Australia · ACARA Content Descriptions
Year 1 Science
A comprehensive foundation in scientific inquiry where students observe patterns in nature, explore the properties of materials, and investigate how living things grow and change. Students build critical thinking skills through hands-on experimentation and outdoor observations aligned with Australian curriculum standards.
Living Wonders: Needs and Growth
Students investigate the basic needs of plants and animals and how their external features help them survive in different environments.
Identifying the essential requirements for survival across different species of plants and animals.
Examining how the physical shapes and parts of animals help them move, feed, and protect themselves.
Observing the stages of growth in common organisms and how they change over time.
Material World: Properties and Purpose
An exploration of the physical properties of everyday materials and how these properties determine their use in the built environment.
Using the five senses to describe and classify materials based on their observable characteristics.
Conducting fair tests to see how materials behave when stretched, folded, or weighted.
Investigating how materials can be physically changed or combined to create new objects.
Sky and Landscape: Earthly Changes
Students observe the short and long term changes in their local environment, focusing on the sky and landscape features.
Observing changes in the sky during the day and night and identifying consistent patterns.
Recording daily weather and investigating how it affects the way we live and dress.
Exploring the natural and managed features of the local landscape and how we use Earth's resources.
Push and Pull: Forces in Action
An introduction to the way objects move and how forces can change their speed and direction.
Classifying different ways that objects and living things move, such as sliding, rolling, and bouncing.
Identifying forces in everyday life and how they affect the motion of toys and tools.
Exploring the concept of things falling toward the Earth and how air resistance plays a role.
Habitat Heroes: Local Ecosystems
A study of how living things depend on each other and the environment to survive in local habitats.
Investigating the small environments found under logs, in leaf litter, or in garden patches.
Learning how plants and animals help each other through pollination, seed dispersal, and food chains.
Exploring how humans can protect local environments and the living things within them.
The Junior Scientist: Inquiry Skills
A capstone unit focusing on the processes of questioning, predicting, and communicating scientific findings.
Developing the ability to turn curiosity into questions that can be investigated through testing.
Understanding the importance of keeping conditions the same to ensure a scientific test is fair.
Using drawings, tables, and digital tools to represent observations and share results with others.