origin of the universe (ACSSU188)
Elaborations
- researching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ knowledge of celestial bodies and explanations of the origin of the universe (OI.3, OI.5)
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Learning across the curriculum
Cross-curriculum priority: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
Students:
- learn how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have developed and refined knowledge about the world
- investigate examples of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples understanding of the environment and the ways that traditional knowledge and western scientific knowledge can be complementary
General capabilities:
Intercultural understanding
Students:
- appreciate contribution that diverse cultural perspectives have made to the development, breadth, and diversity of scientific and technological knowledge and applications
- engage with issues requiring cultural sensitivity
Personal and social capability
Students:
- learn how scientific and technological knowledge informs and is applied in their daily lives.
- use their scientific and technological understanding to make informed choices about issues that impact their lives and consider how the use of science and technology meet a range of personal and social needs.