Science (Version 8.4)

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Rationale

Science provides an empirical way of answering interesting and important questions about the biological, physical and technological world. The knowledge it produces has proved to be a reliable basis for action in our personal, social and economic lives.

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Aims

The Australian Curriculum: Science aims to ensure that students develop:

an interest in science as a means of expanding their curiosity and willingness to explore, ask questions about and speculate on the changing world in which they live.

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Key ideas

In the Australian Curriculum: Science, there are six key ideas that represent key aspects of a scientific view of the world and bridge knowledge and understanding across the disciplines of science, as shown Figure 1 below. These are embedded within each year level description and guide the teaching/learning emphasis for the relevant year level.

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Structure

The three interrelated strands of science
The Australian Curriculum: Science has three interrelated strands: science understanding, science as a human endeavour and science inquiry skills.

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Content and achievement sequences

Resources and support materials for the Australian Curriculum: Science.

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Glossary

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Year 2

Year 2 Level Description

The science inquiry skills and science as a human endeavour strands are described across a two-year band. In their planning, schools and teachers refer to the expectations outlined in the achievement standard and also to the content of the science understanding strand for the relevant year level to ensure that these two strands are addressed over the two-year period. The three strands of the curriculum are interrelated and their content is taught in an integrated way. The order and detail in which the content descriptions are organised into teaching and learning programs are decisions to be made by the teacher.

Incorporating the key ideas of science

From Foundation to Year 2, students learn that observations can be organised to reveal patterns, and that these patterns can be used to make predictions about phenomena.

In Year 2, students describe the components of simple systems, such as stationary objects subjected to pushes or pulls, or combinations of materials, and show how objects and materials interact through direct manipulation. They observe patterns of growth and change in living things, and describe patterns and make predictions. They explore the use of resources from Earth and are introduced to the idea of the flow of matter when considering how water is used. They use counting and informal measurements to make and compare observations and begin to recognise that organising these observations in tables makes it easier to show patterns.


Year 2 Content Descriptions

Biological sciences

Living things grow, change and have offspring similar to themselves (ACSSU030 - Scootle )
  • representing personal growth and changes from birth
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Literacy

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

  • recognising that living things have predictable characteristics at different stages of development
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

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

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • observing that all animals have offspring, usually with two parents
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

Chemical sciences

Different materials can be combined for a particular purpose (ACSSU031 - Scootle )
  • investigating the ways in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples combine different materials to produce utensils (hafting, weaving, sewing and gluing) (OI.2, OI.5)

  • exploring the local environment to observe a variety of materials, and describing ways in which materials are used
    Literacy

    Text knowledge
    • Use knowledge of text structures

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • investigating the effects of mixing materials together
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • suggesting why different parts of everyday objects such as toys and clothes are made from different materials
    Literacy

    Text knowledge
    • Use knowledge of text structures

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Imagine possibilities and connect ideas

  • identifying materials such as paper that can be changed and remade or recycled into new products
    • Sustainability
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

Earth and space sciences

Earth’s resources are used in a variety of ways (ACSSU032 - Scootle )
  • considering how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples live in regions with scarce resources or in sensitive environments (OI.2, OI.5)

  • identifying the Earth’s resources including water, soil and minerals, and describing how they are used in the school
    Literacy

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures

    Text knowledge
    • Use knowledge of text structures

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

  • describing how a resource such as water is transferred from its source to its point of use
    Literacy

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Text knowledge
    • Use knowledge of text structures

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • considering what might happen to humans if there were a change in a familiar available resource, such as water
    • Sustainability
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Imagine possibilities and connect ideas

  • identifying actions at school such as turning off dripping taps, that can conserve resources
    Personal and Social Capability

    Social awareness
    • Contribute to civil society

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Physical sciences

A push or a pull affects how an object moves or changes shape (ACSSU033 - Scootle )
  • investigating the push and pull movements of traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s instructive toys (OI.5)

  • exploring ways that objects move on land, through water and in the air
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • exploring how different strengths of pushes and pulls affect the movement of objects
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Numeracy

    Using measurement
    • Estimate and measure with metric units

  • identifying toys from different cultures that use the forces of push or pull
    Literacy

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Intercultural Understanding

    Recognising culture and developing respect
    • Explore and compare cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices

  • considering the effects of objects being pulled towards the Earth
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

Nature and development of science

Science involves observing, asking questions about, and describing changes in, objects and events (ACSHE034 - Scootle )
  • recognising how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples observe and describe developmental changes in living organisms and answer questions about when to harvest certain resources (OI.5)

  • describing everyday events and experiences and changes in our environment using knowledge of science
    • Sustainability
    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures
    • Use knowledge of words and word groups

    Text knowledge
    • Use knowledge of text cohesion
    • Use knowledge of text structures

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Reflecting on thinking and processes
    • Transfer knowledge into new contexts

  • suggesting how everyday items work, using knowledge of forces or materials
    Literacy

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
    • Use language to interact with others

    Text knowledge
    • Use knowledge of text structures

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Reflecting on thinking and processes
    • Transfer knowledge into new contexts

  • identifying and describing sources of water
    Literacy

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Text knowledge
    • Use knowledge of text structures
    • Use knowledge of text cohesion

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of words and word groups
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Use and influence of science

People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things (ACSHE035 - Scootle )
  • Sustainability
Personal and Social Capability

Social awareness
  • Contribute to civil society

  • investigating how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples use science to meet their needs, such as food supply (OI.2, OI.3, OI.5)

    Literacy

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts
    • Listen and respond to learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Intercultural Understanding

    Recognising culture and developing respect
    • Explore and compare cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices

  • monitoring information about the environment and Earth’s resources, such as rainfall, water levels and temperature
    Literacy

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts
    • Listen and respond to learning area texts
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • exploring how different cultures have made inks, pigments and paints by mixing materials
    Literacy

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
    • Listen and respond to learning area texts
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Intercultural Understanding

    Recognising culture and developing respect
    • Explore and compare cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices

  • identifying the ways humans manage and protect resources, such as reducing waste and caring for water supplies
    • Sustainability
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

    Literacy

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts
    • Listen and respond to learning area texts
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

  • recognising that many living things rely on resources that may be threatened, and that science understanding can contribute to the preservation of such resources
    • Sustainability
    Ethical Understanding

    Exploring values, rights and responsibilities
    • Examine values
    • Consider points of view

    Reasoning in decision making and actions
    • Reason and make ethical decisions

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Questioning and predicting

Pose and respond to questions, and make predictions about familiar objects and events (ACSIS037 - Scootle )
Literacy

Grammar knowledge
  • Use knowledge of words and word groups
  • Use knowledge of sentence structures

Text knowledge
  • Use knowledge of text structures
  • Use knowledge of text cohesion

Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
  • Navigate, read and view learning area texts
  • Listen and respond to learning area texts
  • Comprehend texts

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
  • Compose texts

Critical and Creative Thinking

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Pose questions
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
  • Seek solutions and put ideas into action

Personal and Social Capability

Social management
  • Communicate effectively

Numeracy

Interpreting statistical information
  • Interpret chance events

  • using the senses to explore the local environment to pose interesting questions, make inferences and predictions
    Literacy

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of words and word groups
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures

    Text knowledge
    • Use knowledge of text cohesion
    • Use knowledge of text structures

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Consider alternatives
    • Seek solutions and put ideas into action

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Pose questions
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • thinking about ‘What will happen if...?’ type questions about everyday objects and events
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Consider alternatives

    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

Planning and conducting

Participate in guided investigations to explore and answer questions (ACSIS038 - Scootle )
Critical and Creative Thinking

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Literacy

Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
  • Listen and respond to learning area texts
  • Navigate, read and view learning area texts
  • Comprehend texts
  • Interpret and analyse learning area texts

Grammar knowledge
  • Use knowledge of words and word groups
  • Use knowledge of sentence structures

Text knowledge
  • Use knowledge of text cohesion
  • Use knowledge of text structures

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Use language to interact with others
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
  • Compose texts

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Personal and Social Capability

Social management
  • Work collaboratively

  • manipulating objects and materials and making observations of the results
    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Use language to interact with others
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Text knowledge
    • Use knowledge of text cohesion
    • Use knowledge of text structures

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • researching with the use of simple information sources
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Literacy

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

  • sorting objects and events based on easily identified characteristics
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Literacy

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

Use informal measurements to collect and record observations, using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS039 - Scootle )
Literacy

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
  • Compose texts

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Critical and Creative Thinking

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability

Managing and operating ICT
  • Manage digital data

Investigating with ICT
  • Locate, generate and access data and information

Numeracy

Using measurement
  • Estimate and measure with metric units

  • using units that are familiar to students from home and school, such as cups (cooking), hand spans (length) and walking paces (distance) to make and compare observations
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Numeracy

    Using measurement
    • Estimate and measure with metric units

Processing and analysing data and information

Use a range of methods to sort information, including drawings and provided tables and through discussion, compare observations with predictions (ACSIS040 - Scootle )
Literacy

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Compose texts
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

Visual Knowledge
  • Understand how visual elements create meaning

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Numeracy

Interpreting statistical information
  • Interpret data displays

Critical and Creative Thinking

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Organise and process information

  • constructing column and picture graphs with teacher guidance to record gathered information

    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

    Visual Knowledge
    • Understand how visual elements create meaning

    Numeracy

    Interpreting statistical information
    • Interpret data displays

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

  • comparing and discussing, with guidance, whether observations were expected

    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
    • Use language to interact with others

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures
    • Use knowledge of words and word groups

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Listen and respond to learning area texts
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Personal and Social Capability

    Social management
    • Communicate effectively

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Reflecting on thinking and processes
    • Transfer knowledge into new contexts

  • sorting information in provided tables or graphic organisers

    Literacy

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Visual Knowledge
    • Understand how visual elements create meaning

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

    Numeracy

    Interpreting statistical information
    • Interpret data displays

Evaluating

Compare observations with those of others (ACSIS041 - Scootle )
Literacy

Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
  • Listen and respond to learning area texts
  • Comprehend texts
  • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
  • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

Grammar knowledge
  • Use knowledge of words and word groups
  • Use knowledge of sentence structures

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Compose texts
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
  • Use language to interact with others

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Critical and Creative Thinking

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Organise and process information

  • discussing observations with other students to see similarities and differences in results
    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Use language to interact with others
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Listen and respond to learning area texts
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of words and word groups
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

    Personal and Social Capability

    Social management
    • Work collaboratively
    • Communicate effectively

Communicating

Represent and communicate observations and ideas in a variety of ways (ACSIS042 - Scootle )
Literacy

Grammar knowledge
  • Use knowledge of sentence structures
  • Use knowledge of words and word groups

Visual Knowledge
  • Understand how visual elements create meaning

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary
  • Use spelling knowledge

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Deliver presentations
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
  • Use language to interact with others
  • Compose texts

Text knowledge
  • Use knowledge of text structures
  • Use knowledge of text cohesion

  • presenting ideas to other students, both one-to-one and in small groups
    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Use language to interact with others
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
    • Deliver presentations

    Text knowledge
    • Use knowledge of text structures
    • Use knowledge of text cohesion

    Visual Knowledge
    • Understand how visual elements create meaning

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of words and word groups
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary
    • Use spelling knowledge

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

    Personal and Social Capability

    Social management
    • Work collaboratively
    • Communicate effectively

  • discussing with others what was discovered from an investigation
    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Use language to interact with others
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Grammar knowledge
    • Use knowledge of words and word groups
    • Use knowledge of sentence structures

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Visual Knowledge
    • Understand how visual elements create meaning

    Personal and Social Capability

    Social management
    • Communicate effectively
    • Work collaboratively


Year 2 Achievement Standards

By the end of Year 2, students describe changes to objects, materials and living things. They identify that certain materials and resources have different uses and describe examples of where science is used in people’s daily lives.

Students pose and respond to questions about their experiences and predict outcomes of investigations. They use informal measurements to make and compare observations. They record and represent observations and communicate ideas in a variety of ways.


Year 2 Work Sample Portfolios