As students work towards the achievement of Level 2 standards in the Arts, they learn about a range of ways arts elements can be used in the Performing and Visual Arts to communicate experiences, observations and things imagined. They begin to select, arrange and make choices about ways of using arts elements, principles and/or conventions from individual arts disciplines as they investigate the use of skills, techniques, processes, media, materials, equipment and technologies relevant to the arts disciplines in which they are working. They explore and, with guidance, maintain a record of ways of creating arts works that use a range of contemporary and traditional arts forms, media, materials, equipment and technologies; for example, they plan and explore ideas in a visual diary or keep...
At Level 2, students create and present performing and visual arts works that show emerging arts knowledge and an ability to plan arts works that communicate ideas, concepts, observations feelings and/or experiences. They demonstrate an emerging ability to select, arrange and make choices about expressive ways of using arts elements, principles and/or conventions. They use skills, techniques, processes, media, materials, equipment and technologies in a range of arts forms. They identify, describe and discuss characteristics of their own and others’ arts works.
In the Arts, standards for the Exploring and responding dimension are introduced at Level 3.
As students work towards the achievement of Level 4 standards in Civics and Citizenship, they identify the range of groups to which they, their family members and their class belong. They begin to appreciate the similarities and differences between individuals and groups, including the language, cultural and religious groups which make up the Australian nation. They explore the roles, rights and responsibilities of various family and community members. They discover why groups and communities have rules, begin to question rules which they believe are unfair, and make suggestions about improving the rules within the community. They begin to appreciate the common values important to groups and individuals; for example, fairness, tolerance, understanding and respect.
Students begin to participate in a range of class and school activities such as recycling, taking responsibility for class resources, and marking local and national celebrations and commemorations. They explore the purpose and benefits of school, community and national events. Students investigate the ways individuals, families, groups and communities can work to improve their environment.
In Civics and Citizenship, standards for assessing and reporting on student achievement are introduced at Level 3. The learning focus statements for Foundation to Level 2 provide advice about learning experiences that will assist students to work towards the achievement of the standards at Level 4.
As students work towards the achievement of Level 6 standards in Communication, they practise the skills of being attentive listeners and viewers in pairs, small groups and as a whole class. They are encouraged to use questions to clarify meaning and to extend interaction. They experience, respond to and begin to interpret a variety of aural, written and visual texts, discussing alternative meanings and perspectives when they arise.
When communicating with others, students begin to distinguish between differing contexts, purposes and audiences and they learn to modify their communication accordingly; for example, when playing with friends in the playground and talking to classroom visitors.
Students regularly make short oral presentations to small groups or the whole class on specified topics across the curriculum and on personal experiences beyond school. With guidance, students develop an understanding of basic communication conventions and practise strategies for improving their presentations with a particular focus on making themselves understood; for example, by varying volume and pace and making eye contact with the audience.
In Communication, standards for assessing and reporting on student achievement are introduced at Level 5. The learning focus statements for Foundation to Level 4 provide advice about learning experiences that will assist students to work towards the achievement of the standards at Level 6.
As students work towards the achievement of Level 4 standards in Design, Creativity and Technology, they come to understand that people use creative, imaginative and inventive thinking to help them meet human needs and wants. They enquire about and question their world, offering ideas and suggestions based upon their experience of working with materials/ingredients and systems components. They investigate what products and systems can do, how they work, and why they are the way they are. They play with and manipulate materials/ingredients, think about, discuss and describe their characteristics and properties (using terms such as strong, hard, stretchy and sweet) and why they are suitable for use in products and systems.
In response to simple design briefs, students develop basic design id...
In Design, Creativity and Technology, standards for assessing and reporting on student achievement are introduced at Level 3. The learning focus statements for Levels 1 and 2 provide advice about learning experiences that will assist students to work towards the achievement of the standards at Level 4.
The English curriculum is built around the three interrelated strands of Language, Literature and Literacy. Teaching and learning programs should balance and integrate all three strands. Together the strands focus on developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating. Learning in English builds on concepts, skills and...
By the end of Level 2 students understand how similar texts share characteristics by identifying text structures and language features used to describe characters, settings and events. They read texts that contain varied sentence structures, some unfamiliar vocabulary, a significant number of high frequency sight words and images that provide additional information. They monitor meaning and self-correct using context, prior knowledge, punctuation, language and phonic knowledge. They identify literal and implied meaning, main ideas and supporting detail. Students make connections between texts by comparing content.
Students create texts that show how images support the meaning of the text. They accurately spell familiar words and attempt to spell less familiar words and use punctuation accurately. They legibly write unjoined upper- and lower-case letters.
They listen for particular purposes. They listen for and manipulate sound combinations and rhythmic sound patterns. When discussing their ideas and experiences, students use everyday language features and topic-specific vocabulary. They explain their preferences for aspects of texts...
As students work towards the achievement of Level 2 standards in the Movement and physical activity dimension, they participate in a variety of physical activities in a range of environments (indoor, outdoor and aquatic). They explore different actions of the body and begin to understand how these actions affect movement efficiency. They practise basic motor skills such as running, hopping, jumping, skipping, catching, throwing, kicking, rolling, balancing, twisting and turning and are introduced to more complex skills such as leaping, dodging, the over-arm throw, dribbling and striking balls, cartwheeling and handstanding. They participate in and develop control over a range of locomotor activities that require a change of speed (such as fast and slow movements), direction (such as...
At Level 2, students demonstrate basic motor skills and some more complex skills. They combine motor skills and movement patterns during individual and group activities. They demonstrate control when participating in locomotor activities requiring change of speed, direction and level. They create and perform simple rhythmical movement sequences in response to stimuli. They regularly engage in sessions of moderate to vigorous physical activity and describe the link between physical activity and health. They explain the contribution rules and procedures make to safe conduct of games and activities. They use equipment and space safely.
In Health and Physical Education, standards for the Health knowledge and promotion dimension are introduced at Level 3.
The Past in the Present
The Level 2 curriculum provides a study of local history. Students explore, recognise and appreciate the history of their local area by examining remains of the past and considering why they...
By the end of Level 2, students analyse aspects of daily life to identify how some have changed over recent time while others have remained the same. They describe a person, site or event of significance in the local community.
Students sequence events in order, using a range of terms related to time. They pose questions about the past and use sources provided (physical, visual, oral) to answer these questions. They compare objects from the past and present. Students develop a narrative about the past using a range of texts.
As students work towards the achievement of Level 4 standards in the Humanities, they develop their understanding of the local community.
Students develop their awareness of spatial concepts and use terms that demonstrate an understanding of absolute and relative locations. With guidance, they recognise and point to their street, town or city and state on an appropriate map. They recognise the globe as a model representation of Earth and can locate Australia and other places with which they have links. Students learn to identify and name physical features and distinguish them on the basis of variables, including size (scale/height/distribution) and colour. Through observation, they investigate and describe elements of the natural and built environments in their local area.
By observing...
In the Humanities, achievement standards for History are introduced from Foundation level. Standards for the other Humanities domains are introduced from level 4.
The curriculum (content descriptions and achievement standards) for HistoryAC Foundation to Level 4 is located here.
As students work towards the achievement of Level 2 standards in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), they use ICT to acquire new knowledge and skills in all areas of the curriculum and to create and present information in meaningful ways. For example, students access a website to participate in a food pyramid game, and then present their understanding of food groups in a slide show that contains an image of a lunchbox filled with the appropriate food items. When using multimedia resources, students begin to think critically about these resources and how they help learning.
In their learning of new material, students experiment with some simple ICT tools and techniques for visualising their thinking. They learn to organise and classify information and ideas, and present them...
At this level standards are not organised by dimensions.
At Level 2, students manipulate text, images and numeric data to create simple information products for specific audiences. They make simple changes to improve the appearance of their information products. They retrieve files and save new files using a naming system that is meaningful to them. They compose simple electronic messages to known recipients and send them successfully. With some assistance, students use ICT to locate and retrieve relevant information from a variety of sources.
As students work towards the achievement of Level 2 standards in Interpersonal Development, they interact with their peers, older and younger students and adults, in a range of contexts. With teacher support, students reflect on personal qualities which contribute to the development and maintenance of friendships. They begin to develop and exhibit appropriate behaviours for maintaining positive social relationships.
Through activities such as reading, discussion and role-play, students learn to recognise and describe the feelings and emotional responses of others. They compare these with their own emotional responses and adjust their behaviour in response.
Students learn to recognise that their actions have consequences for both themselves and others in social contexts. They begin to...
At Level 2, students behave appropriately in a range of social situations. They identify the feelings and needs of other people. Students identify and accept that there are consequences for their actions. They take appropriate steps to resolve simple conflicts.
At Level 2, students work in teams in assigned roles, stay on task and complete structured activities within set timeframes. They share resources fairly. With teacher support, they describe their contribution to the activities of the team.
As students work towards the achievement of standards in Languages at Pathway 1 Level 6, they learn about culture in context from stimulus materials. They learn that there are different ways of doing things and to identify what is familiar and what is different in their own and other cultures. In preparation for Level 6 standards, students need to develop the knowledge and skills described in the progression measures.
Students start to understand and use the language other than English in structured situations and activities related to their local environment: self, family, home, classroom and community. To develop comprehension they respond non-verbally or by using key words or short phrases. They begin to use sets of words and sentences that are encountered frequently in the classroom...
In Languages Pathway 1, standards for assessing and reporting achievement are introduced at Level 5. Schools that provide language programs prior to Level 5 should refer to the Languages phases of learning (formerly progression measures) which provide a typical sequence of second language development. The Foundation to Level 4 learning focus statements provide advice for teachers about learning experiences that will assist students to work towards the achievement of the standards at Level 6.
The proficiency strands Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning are an integral part of mathematics content across the three content strands: Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. The proficiencies reinforce the significance of working mathematically within the content and describe how the content is explored or developed. They provide the...
Number and Algebra
Students count to and from, and order numbers up to 1000. They perform simple addition and subtraction calculations, using a range of strategies. They find the total value of simple collections of Australian notes and coins. Students represent multiplication and division by grouping into sets and divide collections and shapes into halves, quarters and eighths. They recognise increasing and decreasing number sequences involving 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s, identify the missing element in a number sequence, and use digital technology to produce sequences by constant addition.
Measurement and Geometry
Students order shapes and objects, using informal units for a range of measures. They tell time to the quarter hour and use a calendar to identify the date, days, weeks and months included in seasons and other events. Students draw two-dimensional shapes, specify their features and explain the effects of one-step transformations. They recognise the features of three-dimensional objects. They interpret simple maps of familiar locations.
Statistics and Probability
Students collect data from relevant questions to create lists, tables and picture graphs with and without the use of digital technology. They interpret data in context. Students describe outcomes of familiar events using everyday language.
As students work towards the achievement of Level 4 standards in Personal Learning, they participate in a wide range of learning experiences which involve a variety of learning styles and approaches to learning. With teacher support, they reflect on those approaches which they believe help them learn most effectively. Students begin to record their feelings and understanding about their learning, responding to prompts which help them acknowledge their successes, noting where improvements could be made and reflecting on the effort they put into particular tasks.
Students develop strategies to use when they are feeling uncertain about their learning, such as seeking assistance from their teachers. They begin to recognise that learning from mistakes is an important attribute of being a...
In Personal Learning, standards for assessing and reporting on student achievement are introduced at Level 3. The learning focus statements for Foundation to Level 2 provide advice about learning experiences that will assist students to work towards the achievement of the standards at Level 4.
The Science Inquiry Skills and Science as a Human Endeavour strands are described across a two-level band. In their planning, schools and teachers refer to the expectations outlined in the Achievement Standards and also to the content of the Science Understanding strand for the relevant level to ensure that these two strands are addressed over the two-level period. The three strands of the curriculum...
By the end of Level 2, students describe the effects of interacting with materials and objects. They identify and describe a range of habitats and the different uses of materials and resources. They describe changes to objects, materials, living things and things in their local environment. They describe examples of how people use science in their daily lives.
Students pose questions about everyday phenomena and predict outcomes of investigations. They use informal measurements to make and compare observations. They follow instructions to record, sort and represent their observations and communicate their ideas to others.
As students work towards the achievement of Level 4 standards in Thinking Processes, they explore the community and environment around them, and increasingly consider contexts and information which lie beyond their immediate experience. Questions and wondering are encouraged, recorded and shared, and become the basis for further learning.
Students develop their skills in making accurate observations about people and events, and they begin to use a variety of means to record their observations. They develop their own explanations for the observations they make and learn to question the accuracy of other people’s explanations. They begin to understand that people are more likely to believe an explanation if evidence or reasons are provided. They develop their skills in using a range...
In Thinking Processes, standards for assessing and reporting on student achievement are introduced at Level 3. The learning focus statements for Levels 1 and 2 provide advice about learning experiences that will assist students to work towards the achievement of the standards at Level 4.
