k10outline - Year 4 Syllabus

Year 4 SyllabusTest

Year 4 Syllabus

Year Level Description

In Year 4, Humanities and Social Sciences consists of Civics and Citizenship, Geography and History.

Students develop their understanding and application of skills, including questioning and researching, analysing, evaluating, communicating and reflecting. They apply these skills to their daily learning experiences and to investigate events, developments, issues and phenomena, both historical and contemporary.

Students continue to build on their understanding of civics and citizenship through the concepts of democratic values, rights and responsibilities, and participation. They explore the purpose and services of local government and how this contributes to community life. The notions of belonging and personal identity are further developed to encompass laws, the importance of laws in society and cultural diversity.

The concepts of place, space, environment, interconnection and sustainability continue to be developed as a way of thinking. Students have the opportunity to inquire into how the environment supports the lives of people and all other living things; and that people have differing views on how sustainability can be achieved. The development of the students' mental map of the world is extended through a study of the location and characteristics of Africa and Europe.

Students are given the opportunity to develop their historical understanding through the key concepts of sources, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and significance. These concepts are investigated within the context of exploring the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the arrival of the Europeans, and European exploration and colonisation up to the early 1800s. They explore interactions between groups and determine how these experiences contributed to cultural diversity.

Economics and Business does not commence until Year 5. The Year 4 Mathematics curriculum provides opportunities for students to engage in economics and business concepts, such as purchasing and financial literacy.

Knowledge and understanding

Civics and Citizenship

Government and society

The purpose of government and some familiar services provided by local government (e.g. libraries, health, arts, parks, environment and waste, pools and sporting facilities, pet management) (ACHASSK091)

The differences between 'rules' and 'laws' (ACHASSK092)

The importance and purpose of laws (e.g. to maintain social cohesion, to reflect society's values) (ACHASSK092)

People belong to diverse groups, such as cultural, religious and/or social groups, and this can shape identity (ACHASSK093)

Geography

The Earth's environment sustains all life

The main characteristics (e.g. climate, natural vegetation, landforms, native animals) of the continents of Africa and Europe, and the location of their major countries in relation to Australia (ACHASSK087)

The importance of environments to animals and people, and different views on how they can be protected (ACHASSK088)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' ways of living were adapted to available resources and their connection to Country/Place has influenced their views on the sustainable use of these resources, before and after colonisation (ACHASSK089)

The natural resources (e.g. water, timber, minerals) provided by the environment and different views on how they can be used sustainably (ACHASSK090)

History

First contacts

The diversity and longevity of Australia's first peoples and the ways they are connected to Country/Place (e.g. land, sea, waterways, skies) and their pre-contact ways of life (ACHASSK083)

The journey(s) of at least one world navigator, explorer or trader up to the late 18th century (e.g. Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan), including their contacts and exchanges with societies in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, and the impact on one society (ACHASSK084)

Stories of the First Fleet, including reasons for the journey, who travelled to Australia, and their experiences following arrival (e.g. treatment of convicts, daily lives, social order) (ACHASSK085)

The nature of contact between Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples and others (e.g. the Macassans, Europeans) and the impact that these interactions and colonisation had on the environment and people's lives (e.g. dispossession, dislocation, the loss of lives through conflict, disease, loss of food sources and medicines) (ACHASSK086)

Humanities and Social Sciences skills

Questioning and researching

Identify current understanding of a topic (e.g. brainstorm, KWL chart) (WAHASS26)

Develop a range of focus questions to investigate (WAHASS27)

Locate and collect information from a variety of sources (e.g. photographs, maps, books, interviews, internet) (WAHASS28)

Record selected information and/or data (e.g. use graphic organisers, develop note-taking strategies) (WAHASS29)

Recognise the ethical protocols that exist when gathering information and/or data (e.g. respecting others' work) (WAHASS30)

Analysing

Develop criteria for selecting relevant information (e.g. accuracy, reliability, usefulness) (WAHASS31)

Interpret information and/or data collected (e.g. sequence events in chronological order, identify patterns and trends, make connections between old and new information) (WAHASS32)

Identify different points of view/perspectives in information and/or data (e.g. distinguish fact from opinion, explore different stories on the same topic) (WAHASS33)

Translate collected information and/or data into different formats (e.g. create a timeline, change data into a table and/or graph) (WAHASS34)

Evaluating

Draw conclusions and give explanations, based on the information and/or data displayed in texts, tables, graphs and maps (e.g. show similarities and differences) (WAHASS35)

Use decision-making processes (e.g. share views, recognise different points of view, identify issues, identify possible solutions, plan for action in groups) (WAHASS36)

Communicating and reflecting

Present findings and conclusions in a range of communication forms (e.g. written, oral, visual, digital, tabular, graphic), appropriate to audience and purpose, using relevant terms (WAHASS37)

Develop texts, including narratives and biographies, that use researched facts, events and experiences (WAHASS38)

Reflect on learning, identify new understandings and act on findings in different ways (e.g. complete a KWL chart, propose action in response to new knowledge) (WAHASS39)

Achievement standard

At Standard, students develop questions, locate and collect information and/or data from a variety of sources. They record their information and/or data in a range of formats and use some protocols when referring to the work of others. Students use given criteria to select relevant information, and they interpret information and/or data by sequencing events and identifying different points of view. They translate information and/or data into different formats. Students use given decision-making processes to draw simple conclusions and provide explanations based on information and/or data. They present findings using a range of communication forms appropriate to audience and purpose, using relevant terms. Students develop texts supported by researched information, and reflect on findings to propose an action.

Students identify the role of local government in the community, and recognise that people’s identity can be shaped through participation in a community group. They distinguish between rules and laws and identify that rights and responsibilities are important in maintaining social cohesion.

Students identify the location of Africa and Europe, and their major countries, in relation to Australia. They identify the main characteristics of their natural environments and describe the importance of the interconnections between people, plants and animals at the local to global scale. Students recognise that people have different views on the sustainable use of natural resources and describe how they can be managed and protected.

Students describe the connection that Australia’s First Peoples have to Country/Place and identify the impact of contact on Indigenous peoples in Australia, and around the world, as a result of exploration and colonisation. They identify the significance of past events in bringing about change and describe the experiences of an individual or a group over time. Students explain how and why life changed in the past and identify aspects of the past that have remained the same.