Curriculum Guide Elementary School by AIS_SG

Curriculum Guide Elementary School

What makes our Elementary School distinctive in a highly competitive international school market in Singapore?

Academic and Personal Excellence achieved through:

• a broad rich curriculum

• rigorous academic outcomes

• rigorous progress and value add

Global Perspective

As an International Baccalaureate School (IB) our aim is to develop global citizens who are inquirers, knowledgeable, caring young people and who help create a better and more peaceful world through respect and international mindedness.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

INTRODUCTION TO CURRICULUM

The IB Primary Years Programme

The Elementary School is authorised to offer the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) for students from Prep to Year 5, offering a seamless transition from the Early Years, which offers the PYP in both 3 year old and 4 year old classes.

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) is a framework that:

• Develops knowledge and concepts in the traditional disciplines (Language, Mathematics, Humanities, Science, the Arts, Technology and Personal, Social, Health and PE)

• Builds metacognitive use of skills in 5 domains: Thinking Skills, Research Skills, Communication Skills, Social Skills, Self -Management Skills

• Grows internationally minded global citizens who embody the attributes of the Learner Profile (Inquirers, Communicators, Thinkers, Knowledgeable, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk Takers, Balanced, Reflective)

• Inspires students to take action to make a positive difference in the world

The Australian Curriculum

The PYP framework is strengthened by the outcomes and conceptual understandings of the Australian Curriculum, which are aligned to work within the context of the Australian International School and Singapore. This provides students returning to Australia with the skills and knowledge to reintegrate into the Australian system with success. This also aligns us with international schools around the world. It also supports and strengthens the transition to Year 6 where the Australian Curriculum is the core.

Differentiation

The curriculum is based upon a continuum of learning which recognises that, at any one time, children of the same age are not always at the same point in their learning. It is underpinned by the use of a range of assessment practices which support the teacher and student in understanding areas of strength, areas for development and next steps. The learning enrichment department supports classroom teachers with differentiating for students who need additional support and students who require extension.

The PYP Programme of Inquiry

Within the PYP, learning outcomes from subjects are organised in transdisciplinary units around six themes.

• Who we are

• Where we are in place and time

• How the world works

• How we organise ourselves

• How we express ourselves

• Sharing the planet

The Units of Inquiry allow students to develop deeper conceptual understandings and knowledge within each theme as they progress through the year levels.

Learning outside of the Programme of Inquiry

Transdisciplinary learning is highly valued as a way for students to connect their understanding across subjects and to the world around them. This often takes place during Unit of Inquiry sequences of learning. Learning Outcomes are also organised into stand-alone Language and Mathematics units. Likewise, the Chinese, Visual Art, Music and Physical Education programs are organised around both stand-alone units, and units that connect with the Programme of Inquiry.

Across a typical week students are engaged in the following learning experiences:

• Language - English - daily

• Mathematics - daily

• Unit of Inquiry - daily

• Language - Chinese - daily

• Visual Arts - 1 x 80 minutes per week

• Music - 2 x 40 minutes per week

• Physical Education - 2 x 40 minutes per week

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

For students new to the English language, the school provides a differentiated curriculum. The program consists of:

• Beginner EAL: This curriculum supports students who are beginning to learn English. Students are withdrawn from their homeroom classes to attend a daily specialised English program.

• Consolidating EAL: This curriculum supports students who are consolidating their communication skills in English. Students are withdrawn from their homeroom class for skill consolidation lessons and are also supported by the EAL teacher within a number of homeroom lessons.

• Transition EAL: This curriculum supports students in preparation for their transition to the mainstream English program.

Positive Education

As part of our belief on Academic Wellbeing, we integrate the PEEC Programme. Positive Education brings together the science of Positive Psychology with best practice teaching to encourage and support individuals, schools and communities to flourish. PEEC is a research-based explicit Positive Education curriculum that has been developmentally sequenced from Early Learning (age four) through to Year 12. The curriculum is built on ten years of experience with Positive Education at Geelong Grammar School. Positive Education takes place daily through pastoral care, circle time, coaching, teaching and every interaction that a teacher has with a student. students explore key concepts of wellbeing so they can live healthy and fulfilling lives.

The topics that are included are listed in the table below:

The Elementary School at AIS: Setting Foundations for Learning

Children need to be literate and numerate to actively and successfully participate in the world. In the Elementary School at AIS we believe by explicitly teaching literacy and numeracy skills to all children, they will have the tools at their disposal to inquire, be problem solvers and successfully navigate their future pathways. We are relentless in seeking the remarkable in every student and providing evidence informed teaching practices to help achieve their full potential. Our rigorous curriculum allows opportunities for explicit teaching, repetition and open-ended investigation to ensure students develop deep understandings and revisit and practise key mathematical concepts. These concepts grow in difficulty and complexity as the students’ progress from Prep to Year 5.

Explicit teaching means that teachers clearly explain and model key skills; they do not expect children to learn these skills only from exposure.

Systematic means there is a well organised sequence of instruction, with important prerequisite skills taught before more advanced concepts are explored.

Open-ended investigation means that students engage in problem solving, and answer questions to apply their skills and understandings and make connections to the world around them.

Repetition allows students to revisit concepts and depth their understanding over time.

Mathematics

At AIS, in the Elementary School, we believe students need to learn Mathematics with conceptual understanding. It is not enough to know how to do Mathematics. When

students understand both the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of Mathematics, they are able to explain why certain procedures work, and are more able to apply this when faced with new mathematical situations. This stance is supported by many years of research conducted by renowned educational institutions. At AIS we design mathematical experiences which:

• Explicitly teach the mathematical skills required to problem solve

• Review and consolidate key concepts, knowledge and skills, building on prior learning across the year

• Allow students to find their own solutions and strategies to solve challenging mathematical engagements

• Allow students to explain and articulate their mathematical ideas to their teacher and peers, thus improving both collective understanding and retention

• Encourage both creative and critical thinking skills (eg. invention and analysis of patterns, ideas, solutions and strategies)

• Value the development of number sense and understanding in order to enhance student fluency

Language

At AIS, in the Elementary School, we believe students need to learn English with conceptual understanding. It is not enough to know how to read and write. When students understand both the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of English, they are able to explain why things work the way that they do, and are more able to apply this when faced with new situations. This stance is supported by many years of research conducted by renowned educational institutions.

AIS is committed to being guided by research to gain a deeper understanding about how children learn to read. The Science of Reading (SoR) is a comprehensive body of research from relevant disciplines such as education, special education, literacy, psychology and neurology that provides information on how the brain best learns to read. From this research, we have identified an evidence-based, best practice approach for teaching foundational literacy skills. In the Lower Elementary, this is enacted through the InitiaLit program. These foundational understandings are also embedded in the Upper Elementary reading and writing program.

One of the best practice approaches that we follow in the Elementary School is the Workshop Model. It is an instructional practice; the goal of the model is to support

learners in reading and writing independently. The Workshop Model is a class structure that focuses on active learning, allowing students the gift of time to practise new skills and apply them to their written work. It allows time for direct instruction, and releases the teacher to assess, monitor, and teach individual students.

Data Drives Teaching and Learning, Assessment and Reporting

At AIS, students’ progress is constantly tracked through a comprehensive assessment and monitoring schedule. Informing teaching practice and ensuring each child achieves their personal best. The rigorous gathering of student data allows our teachers to triangulate data, making more in-depth judgements about each child’s progress and individual needs. The components of Assessment and Reporting at AIS are as follows:

• Monitoring of student learning occurs daily through a range of written and oral assessment tasks. A student’s academic wellbeing is also closely monitored through observations, questioning, reflections and discussions

• Documenting learning is the compilation of the evidence of learning. Documentation can be physical or digital and is displayed or recorded in a variety of media forms. Documentation of learning is shared with others to make learning visible through differentiated checklists, anecdotal records, observations and digital portfolios via the Toddle platform

• Measuring learning aims to capture what a student has learned at a particular “point in time”. In addition to a variety of scheduled formal or standardized tests throughout the year, our staff continuously collect information and data to support a larger picture of the student academic wellbeing and progress in learning

• Reporting learning describes the progress and achievement of the students’ learning and identifies areas for future growth. Reporting in Elementary is as follows:

• Meet the Teacher Meetings - Term 1

• Parent-Teacher Interviews - Term 1 and Term 3

• Student Digital Learning Journal via Toddle - ongoing

• Celebrations of Learning - each term

• End of Semester Academic Reports - Term 2 and Term 4

Assessment to inform learning and teaching

Library

In an age defined by connectivity and global collaboration, the AIS Library Network provides 24/7 access to our dedicated library website which will enable you to access our wide range of resources for learning and leisure. https://sites.google.com/ais.edu.sg/aislibrary/home

Outdoor Education

Our Outdoor Education Program offers a progressive age-appropriate experience that begins at Prep and continues to Year 10, with each year building on the skills acquired and challenges faced in the previous years.

Prior to the official program commencing in Prep, our Early Years students build their connections and appreciation of the natural environment as they explore and investigate nature in the surrounding parks and woodlands around.

Learning opportunities are endless as the students participate in enriching crosscurricular activities. From a nature play experience at Wildings Singapore with Prep to trekking the beautiful mountains in Chiang Mai with the Year 10, AIS aims to develop the “Whole Student” by nurturing their individual talents, both in and outside the classroom, helping them to discover their unique pathway in life.

Physical Education

Personal, Social and Physical Education (PSPE) focuses on the development of knowledge, attitudes and skills related to personal, social and physical wellbeing in order to make healthy lifestyle choices. This is embedded into the daily practice of teachers and counsellors and is an integral part of the Programme of Inquiry. Physical Education is taught by the specialist Physical Education teachers in the Elementary School. The path and pace of development in personal, social and physical skills and understandings is supported by the Australian Curriculum and differentiated to meet the unique needs of each learner.

Sporting Programs

At AIS, the development of character through sport is just as important as the development of skills. Your child will have the opportunity to try a wide range of sports through our Co-curricular Activity program, develop their swimming skills through our Learn to Swim and Stroke Development Program and to join one of our many competitive sports teams. Whether it’s playing for fun or representing the team at competition level, your child’s love of sport and development of character is nurtured and celebrated.

PREP CURRICULUM

Prep Curriculum

The AIS curriculum is developed from the Australian National Curriculum and the IB Primary Years Programme. For more detailed information regarding the Australian Curriculum in Prep click here.

Prep Units Of Inquiry

OUR COMMUNITY

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Organise Ourselves

Central Idea: Community members have a responsibility to ensure people’s needs are met.

Key Concepts: connection, perspective, function

Learner Profile Attributes: principled, communicators, thinkers

Subjects Integrated: Music, English, Mathematics, Design and Technology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The different communities we are part of

2. The different roles people play within our communities

3. Our responsibilities as a community member

MY BODY

Transdisciplinary Theme: Who We Are

Central Idea: Our bodies help us interact with the world.

Key Concepts: form, causation, function

Learner Profile Attributes: inquirers, reflective, balanced

Subjects Integrated: Music, Mathematics, Chinese, Visual Arts, Health and Physical Education, Science, English

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Experiencing the world through our senses

2. How our bodies work

3. Taking care of our body

THE POWER OF STORIES

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Express Ourselves

Central Idea: People communicate their culture, ideas and values through stories

Key Concepts: connection, perspective, form

Learner Profile Attributes: open-minded, risk takers, communicators

Subjects Integrated: Music, Mathematics, Chinese, Visual Arts, Humanities and social sciences, Health and Physical Education, Library, English Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The ways stories can be communicated

2. Stories from different cultures

3. How stories can make us feel

NATURE

Transdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the Planet

Central Idea: The natural environment is essential for human life.

Key Concepts: connection, responsibility, change

Learner Profile Attributes: principled, knowledgeable, caring

Subjects Integrated: Mathematics, Visual Arts, Science, Library, and English Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The natural world and life cycles

2. How people rely on nature

3. The role we play in sustaining Earth

Prep Language Level Descriptor

In the Foundation year, learning in English builds on the Early Years Learning Framework and each student’s prior knowledge and experiences. Students understand that English is the shared language of the learning environment, used to interact and communicate with familiar audiences for different purposes.

Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They participate in shared reading, viewing and storytelling. Spoken, written and multimodal texts may include traditional oral texts, picture books, various types of stories, rhyming verse, poetry, non-fiction, film, multimodal texts and dramatic performances. The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises the oral narrative traditions and literature of

First Nations Australians, and classic and contemporary literature from wide-ranging Australian and world authors, including texts from and about Asia.

Foundation students develop their reading in a text-rich environment through engagement with a range of texts. This range includes literature that expands and reflects their world and texts that support learning in English and across the curriculum. Beginning readers start with and practise reading using decodable texts that align with phonic development. These texts systematically introduce words with a limited number of grapheme–phoneme correspondences and add grapheme–phoneme correspondences as proficiency develops. Developing readers engage with some authentic texts that involve straightforward sequences of events and everyday happenings, some less familiar content, a small range of language features including simple and compound sentences, high frequency words, and other words that can be decoded using developing phonic knowledge.

Foundation students create short imaginative and informative texts that may include pictorial representations, short statements, performances and short recounts, for a small range of purposes and audiences.

Prep Mathematics Level Descriptor

Students further develop proficiency and positive dispositions towards mathematics and its use as they:

• explore situations, sparked by curiosity, using physical and virtual materials to represent, sort, quantify, compare and solve everyday problems

• look for and make connections between number names, numerals and quantities, and compare quantities and shapes, using elementary mathematical reasoning in active learning experiences

• bring mathematical meaning to their use of familiar terms and language when they pose and respond to questions, and explain their thinking and reasoning

• build confidence and autonomy in being able to make and justify mathematical decisions based on quantification and direct comparisons

• learn to recognise repetition in pattern sequences and apply this to creatively build repeating patterns in a range of contexts.

• develop a sense of sameness, difference and change when they engage in playbased activities.

Prep Chinese Level Descriptor

By the end of the Foundation year, students use play and imagination to interact and create Chinese texts, with support. They identify that Chinese and English look and sound different. They recognise that there are languages and cultures as well as their own, and that aspects of language and culture contribute to their own and others’ cultural identity.

Prep Music Level Descriptor

In Foundation, learning in Music can involve students:

Listening to music and discovering how they and others can communicate in and through music experiencing and developing confidence in using singing voice/vocalisation using voice/ vocalisation and instruments and elements of music such as duration/time (beat and rhythm), pitch and dynamics for composing and performing reflecting on their music experiences using language and/or in embodied ways.

Prep Visual Art Level Descriptor

In Foundation, learning in Visual Arts can involve students:

• exploring artworks, artists’ practice and arts experiences available through home, school and/or community

• exploring visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials through structured play, experimentation, imagination and inquiry

• creating artworks that are planned and/or created intuitively and expressively

• sharing their artworks and their experiences.

Prep Physical Education Level Descriptor

The Foundation Year curriculum provides the basis for developing knowledge, understanding and skills for students to lead healthy, safe and active lives. The content gives students opportunities to learn about their strengths and simple actions they can take to keep themselves and their classmates healthy and safe. The content explores the people who are important to students and develops students’ capacity to initiate and maintain respectful relationships in different contexts, including at school, at home, in the classroom and when participating in physical activities.

The Foundation curriculum provides opportunities for students to learn through movement. The content enables students to develop and practise fundamental

movement skills through active play and structured movement activities. This improves competence and confidence in their movement abilities. The content also provides opportunities for students to learn about movement as they participate in physical activity in a range of different settings.

Focus areas to be addressed in Foundation include:

• safe use of medicines

• food and nutrition

• health benefits of physical activity

• mental health and wellbeing

• relationships

• safety

• active play and minor games

• fundamental movement skills

• rhythmic and expressive movement activities

YEAR ONE CURRICULUM

Year One Curriculum

The AIS curriculum is developed from the Australian National Curriculum and the IB Primary Years Programme. For more detailed information regarding the Australian Curriculum in Year 1 click here.

Year One Units Of Inquiry

OUR FAMILY

HISTORIES

Transdisciplinary Theme: Where We Are in Place and Time

Central Idea: Understanding family stories allows people to appreciate and respect one another.

Key Concepts: connection, perspective, form

Learner Profile Attributes: open-minded, communicators, caring

Subjects Integrated: Music, English, Mathematics, Humanities & Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, Library

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Our family stories

2. How family structures have changed over time

3. How we can build respectful relationships with others

OUR SENSES

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Express Ourselves

Central Idea: Our senses evoke different feelings and help us understand the world we live in.

Key Concepts: perspective, connection, form

Learner Profile Attributes: reflective, risk takers, balanced

Subjects Integrated: Music, English, Chinese, Visual Arts, Health and Physical

Education, Humanities and social sciences, Mathematics

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The different ways our senses are stimulated

2. How our feelings and senses are interconnected

3. How our environment influences the way we respond to the world around us

FORCES AROUND US

Transdisciplinary Theme: How the World Works

Central Idea: An understanding of the principle of forces helps society’s function.

Key Concepts: connection, form, function

Learner Profile Attributes: inquirers, risk takers, thinkers

Subjects Integrated: Music, Design and Technology, Science, English Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The principles of forces

2. The properties of materials and their different purposes

3. How knowledge of forces and materials helps society

EXPLORING ME

Transdisciplinary Theme: Who We Are

Central Idea: The choices people make contribute to their health and wellbeing.

Key Concepts: causation, responsibility, change

Learner Profile Attributes: reflective, principled, balanced

Subjects Integrated: Mathematics, Design and Technology, Chinese, Visual Arts, Health and Physical Education, Chinese Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Our daily habits and routines

2. The consequences of our choices

3. The actions we can take for maintaining our health and wellbeing

LIVING THINGS

Transdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the Planet

Central Idea: Living things depend on and interact with their environments.

Key Concepts: form, responsibility, function

Learner Profile Attributes: reflective, principled, knowledgeable

Subjects Integrated: Design and Technology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Visual Arts, Science and Technology, English, Library

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Living things

2. How habitats meet the needs of animals

3. Human responsibility to protect the environment

WEATHER SYSTEMS

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Organise Ourselves

Central Idea: Understanding the Earth’s weather systems is necessary for human survival.

Key Concepts: causation, change, function

Learner Profile Attributes: thinkers, knowledgeable, inquirers

Subjects Integrated: Science, Health and Physical Education, Library, Design Technology

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The Earth’s seasons and the impact they have on the way people live

2. The way our decisions are influenced by daily weather

3. How humans adapt to extreme weather events

Year One Language Level Descriptor

In Year 1, students learn that language is communicated in ways that meet the needs of diverse learners. They learn to interact with familiar audiences for different purposes.

Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read and view spoken, written and multimodal texts. Texts may include picture books, various types of stories, rhyming verse, poetry, non-fiction, various types of information texts, short films and animations, dramatic performances, and texts used by students as models for constructing their own texts.

Year 1 students develop their reading in a text-rich environment through engagement with a range of texts. This range includes literature that expands and reflects their world and texts that support learning in English and across the curriculum. Some students will continue to practise their reading with decodable texts that align with phonic development. These texts systematically introduce words with grapheme–phoneme correspondences. Developing readers engage with authentic texts that support and extend them as independent readers. These texts include straightforward

sequences of events and everyday happenings with recognisably realistic or imaginary characters. Informative texts, with illustrations and diagrams, present a small amount of new content about familiar topics of interest and topics being studied in other learning areas. These texts use a small range of language features including simple and compound sentences, some unfamiliar vocabulary, high frequency words and other words that need to be decoded using developing phonic knowledge.

Year 1 students create short texts whose purposes may be imaginative, informative and persuasive. These texts may explain simple procedures, recount real or imagined events or experiences, report and describe learning area content, retell stories, express opinions, and describe real or imagined people, places or things for an audience.

Year One Mathematics Level Descriptor

Students further develop proficiency and positive dispositions towards mathematics and its use as they:

• use their curiosity and imagination to explore situations, recognise patterns in their environment and choose ways of representing their thinking when communicating with others

• demonstrate that numbers can be represented, partitioned and composed in various ways, recognise patterns in numbers and extend their knowledge of numbers beyond 2 digits

• use physical or virtual materials and diagrams when modelling practical problems through active learning

• experiences, recognise existing patterns, employ different strategies and discuss the reasonableness of answers

• explain ways of making direct and indirect comparisons and begin to use uniform, informal units to measure some attributes

• reason spatially and use spatial features to classify shapes and objects; they recognise these shapes and objects in their environment and use simple transformations, directions and pathways to move the positions of shapes and objects within a space

• use simple surveys to collect and sort data, based on a question of interest, recognise that data can be represented in different ways, and explain patterns that they see in the results

• develop a sense of equivalence, fairness, repetition and variability when they engage in play-based and practical activities

Year One Chinese Level Descriptor

In Years 1 and 2, Chinese language learning builds on each student’s prior learning and experiences with language. Students continue to communicate and work in collaboration with peers and teachers through purposeful and structured activities involving listening, speaking and viewing. They interact in Chinese to share information about themselves and their immediate environments using play-based and actionrelated learning. In informal settings, they use local and digital resources to explore Chinese-speaking communities in Australia, China and diverse locations. They continue to receive extensive support through modelling, scaffolding, repetition and reinforcement.

Students recognise key words and phrases, imitate language gestures and pronunciation, and use modelled language to communicate with others. They transition from spoken to written language using common characters and understand that Pinyin uses the Roman alphabet to represent the sounds of characters. They create simple imaginative and informative texts that may include pictorial representations, words and short statements. They collaborate and respond to spoken, written and multimodal texts that may include conversations, songs and rhymes, picture and story books, animated cartoons, films and performances. They notice that languages contain words which have been borrowed from another language, and that there are similarities and differences between Chinese language and culture(s) and their own.

Year One Music Level Descriptor

In the Year 1/2 band, the focus is on students:

• exploring and responding to music across cultures, communities and/or other contexts through listening and performing; for example, singing songs or moving to music

• examples of music composed and/or performed by First Nations Australians

• developing creative and critical practices and skills

• creative practices for composing and performing such as skills for listening, singing and playing instruments, and, as appropriate, using notation; for example, graphic notation

• critical practices by observing, reflecting on and responding to music they experience (including music they compose and/or perform)

• composing, singing and playing instruments, using the elements of music such as duration/ time (beat and rhythm, tempo), pitch, dynamics and expression, texture and/or timbre

• performing/sharing music they have learnt and/or composed in informal settings such as classroom presentations.

• By the end of Year 2, students identify where they experience music. They describe where, why and/or how people across cultures, communities and/or other contexts experience music.

• Students demonstrate listening skills. They use the elements of music to improvise and/or compose music. They sing and play music in informal settings.

Year One Visual Art Level Descriptor

In the Year 1/2 band, the focus is on students:

• exploring and responding to artworks, artists’ practices and arts experiences across cultures, communities and/or other contexts, using visual arts practices and inquiry

• examples of artworks and arts practices of First Nations Australians

• developing creative and critical practices and skills

• creative practices for using visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials

• critical practices for observing, reflecting on and responding to artworks and practices they experience, including their own visual arts practice

• creating artworks in a range of 2D, 3D and/or 4D (time-based) forms using available materials and/or digital tools

• presenting/sharing artworks in informal settings such as classroom presentations.

Year One Physical Education Level Descriptor

The curriculum for Years 1 and 2 builds on the learning from Foundation and supports students to make decisions to enhance their health, safety and participation in physical activity. The content enables students to explore their own sense of self and the factors that contribute to and influence their identities. Students learn about emotions, how to enhance their interactions with others, and the physical and social changes they go through as they grow older. The content explores health messages and how they relate to health decisions and behaviours, and examines strategies students can use when they need help.

movement skills and sequences individually, in groups and in teams. Students also further develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to movement by exploring simple rule systems and safe use of equipment in a variety of physical activities and games. Through active participation, they investigate the body’s response to different types of physical activities. In addition, students develop personal and social skills such as cooperation, decision-making, problem-solving and persistence through movement settings. Focus areas to be addressed in Years 1 and 2 include:

• safe use of medicines

• food and nutrition

• health benefits of physical activity

• mental health and wellbeing

• relationships

• Safety

• active play and minor games

• fundamental movement skills

• rhythmic and expressive movement activities

YEAR TWO CURRICULUM

Year Two Curriculum

The AIS curriculum is developed from the Australian National Curriculum and the IB Primary Years Programme. For more detailed information regarding the Australian Curriculum in Year 2 click here.

Year Two Units Of Inquiry

HUMAN

GEOGRAPHY

Transdisciplinary Theme: Who We Are

Central Idea: Understanding the interconnectedness of people and places helps us become internationally minded

Key Concepts: connection, perspective, form

Learner Profile Attributes: open-minded, knowledgeable, thinkers

Subjects Integrated: English, Humanities & Social Sciences, Chinese, Health and Physical Education, Library, Mathematics

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The way people connect to locations

2. How geography influences communities

3. How understanding ourselves helps us become internationally minded

HOMES AROUND THE WORLD:

Transdisciplinary Theme: Where We Are in Place and Time

Central Idea: Homes are influenced by culture and local environments.

Key Concepts: connection, causation, form

Learner Profile Attributes: inquirers, open-minded, risk takers

Subjects Integrated: Music, Mathematics, Humanities & Social Sciences, Chinese, Visual Arts, Health and Physical Education

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. What a home is

2. How homes reflect cultural values and beliefs

3. How the characteristics of our homes differ from country to country

SPACE EXPLORATION

Transdisciplinary Theme: How the World Works

Central Idea: People’s curiosity has helped us gain knowledge about Earth’s uniqueness in the solar system.

Key Concepts: connection, form, function

Learner Profile Attributes: communicators, knowledgeable, thinkers

Subjects Integrated: Music, Mathematics, Science, Library

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The Earth’s position within the solar system

2. The interconnectedness of the sun and moon with Earth

3. Human exploration beyond Earth

FARM TO TABLE

Transdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the Planet

Central Idea: People’s access to food impacts their lives and the environment.

Key Concepts: causation, responsibility, change

Learner Profile Attributes: reflective, caring, balanced

Subjects Integrated: Visual Arts, Science, English, Mathematics

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Where our food comes from

2. The access that different communities have to food

3. The impact of choices about food production

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Organise Ourselves

Central Idea: Communities rely on transport systems to connect people.

Key Concepts: connection, form, function

Learner Profile Attributes: reflective, open-minded, thinkers

Subjects Integrated: Mathematics, Humanities & Social Sciences, Chinese, Visual Arts, Health and Physical Education, Library

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Different types of transport systems

2. How vehicles move and work

3. The way transport connects people

SOUND ENERGY

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Express Ourselves

Central Idea: The sounds we engage with influence the way we feel.

Key Concepts: perspective, causation, form

Learner Profile Attributes: open-minded, balanced, communicators

Subjects Integrated: Music, English, Science, Health and Physical Education

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The properties of sound

2. Sound energy

3. How sound can influence our emotions

Year Two Language Level Descriptor

In Year 2, students learn that there are different modes of communication with distinct features that can be used when sharing ideas, thoughts and opinions with familiar audiences for different purposes.

Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read and view spoken, written and multimodal texts that may be imaginative, informative and persuasive. Texts may include oral texts, picture books, various types of print and digital stories, simple chapter books, rhyming verse, poetry, non-fiction, various types of information texts, short films and animations, multimodal texts, dramatic performances, and texts used by students as models for constructing their own work. As Year 2 students transition to become independent readers, they continue to develop their decoding and comprehension skills, using a range of texts. Informative texts present new content about topics of interest and topics being studied in other learning areas, and may include illustrations and diagrams that extend the text. Literary texts may include sequences of events that span several pages, unusual happenings within a framework of familiar experiences and may include images that extend meaning. These texts include language features such as varied sentence structures, some unfamiliar vocabulary, a significant number of high frequency words, more complex words that need to be decoded using phonic and morphemic knowledge, and a range of punctuation conventions.

The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises the oral narrative traditions and literature of First Nations Australians, and classic and contemporary

literature from wide ranging Australian and world authors, including texts from and about Asia.

Year 2 students create texts whose purposes may be imaginative, informative and persuasive. Texts created may include recounts of stories and experiences, reports and explanations of learning area content, explanations of simple processes, and expressions of opinions about texts or experiences, including supporting reasons. These texts are created for an audience.

Year Two Mathematics Level Descriptor

Students further develop proficiency and positive dispositions towards mathematics and its use as they:

• recognise that mathematics can be used to investigate things they are curious about, to solve practical problems and model everyday situations, describing their thinking and reasoning using familiar mathematical language

• partition and combine numbers flexibly, recognising and describing the relationship between addition and subtraction and employing part whole reasoning and relational thinking to solve additive problems

• use number sentences to formulate additive situations and represent simple multiplicative situations using equal groups and arrays

• use mathematical modelling to solve practical problems involving authentic situations by representing problems with physical and virtual materials, diagrams, and using different calculation strategies to find solutions

• compare and contrast related operations and use known addition and subtraction facts to develop strategies for unfamiliar calculations

• recognise types of patterns in different contexts”

• partition collections, shapes and objects into equal parts and build a sense of fractions as a measure, connecting this to measures of turn and representations of time

• use uniform units to measure, compare and discuss the attributes of shapes and objects, and the duration of events

• describe spatial relationships such as the relative position of objects represented within a two-dimensional space

• build the foundations for statistical inquiry by choosing questions based on their interests as they collect, represent, and interpret data, and recognise features of different representations

• develop a sense of equivalence, chance and variability when they engage in playbased and practical activities

Year Two Chinese Level Descriptor

Students recognise key words and phrases, imitate language gestures and pronunciation, and use modelled language to communicate with others. They transition from spoken to written language using common characters, and understand that Pinyin uses the Roman alphabet to represent the sounds of characters. They create simple imaginative and informative texts that may include pictorial representations, words and short statements. They collaborate and respond to spoken, written and multimodal texts that may include conversations, songs and rhymes, picture and story books, animated cartoons, films and performances. They notice that languages contain words which have been borrowed from another language, and that there are similarities and differences between Chinese language and culture(s) and their own.

Year Two Music Level Descriptor

In the Year 1/2 band, the focus is on students:

• exploring and responding to music across cultures, communities and/or other contexts through listening and performing; for example, singing songs or moving to music

• examples of music composed and/or performed by First Nations Australians

• developing creative and critical practices and skills

• creative practices for composing and performing such as skills for listening, singing and playing instruments, and, as appropriate, using notation; for example, graphic notation

• critical practices by observing, reflecting on and responding to music they experience (including music they compose and/or perform)

• composing, singing and playing instruments, using the elements of music such as duration/ time (beat and rhythm, tempo), pitch, dynamics and expression, texture and/or timbre

• performing/sharing music they have learnt and/or composed in informal settings such as classroom presentations.

• By the end of Year 2, students identify where they experience music. They describe where, why and/or how people across cultures, communities and/or other contexts experience music.

• Students demonstrate listening skills. They use the elements of music to improvise and/or compose music. They sing and play music in informal settings.

Year Two Visual Art Level Descriptor

In the Year 1/2 band, the focus is on students:

• exploring and responding to

• artworks, artists’ practices and arts experiences across cultures, communities and/or other contexts, using visual arts practices and inquiry

• examples of artworks and arts practices of First Nations Australians

• developing creative and critical practices and skills

• creative practices for using visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials

• critical practices for observing, reflecting on and responding to artworks and practices they experience, including their own visual arts practice

• creating artworks in a range of 2D, 3D and/or 4D (time-based) forms using available materials and/or digital tools

• presenting/sharing artworks in informal settings such as classroom presentations.

Year Two Physical Education Level Descriptor

The content also provides opportunities for students to learn through movement. It supports them in broadening the range and complexity of fundamental movement skills they are able to perform. They learn how to select, transfer and apply simple movement skills and sequences individually, in groups and in teams. Students also further develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to movement by exploring simple rule systems and safe use of equipment in a variety of physical activities and games. Through active participation, they investigate the body’s response to different types of physical activities. In addition, students develop personal and social skills such as cooperation, decision-making, problem-solving and persistence through movement settings. Focus areas to be addressed in Years 1 and 2 include:

• safe use of medicines

• food and nutrition

• health benefits of physical activity

• mental health and wellbeing

• relationships

• safety

• active play and minor games

• fundamental movement skills

• rhythmic and expressive movement activities

YEAR THREE CURRICULUM

Year Three Curriculum

The AIS curriculum is developed from the Australian National Curriculum and the IB Primary Years Programme. For more detailed information regarding the Australian Curriculum in Year 3 click here.

Year Three Units Of Inquiry

CELEBRATIONS

AROUND THE WORLD

Transdisciplinary Theme: Who We Are

Central Idea: Celebrations around the world help people connect and understand one another.

Key Concepts: connection, perspective, form

Learner Profile Attributes: reflective, open-minded, thinkers

Subjects Integrated: Music, English, Humanities & Social Sciences, Chinese, Visual Arts, Health and Physical Education, Library

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Celebrations around the world

2. The way celebrations connect people

3. Appreciating one another’s similarities and differences

STATES OF MATTER

Transdisciplinary Theme: How the World Works

Central Idea: Understanding changes of matter allows people to use materials in creative and purposeful ways.

Key Concepts: form, change, function

Learner Profile Attributes: inquirers, thinkers, knowledgeable

Subjects Integrated: Music, Mathematics, Design and Technologies, Science Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The properties of different materials

2. Chemical and physical changes of matter

3. The way people use different materials to meet their needs

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Transdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the Planet

Central Idea: Conflict resolution is influenced by the people’s actions and reactions.

Key Concepts: causation, responsibility, perspective

Learner Profile Attributes: open-minded, principled, caring

Subjects Integrated: English, Humanities & Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, Library Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The reasons people have conflicts

2. The different types of strategies used to resolve conflicts

3. The impact of people’s actions on peace resolutions

EXPLORING EARTH’S SURFACES

Transdisciplinary Theme: Where We Are in Place and Time

Central Idea: Exploring Earth’s surface helps people to learn from the past.

Key Concepts: responsibility, form, function

Learner Profile Attributes: inquirers, knowledgeable, caring

Subjects Integrated: Mathematics, Visual Arts, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The Earth and its properties

2. The different ways people explore Earth’s surface

3. How people use knowledge about the Earth to solve problems

THE PERFORMING ARTS

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Express Ourselves

Central Idea: People around the world share their cultural identity through the performing arts

Key Concepts: connection, function, perspective

Learner Profile Attributes: risk takers, communicators, balanced

Subjects Integrated: Music, Chinese, Health and Physical Education, Library, Science Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Personal and cultural identities

2. The different type of performing arts around the world

3. How people communicate their personal stories

THE POWER OF ADVERTISING

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Organise Ourselves

Central Idea: Advertisements influence the decisions people make.

Key Concepts: function, causation, form

Learner Profile Attributes: reflective, principled, communicators

Subjects Integrated: Music, Mathematics, Visual Arts

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The different types of advertising

2. The techniques used to influence and persuade

3. How advertising impacts people’s decisions

Year Three Language Level Descriptor

The English curriculum is built around the 3 interrelated strands of Language, Literature and Literacy. Together, the 3 strands focus on developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating. Learning in English is recursive and cumulative, building on concepts, skills and processes developed in earlier years.

In Year 3, students use spoken, written or visual communication to interact with familiar audiences for a purpose. Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read and view spoken, written and multimodal texts. Texts may include oral texts, picture books, various types of print and digital texts, chapter books, rhyming verse, poetry, non-fiction, film, multimodal texts, dramatic performances, and texts used by students as models for constructing their own work. In Year 3, students engage with a range of texts that support and extend them as independent readers. Informative texts include content of increasing complexity and technicality about topics of interest and topics being studied in other areas of the curriculum. Literary texts may describe events that extend over several pages, unusual happenings within a framework of familiar experiences and may include images that extend meaning. These texts use language features including varied sentence structures, some unfamiliar vocabulary, a significant number of high frequency words that can be decoded using phonic and morphemic knowledge, a variety of punctuation conventions, and illustrations and diagrams that support and extend the printed text. The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises the oral narrative traditions and literature of First Nations Australians, and classic and contemporary

literature from wide-ranging Australian and world authors, including texts from and about Asia.

Year 3 students create imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts, which may include narratives, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, poetry and argument for particular purposes and audiences.

Year Three Mathematics Level Descriptor

Students further develop proficiency and positive dispositions towards mathematics and its use as they:

• become increasingly aware of the usefulness of mathematics to model situations and solve practical problems

• recognise that mathematics has conventions and language enabling the unambiguous communication of ideas and results

• experience the power of being able to manipulate numbers using a range of strategies that are based on proficiency with single-digit addition facts and their understanding of place value in the base 10 number system, partitioning and regrouping

• begin to apply their understanding of algorithms and technology to experiment with numbers and recognise patterns

• develop, extend and apply their addition and multiplication facts and related facts for subtraction and division through recognising connections between operations and develop automaticity for 3, 4, 5, and 10 multiplication facts through games and meaningful practice

• learn to formulate, choose and use calculation strategies, communicating their solutions within a modelling context

• use metric units to measure and compare objects and events

• recognise the relationship between dollars and cents and learn to represent money values in different ways

• determine key features of objects and spaces, and use these when they build models and spatial representations

• undertake, with guidance, statistical investigations that are meaningful to them, making decisions about their use and representation of categorical and discrete numerical data and reporting findings

• develop a qualitative understanding of chance and use the language of chance to describe and compare the outcomes of familiar chance events

• become increasingly able to understand that different outcomes can be the results of random processes.

Year Three Chinese Level Descriptor

In Years 3 and 4, Chinese language learning builds on each student’s prior learning and experiences with language. Students continue to communicate and work in collaboration with peers and teachers through purposeful and creative play in structured activities involving listening, speaking, viewing and some writing. They use Chinese to interact with peers and teachers and plan activities in familiar settings that reflect their interests and capabilities. In informal settings, they use local and digital resources to explore Chinese-speaking communities. They continue to receive extensive support through modelling, scaffolding, repetition and the use of targeted resources.

Students develop active listening skills and use gestures, words and modelled expressions, imitating Chinese language pronunciation. They use their literacy capabilities in English to recognise differences between writing in alphabetic and character-based languages. With support, students begin to use Pinyin and tone marks to read and write; they locate information, respond to, and create informative and imaginative texts. They access authentic and purpose developed Chinese language texts such as picture books, stories, songs, digital and animated games, timetables, recipes and advertisements. They recognise that language and culture reflect practices and behaviours.

Year Three Music Level Descriptor

In the Year 3/4 band, the focus is on students:

• exploring and responding to music that showcases the range of purposes music is composed and performed for across cultures, times and places, for example, listening to, singing/ playing children’s songs/game songs/storytelling/narrative songs from a range of cultures, times and places or exploring how music is used in media and popular culture

• examples of music composed and/or performed by First Nations Australians that communicate connection to and responsibility for Country/Place

• developing creative and critical practices and skills

• creative practices for composing and performing such as skills for listening, singing and playing instruments, and, as appropriate, using notation, for example, graphic notation

• critical practices by observing, reflecting on and responding to music they experience (including music they compose and perform)

• composing, singing and playing instruments using the elements of music such as duration/ time (beat and rhythm, tempo, pulse), pitch, dynamics and expression, texture and/or timbre

• performing music have learnt and/or composed in informal settings such as spaces within the school.

Year Three Visual Art Level Descriptor

In Year 3, learning in The Arts builds on each student's prior learning and experiences. Arts learning in this band continues to use purposeful and creative play-based activities that foster development of students' identity and wellbeing, and their connection with and contribution to the world. Students further develop their capability and confidence in using subject-specific skills, and creative and critical practices. They work individually and in collaboration with peers and teachers.

Students continue to explore artworks that they experience at home, school or through family and community event. They connect with visual artists who live and work in the community; for example, by visiting arts spaces and/or exploring artworks and experiences such as virtual exhibitions. They use stimulus materials such as images, events, texts, questions and observations as inspiration for their own visual arts practice. These experiences support students to develop aesthetic knowledge across cognitive, sensory, emotive and physical domains, and to value artworks and practices from across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts such as countries or cultures in Asia.

In this band, the focus is on students:

1. exploring and responding to

● artworks and experiences that showcase where, why and/or how visual arts are created across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts.

● examples of artworks created by First Nations Australians that communicate connection to and responsibility for Country/Place

2. developing creative and critical practices and skills

● creative practices for using visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials

● critical practices by observing, reflecting on and responding to artworks and visual arts practices they experience, including their own visual arts practice

3. creating artworks in a range of 2D, 3D and/or 4D (time-based) forms using available materials (including available digital tools)

4. presenting/sharing artworks in informal settings such as spaces within the school

Year Three Physical Education Learning Descriptor

The Year 3 and 4 curriculum further develops students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to their health, wellbeing, safety and participation in physical activity. In these years, students begin to explore personal and social factors that support and contribute to their identities and emotional responses in varying situations. They also develop a further understanding of how their bodies grow and change as they get older. The content explores knowledge, understanding and skills that supports students to build and maintain respectful relationships, make health-enhancing and safe decisions, and interpret health messages from different sources to take action to enhance their own health and wellbeing.

The curriculum in Years 3 and 4 builds on previous learning in movement to help students develop greater proficiency across the range of fundamental movement skills. Students combine movements to create more complicated movement patterns and sequences. Through participation in a variety of physical activities, students further develop their knowledge about movement and how the body moves. They do this as they explore the features of activities that meet their needs and interests and learn about the benefits of regular physical activity. The Year 3 and 4 curriculum also gives students opportunities to develop through movement personal and social skills such as leadership, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, persistence and decisionmaking. Focus areas to be addressed in Years 3 and 4 include:

• alcohol and other drugs

• food and nutrition

• health benefits of physical activity

• mental health and wellbeing

• relationships and sexuality

• safety

• active play and minor games

• challenge and adventure activities

• fundamental movement skills

• games and sports

• lifelong physical activities

• rhythmic and expressive movement activities

YEAR FOUR CURRICULUM

Year Four Curriculum

The AIS curriculum is developed from the Australian National Curriculum and the IB Primary Years Programme. For more detailed information regarding the Australian Curriculum in Year 4 click here.

Year Four Units Of Inquiry WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE

Transdisciplinary Theme: Who We Are

Central Idea: Understanding our similarities and differences helps us develop a sense of belonging and appreciation.

Key Concepts: connection, perspective, form

Learner Profile Attributes: open-minded, risk takers, communicators

Subjects Integrated: Music, English, Humanities & Social Sciences, Chinese, Visual Arts, Health and Physical Education, Library

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. What makes people unique

2. The connection between individuals and communities

3. The ways people feel appreciated

THE POWER OF IMAGERY

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Express Ourselves

Central Idea: Information can be communicated through imagery

Key Concepts: connection, change, function

Learner Profile Attributes: reflective, communicators, balanced

Subjects Integrated: Music, English, Mathematics, Chinese, Visual Arts, Health and Physical Education, Library

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The use of images in different media

2. How images are designed to communicate a message

3. The power of positive and negative imagery

CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION

Transdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the Planet

Central Idea: Human actions can preserve or endanger animals.

Key Concepts: responsibility, change, causation

Learner Profile Attributes: inquirers, principled, caring

Subjects Integrated: Humanities & Social Sciences, Chinese, Science, English, Mathematics

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Human impact on animals

2. Endangered animals and animals at risk

3. The action we can take to preserve different animal species

ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Organise Ourselves

Central Idea: Economic systems have evolved over time.

Key Concepts: form, change, function

Learner Profile Attributes: risk takers, thinkers, principled

Subjects Integrated: Mathematics, Design Technology, Humanities & Social Sciences, English

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The exchange of goods and services

2. How rules and laws regarding trade have developed

3. The different economic systems that impact humankind and the environment

EXPLORATION

Transdisciplinary Theme: Where We Are in Place and Time

Central Idea: Exploration leads to discovery, opportunities and new understandings.

Key Concepts: causation, responsibility, function

Learner Profile Attributes: inquirers, open-minded, knowledgeable

Subjects Integrated: Music, English, Mathematics, Humanities & Social Sciences,

Health and Physical Education, Library

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The reasons people explore

2. How explorations have taken place over time

3. The impact and consequences of exploration

CHANGE IN MATERIALS

Transdisciplinary Theme: How the World Works

Central Idea: Natural materials can undergo changes that provide challenges and benefits for society and the environment.

Key Concepts: Causation, Form, Change

Learner Profile Attributes: principled, thinkers, knowledgeable

Subjects Integrated: Music, Mathematics, Design Technology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Visual Arts, Science, English

Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Conditions that cause reversible and irreversible changes in materials

2. The choices that societies make about the use of resources

3. The impact of retrieval, production and the use of materials on the environment

Year Four Language Outcomes

In Year 4, students interact with audiences for different purposes. Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read, view and interpret spoken, written and multimodal texts. Texts may include oral texts, picture books, various types of print and digital texts, short novels of different genres, rhyming verse, poetry, nonfiction, film, multimodal texts, dramatic performances, and texts used by students as models for creating their own work.

The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises the oral narrative traditions and literature of First Nations Australians, and classic and contemporary literature from wide-ranging Australian and world authors, including texts from and about Asia. Literary texts that support and extend students in Year 4 as independent readers may describe sequences of events that develop over chapters and unusual happenings within a framework of familiar experiences. Informative texts include content of increasing complexity and technicality about topics of interest and topics being studied in other areas of the curriculum. These texts use language features including varied sentence structures, some unfamiliar vocabulary that may include English words derived from other languages, a significant number of high frequency words, words that need to be decoded using phonic and morphemic knowledge, a variety of punctuation conventions, and illustrations and diagrams that support and extend the printed text.

Year 4 students create a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts that may include narratives, performances, reports, reviews, poetry and arguments for particular purposes and audiences.

Year Four Mathematics Outcomes

Students further develop proficiency and positive dispositions towards mathematics and its use as they:

• draw on their proficiency with number facts, fractions and decimals to deepen their appreciation of how numbers work

• develop and use strategies for multiplication that are based on their understanding of multiplication as an operation and their knowledge of laws for arithmetic operations

• choose and use efficient strategies when modelling problems, communicating their solutions within the context of the situation

• use algorithms to generate sets of numbers, recognising and describing any patterns that emerge”

• become aware of the importance of context and purpose when they make judgements and reflect on the reasonableness of measurements and the results of calculations, and how they choose to represent mathematics and mathematical information

• measure and estimate common attributes of objects using conventional instruments and appropriate metric units

• develop and use surveys to obtain data that is directly relevant to their statistical investigations

• draw on their reasoning skills to analyse, categorise and order chance events and identify independent and dependent events

• investigate variability by conducting repeated chance experiments and observing results.

Year Four Chinese Outcomes

extensive support through modelling, scaffolding, repetition and the use of targeted resources.

Year Four Music Outcomes

In the Year 3/4 band, the focus is on students:

• exploring and responding to music that showcases the range of purposes music is composed and performed for across cultures, times and places, for example, listening to, singing/playing children’s songs/game songs/storytelling/narrative songs from a range of cultures, times and places or exploring how music is used in media and popular culture

• examples of music composed and/or performed by First Nations Australians that communicate connection to and responsibility for Country/Place

• developing creative and critical practices and skills

• creative practices for composing and performing such as skills for listening, singing and playing instruments, and, as appropriate, using notation, for example, graphic notation

• critical practices by observing, reflecting on and responding to music they experience (including music they compose and perform)

• composing, singing and playing instruments using the elements of music such as duration/ time (beat and rhythm, tempo, pulse), pitch, dynamics and expression, texture and/or timbre

• performing music have learnt and/or composed in informal settings such as spaces within the school.

Year Four Visual Art Outcomes

In Year 4, learning in The Arts builds on each student’s prior learning and experiences. Arts learning in this band continues to use purposeful and creative play-based activities

that foster development of students’ identity and wellbeing, and their connection with and contribution to the world. Students further develop their capability and confidence in using subject-specific skills, and creative and critical practices. They work individually and in collaboration with peers and teachers.

In this band, the focus is on students:

1. exploring and responding to

● artworks and experiences that showcase where, why and/or how visual arts are created across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts.

● examples of artworks created by First Nations Australians that communicate connection to and responsibility for Country/Place

2. developing creative and critical practices and skills

● creative practices for using visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials

● critical practices by observing, reflecting on and responding to artworks and visual arts practices they experience, including their own visual arts practice

2. creating artworks in a range of 2D, 3D and/or 4D (time-based) forms using available materials (including available digital tools)

3. presenting/sharing artworks in informal settings such as spaces within the school

Year Four Physical Education Outcomes

students to build and maintain respectful relationships, make health-enhancing and safe decisions, and interpret health messages from different sources to take action to enhance their own health and wellbeing.

• alcohol and other drugs

• food and nutrition

• health benefits of physical activity

• mental health and wellbeing

• relationships and sexuality

• safety

• active play and minor games

• challenge and adventure activities

• fundamental movement skills

• games and sports

• lifelong physical activities

• rhythmic and expressive movement activities

YEAR FIVE CURRICULUM

Year Five Curriculum

The AIS curriculum is developed from the Australian National Curriculum and the IB Primary Years Programme. For more detailed information regarding the Australian Curriculum in Year 5 click here.

Year Five Units Of Inquiry

COLLABORATION AND GOAL SETTING

Transdisciplinary Theme: Who We Are

Central Idea: Communication and collaboration are essential for accomplishing goals.

Key Concepts: connection, causation, responsibility

Learner Profile Attributes: open-minded, balanced, thinkers

Subjects Integrated: Music, English, Humanities & Social Sciences, Chinese Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Effective communication

2. How our individual skills and capabilities influence collaboration and teamwork

3. Setting and accomplishing individual and group goals

HUMAN MIGRATION

Transdisciplinary Theme: Where We Are in Place and Time

Central Idea: Communities are shaped by human migration

Key Concepts: connection, perspective, change

Learner Profile Attributes: reflective, open-minded, caring

Subjects Integrated: Music, Mathematics, Humanities & Social Sciences, Chinese, Visual Arts, Health, Physical Education, Library Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The reasons why people migrate

2. How migration requires people to adapt

3. How communities are shaped by migration over time

GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Organise Ourselves

Central Idea: Governments and citizens play a role in decision making.

Key Concepts: perspective, responsibility, function

Learner Profile Attributes: principled, communicators, risk takers

Subjects Integrated: Humanities & Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, English Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The different types of government systems

2. How government decisions affect citizens

3. How citizens can take action for change

SUSTAINABILITY

Transdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the Planet

Central Idea: The Earth’s future is determined by human consumption.

Key Concepts: causation, responsibility, form

Learner Profile Attributes: reflective, balanced, knowledgeable

Subjects Integrated: Mathematics, Humanities & Social Sciences, Science, Chinese Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. World-wide consumption of Earth’s resources

2. The impact of resource consumption on our planet

3. The choices we make to promote sustainability

EXHIBITION

Transdisciplinary Theme: How the World Works

Central Idea: Human progress relies on innovations that have a positive impact on the world.

Key Concepts: connection, perspective, causation, responsibility, form, change, function

Learner Profile Attributes: inquirers, reflective, open-minded, risk takers, principled, communicators, balanced, thinkers, knowledgeable, caring

Subjects Integrated: Music, Language, Mathematics, Design Technology, Visual Arts, Science, Chinese, Library Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. Innovative ideas that have helped humanity

2. The purpose for innovations and the design process involved

3. The role innovation plays in finding sustainable solutions

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Express Ourselves

Central Idea: Modern technology allows us to communicate in new ways.

Key Concepts: causation, form, change

Learner Profile Attributes: inquirers, communicators, thinkers

Subjects Integrated: Music, English, Design Technology, Chinese, Visual Arts, Science, Health and Physical Education, Library Lines of Inquiry:

An inquiry into:

1. The different types of communication technology

2. The way light, movement and sound can be used to enhance digital media

3. The benefits and challenges of digital media

Year Five Language Outcomes

In Year 5, students interact with audiences for different purposes. Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read, view and interpret spoken, written and multimodal texts. Texts may include film and digital texts, novels, poetry, non-fiction and dramatic performances. The features of these texts may be used by students as models for creating their own work. The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises the oral narrative traditions and literature of First Nations Australians, and classic and contemporary literature from wide-ranging Australian and world authors, including texts from and about Asia.

Literary texts that support and extend students in Year 5 as independent readers may include complex sequences of events, elaborated events including flashbacks and shifts in time, and a range of characters. These texts may explore themes of interpersonal relationships and ethical dilemmas in real-world and imagined settings. Informative texts may supply technical information and/or content about a wide range of topics of interest as well as topics being studied in other areas of the curriculum. Text structures may include chapters, headings and subheadings, tables of contents, indexes and glossaries. Language features may include complex sentences, unfamiliar technical vocabulary, figurative language, and information presented in various types of images and graphics. Texts may reveal that the English language is dynamic and changes over time.

Year 5 students create a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts that may include narratives, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, poetry, arguments and explanations for particular purposes and audiences.

From Year 5 onwards, students continue to develop legible handwriting.

Year Five Mathematics Outcomes

Students further develop proficiency and positive dispositions towards mathematics and its use as they:

• recognise and extend the application of place value to tenths and hundredths and use the conventions of decimal notation to name and represent decimals

• explain and use the properties of odd and even numbers

• find equivalent representations of fractions using related denominators and make connections between fractions and decimal notation

• count by fractions including mixed numerals; locate and represent these fractions as numbers on number lines

• solve problems involving multiplying or dividing natural numbers by multiples and powers of 10 without a calculator, using the multiplicative relationship between the place value of digits

• develop efficient strategies and use appropriate digital tools for solving problems involving addition and subtraction, and multiplication and division where there is no remainder

• choose and use estimation and rounding to check and explain the reasonableness of calculations including the results of financial transactions

• use mathematical modelling to solve practical problems involving additive and multiplicative situations including financial contexts; formulate the problems using number sentences and choose

• efficient calculation strategies, using digital tools where appropriate; interpret and communicate solutions in terms of the situation

• follow and create algorithms involving a sequence of steps and decisions that use addition or multiplication to generate sets of numbers; identify and describe any emerging patterns

• find unknown values in numerical equations involving addition and subtraction, using the properties of numbers and operations

• recall and demonstrate proficiency with multiplication facts up to 10 x 10 and related division facts; extend and apply facts to develop efficient mental strategies for computation with larger numbers without a calculator

Year Five Chinese Outcomes

In Years 5 and 6, Chinese language learning builds on each student’s prior learning and experiences with language. Students communicate and work in collaboration with peers and teachers in purposeful, creative and structured activities involving listening, speaking, reading and viewing, and writing. They interact in Chinese to exchange information and ideas relating to their interests, school and local environment, and engage with Chinese-speaking communities in person or via digital access. They work independently and in groups, with ongoing support from modelling, and from digital and print resources.

Students engage with a range of spoken, written and multimodal texts that may include stories, posters, notes, invitations and procedures. They use their knowledge of characters, Pinyin and tone marks to identify Chinese language structures and features. They understand that some words and expressions are not easily translated, and reflect on how diverse cultural practices, behaviours and values influence communication and identity.

Year Five Music Outcomes

In the Year 5/6 band, the focus is on students:

• exploring and responding to music from local, regional, national and global cultures and contexts that shows ways the elements of music can be used to communicate ideas; for example, by listening to and/or learning songs or instrumental pieces

• music that showcases ways First Nations Australians are continuing and revitalising cultures

• developing creative and critical practices and skills

• creative practices for composing and performing such as skills for listening, singing and playing instruments, and, as appropriate, using notation; for example, graphic or staff notation and/ or lead-sheets

• critical practices such as using aural skills, reflecting on and responding to music they experience, including music they compose and perform

• composing and practising music for performance, manipulating the elements of music such as duration/time (including beat and rhythm, tempo, pulse, metre), pitch, dynamics and expression, texture, articulation (accent) and/or timbre to compose music; for example, songwriting, arranging a known melody or composing for an instrument they are learning, singing and playing instruments, and using aural skills to support these processes

• performing music, they have learnt and/or composed in informal and/or formal settings, such as spaces within the school including as appropriate, school-hosted digital spaces such as a school learning management system.

Year Five Visual Art Outcomes

In Year 5, students continue to learn in and through the practices of The Arts subjects, building on their prior learning and experiences. They work creatively and purposefully and continue to develop their connection with and contribution to the world as artists and as audiences. They work individually and in collaboration with peers and teachers. Students engage with artworks, artists, practices across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts; for example, exploring artworks, arts spaces and practices in their local area, state/territory or a country or region of Asia. They take opportunities to engage with living artists and their works; for example, by visiting arts spaces or exploring artworks and experiences such as exhibitions available through online sources. They continue to use stimulus materials such as images, events, texts, questions and observations as inspiration for their visual arts practice. These experiences support students to develop aesthetic knowledge across cognitive, sensory, emotive and physical domains, and to value artworks and practices from diverse cultures. In this band, the focus is on students:

1. exploring and responding to

● artworks from local, regional, national and global cultures, times, places and/or other contexts that show how artists communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning through their visual arts practice

● artworks and visual arts practices that showcase ways that First Nations Australians are continuing and revitalising cultures

2. developing creative and critical practices and skills

● creative practices for using visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials

● critical practices by observing, reflecting on and responding to artworks and practices they experience, including their own visual arts practice

2. creating artworks in a range of 2D, 3D and/or 4D (time-based) forms using available materials and/or digital tools

3. presenting artworks and practices in available informal and/or formal settings, including, as appropriate, school-hosted digital spaces such as a school learning management system.

Year Five Physical Education Outcomes

The Year 5 and 6 curriculum supports students to develop knowledge, understanding and skills to create opportunities and take action to enhance their own and others’ health, wellbeing, safety and physical activity participation. Students develop skills to manage their emotions, understand the physical and social changes that are occurring for them and examine how the nature of their relationships changes over time. The content provides opportunities for students to contribute to building a positive school environment that supports healthy, safe and active choices for everyone. Students also explore a range of factors and behaviours that can influence health, safety and wellbeing.

Students refine and further develop a wide range of fundamental movement skills in more complex movement patterns and situations. They also apply their understanding of movement strategies and concepts when composing and creating movement sequences and participating in games and sport. Students in Years 5 and 6 further develop their understanding about movement as they learn to monitor how their body responds to different types of physical activity. In addition, they continue to learn to apply rules fairly and behave ethically when participating in different physical activities. Students also learn to effectively communicate and problem-solve in teams or groups in movement settings. Focus areas to be addressed in Years 5 and 6 include:

• alcohol and other drugs

• food and nutrition

• health benefits of physical activity

• mental health and wellbeing

• relationships and sexuality

• safety

• challenge and adventure activities

• fundamental movement skills

• games and sports

• lifelong physical activities

• rhythmic and expressive movement activities