Year 09 5SCI1 – Science (compulsory)

Available for study in: Compulsory in Year 9.

Main areas of study: 
Biology, Chemistry, Physics and the Nature of Science.

In this course you will learn:
In this introductory science course you will explore fundamental scientific concepts. We will explore some big questions such as; What is our world made of? How do atoms, molecules and energy interrelate to produce the world that we see around us? How do we as humans obtain and utilize energy to be alive and active? These principles will be used to explore aspects of human anatomy down to the cellular level and to study energy and its behaviour in the physical world. Developing students understanding of the ‘nature’ of science and how science is done is a key focus throughout this course. 

Essential Skills and dispositions

This course will support literacy and numeracy development as well as developing digital and scientific literacies alongside the essential skills of critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Curiosity is an essential disposition for any course of learning but is especially important when studying sciences. This course is designed to develop curiosity.

Methods of assessment:
The course will be assessed for both knowledge and skill development. The Nature of Science strands of the NZ Curriculum will be the focus of skills assessment in both ‘Investigating in Science’ and ‘Communicating in Science’. Content knowledge will be assessed using a range of tasks including quizzes, tests, project and laboratory work which will contribute to a portfolio of work that they will continue to build on in each Science course. This work will be used and further developed in Year 11 for Level 1 and beyond.

This course leads to: 
Continuing Science (5ASCI1).