1 What is science?
What do you already know about science?
Activity 1.1: Culminating assessment task – Mind map
Famous scientists
Activity 1.2 Famous scientists
Activity 1.3: Timeline – Scientists
Stereotype
Activity 1.4: Stereotypes of scientists
Activity 1.5: Stereotypes
Scientists of today
Activity 1.6: Scientists of today
Modern-day heroes?
Activity 1.7: Who do you know
Habits of mind
Activity 1.8: Scientists’ habits of mind
Activity 1.9: Create a scientist
What do scientists do? Where do they work?
Activity 1.10: Where do scientists work?
Activity 1.11: Tour of a lab
Activity 1.12: Jigsaw scientist
Activity 1.13: Science careers – Pursue your interest
Science equipment
Unit review
2 Inquiring with science
What do you already know about scientific inquiry?
Activity 2.1: Which brand of plastic wrap is the strongest?
Activity 2.2: Culminating assessment task – Do TV ads tell the whole truth?
Types of data
Activity 2.3: Which is the nicest biscuit?
Activity 2.4: Points of difference
What makes a good scientist?
Activity 2.5: Scientist wanted
Activity 2.6: Safety messages
Activity 2.7: Hazchem in the science lab
Activity 2.8: Storyboarding safety
The scientific method
Investigation: Fair testing – Which paper towel?
Data, and what to do with it
Activity 2.9: Using a spreadsheet to create a graph
Example of a science report
Unit review
3 Classification
What do you already know about classification?
Activity 3.1: What do you already know?
Activity 3.2: Culminating assessment task – Leaf classification
Activity 3.3: Reorganising your pantry
Activity 3.4: What to do with a dead ringer
Activity 3.5: Create a mind map
Living or non-living?
Activity 3.6: PMI – Plus, Minus and Interesting
Classifying living things
The Linnaean classification system
Activity 3.7: Find out more about Linnaeus
Activity 3.8: A dog by any other name
The seven levels of classification
Activity 3.9: Acrostics
Activity 3.10 Visualising human classification
Concept of species
Dichotomous keys
Activity 3.11 Constructing a dichotomous key
Activity 3.12 A dichotomous key to identify insects
Things that just don’t fit
Unit review
4 Ecosystems
What do you already know about ecosystems?
Activity 4.1: What do you already know?
What is an ecosystem?
Activity 4.2: Culminating assessment task – Food webs in your environment
Relationships in the ecosystem
Investigation: Determining water loss in plants
Activity 4.3: Role play – Creating a food chain
Human impact
Conserving our ecosystems
Activity 4.4: Education for the community
Unit review
5 Mixtures
What do you already know about mixtures?
Activity 5.1: Group competition
Activity 5.2: Culminating assessment task – Investigating a common household mixture
Pure substances and mixtures
Activity 5.3: Comparing physical features
Types of mixtures
Activity 5.4: Classifying mixtures
Common mixtures
Activity 5.5: Making mixtures in the kitchen
Unit review
6 Separating substances
What do you already know about separating substances?
Activity 6.1: What do you already know?
Activity 6.2: Culminating assessment task – Researching an everyday application of a physical separation technique
Separating solutions
Activity 6.3: Using evaporation to separate a salt solution
Activity 6.4: Does ink contain water?
Activity 6.5: Paper chromatography of spinach leaves
Separating suspensions
Activity 6.6: Using filtration to separate sandy water
Other methods of separation
Investigation: Separating a challenging mixture
Investigation: Modelling methods of cleaning up oils spill
Unit review
7 Our place in space
What do you already know about our place in space?
Activity 7.1: What do you already know?
Activity 7.2: Cumulative assessment task – Lost in space
Finding our way around the sky
Activity 7.3: Celestial sphere model
The Sun’s position in the sky
Activity 7.4: The Sun moves
Pioneers of astronomy
Activity 7.5: Pioneers of astronomy
Earth’s movements in space
Activity 7.6: Comparing seasons
Activity 7.7: Earth’s tilt
The Moon
Investigation: Modelling the Moon
Unit review
8 Renewable and non-renewable resources
What do you already know about resources?
Activity 8.1: What do you already know?
Activity 8.2: Cumulative assessment task – Energy resource
Types of energy resources
Activity 8.3: Identifying types of energy resources
Activity 8.4: Reflection on learning
Primary energy
Activity 8.5: Energy use and wealth in different countries
Fossil fuels
Sustainability
Solar energy
Activity 8.6: Insolation at different places
Activity 8.7: Insolation data-sharing project
Activity 8.8: Daily insolation across Australia
Activity 8.9: National Solar Energy Centre (NSEC)
Activity 8.10: Interior car temperature
Activity 8.11: Solar cooker
Activity 8.12: Designing a passive solar house
Activity 8.13: Comfortable low energy houses
Wind energy
Activity 8.14: Windmills around the world
Activity 8.15: The Beaufort scale
Activity 8.16: Make a simple generator
Activity 8.17: Making onshore and offshore winds
Geothermal energy
Activity 8.18: Energy in remote communities
Activity 8.19: RAPS case studies
Unit review
9 The water cycle
What do you already know about the water cycle?
Activity 9.1: Using water
Culminating assessment task: Watering a town
Systems
Activity 9.2: Systems
The water cycle
Activity 9.3: Changing states
Factors that influence the water cycle
Activity 9.4: Adding water to the air
Activity 9.5: The effects of humidity or temperature on evaporation
Management of water
Activity 9.6: Desalination by distillation
Activity 9.7: Distillation
Activity 9.8: How much sugar?
Activity 9.9: Hydrologists
Activity 9.10: What goes down the sink?
Activity 9.11: Reducing your water use
Unit review
10 Forces
What do you already know about forces?
Activity 10.1: Describing forces
Finding forces
Culminating assessment task: Working with the physically disabled
Activity 10.2: Physical disability design brief
Activity 10.3: Forces in action
Forces act in pairs
Activity 10.4: Pushing and pulling
Activity 10.5: Hidden forces
Balanced and unbalanced forces
Activity 10.6: Effects of unbalanced forces
Coping with unbalanced forces
Activity 10.7: Save an egg
Contact forces
Activity 10.8: Investigating forces: skateboarding
Non-contact forces
Activity 10.10: Drawing magnetic field lines
Activity 10.11: Using a magnetic field probe to map the field lines of a magnet
Activity 10.12: Exploring electrostatic forces
Activity 10.13: Think, pair, share
Activity 10.14: Modelling Earth’s revolution
Ocean tides
Activity 10.15: The Moon’s effect on tides
Putting forces to work: machines
Activity 10.16: Looking at levers
Activity 10.17: Get into gear
Activity 10.18: Types of gears
Unit review
Gary has regularly presented at DLTV DigiCON - the annual IT teachers conference. Gary was President of Mag-Net (Magnificent network – Online Association of STEM Educators). Gary has been awarded for his involvement at a State and National level with IT.
Neil Champion is a secondary physics teacher at Buckley Park College and has held numerous school leadership positions in State and Independent schools, including Principal. Neil has taught university level physics and physics teaching method for pre-service teachers, and was the VCAA Science Manager.
Elizabeth McKenna has been involved in many aspects of science education for the past 15 years. From 1998-2009 she taught to HSC level in NSW schools, and she has been an HSC marker in Chemistry. Elizabeth has worked as a science consultant reviewing content for the leading online study skills company ELES. Since 2012, Elizabeth has been contracted to Sydney Water as a science education consultant where she is responsible for writing and delivering syllabus-linked excursion programs on water treatment for Stage 6 Chemistry, Senior Science and Earth and Environmental Science.