Science and technology is mandatory for all students from Kindergarten to Year 6.

Syllabus

The Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2017) integrates the working scientifically and the design and production skills throughout the strands of:

• living world
• material world
• physical world
• Earth and space
• digital technologies.

It includes a section on supporting students with disability assisting you to adapt your programme to suit the individual needs of learners.

How to develop effective scope and sequences

• Advice on scope and sequences (NESA) contains advice to address curriculum requirements and needs arising from differences in school contexts and student cohorts.
• Sample scope and sequences for Science and technology K-6.

Planning tools

Planning tools help you map the outcomes and plan the focus skills.

Mapping the outcomes in each stage

Mapping the Science and technology outcomes has many benefits and may help teachers and schools to:

• identify opportunities for explicit teaching of the skills processes
• ensure all outcomes are included across each stage
• identify opportunities for students to receive feedback on their learning
• systematically plan for and undertake assessment
• collaborate with other teachers to plan for quality teaching and learning.

Download the science and technology K-6 skills outcome mapping tool (XLSX 22 KB) to map the outcomes across individual stages.

Planning the focus of skills in each stage

Students should be afforded multiple opportunities to engage with the full range of working scientifically and design and production skills across each stage of learning. Teachers select specific skills for focus in each content strand.

The working scientifically and design and production skill processes are described in detail on pages 26-34 of the Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2017).

Planning the skills focus allows you to connect learning activities to the needs, abilities, and prior learning of your students. You will make decisions regarding the opportunities to emphasise elements of the skills through each content strand.

Elements of working scientifically and design and production skills may be repeated within each stage to support learning and to reinforce the scientific investigation or the design solution.

The mapping tools may be used to sequence the working scientifically and design and production skills and ensure students are provided with the opportunity to engage with all skill elements by the end of each stage. Teachers may use the tools to map individual stages or across K-6.

Download the science and technology K-6 skills planning tool (DOCX 79 KB) to map the skills from Kindergarten to Year 6.

Download the science and technology K-6 skills planning tool by stage (DOCX 77 KB) to map the skills across individual stages.

Thinking skills

The thinking skills encompass the productive, purposeful, and intentional thinking that underpin effective learning in science and technology and provide students with a framework for solving problems. Watch short videos about thinking skills.