New Zealand: Curriculum Connections
Science
You can download the New Zealand Science Curriculum (pdf, 627 kB) from the New Zealand Ministry of Education.
Levels of Achievement
Each strand is divided into eight levels which describe the progression of the science curriculum from junior primary to senior secondary. A number of achievement objectives are described in each strand and at each level.
Level 5
Making sense of the physical world
Achievement Objectives
- investigate and describe the patterns associated with physical phenomena-some patterns may be expressed in graphical terms
Sample Learning Contexts
- weather and climate.
Making sense of planet Earth and beyond
Achievement Aims
In their study of planet Earth and beyond students will use their developing scientific knowledge, skills and attitudes to investigate how people’s decisions and activities change planet earth’s physical environment, and develop a responsibility for the guardianship of planet Earth and its resources
Achievement Objectives
- research a national environmental issue and explain the need for responsible and co-operative guardianship of New Zealand’s environment
Sample learning contexts
- global warming
- Antarctica
- sea levels
Possible Learning Experiences
- investigating the significance of past and future sea-level changes in New Zealand
Assessment Examples
- ability to communicate, when they report on their findings from an investigation into the significance of past and future sea-level changes in New Zealand
Level 7
Making sense of the nature of science
Achievement Objectives
- research the personal and ethical issues which arise from the impact of science and technology on people and their environment
Possible Learning Experiences
- carrying out an investigation to discover water pollution levels in a river which receives factory or commercial effluents
Assessment Examples
- the ability to give an account of conflicting points of view, when the students write an essay outlining the decision-making process involved in selecting a dam site
Level 8
Making sense of the nature of science and its relationship to technology
Achievement Objectives
- write a case study of a current scientific controversy
- investigate the complex interaction of science and technology
- use their scientific knowledge to evaluate the impact of science and technology on people and their environment
Possible Learning Experiences
- discussing the evidence for and against global warming
Making sense of planet Earth and beyond
Achievement objectives
Students can:
- survey and evaluate the literature relating to an Earth sciences’ issue
- sample learning contexts e.g. world environmental issues e.g. ozone depletion, oil pollution
- carry out an extended investigation, involving a range of techniques, originating from their own interests into some aspect of, or issue related to, planet Earth and beyond.
Possible Learning Experiences
- debating the pros and cons of fossil fuel use to clarify the issues
- carrying out an investigation into sea-level changes and/or climate changes
Social Studies
You can download the New Zealand Social Studies Curriculum (pdf, 896 kB) from the New Zealand Ministry of Education.
The social studies strands
- Social organisation
- Culture and heritage
- Place and environment
- Time, continuity and change
- Resources and economic activities
- Place and environment strand
From the study of Place and Environment, students will understand:
- people’s interaction with places and the environment
- the ways in which people represent and interpret place and environment
Social Decision Making
Students identify and clarify a social issue, and then suggest a range of possible strategies to address the issue. They establish criteria against which these strategies can be evaluated.
Communication skills
Inquiry
- Communicate confidently and competently by listening, speaking, reading and writing
Social decision making
- Argue a case clearly, logically, and convincingly
Information skills
Inquiry
- Gather and process information from a range of sources
Social decision making
- Present information clearly, logically, concisely and accurately
NZ and Global Settings
Social studies programmes should be planned so that students gain knowledge and understandings about events, places and people of significance to New Zealand, in the past and present. Students will also study communities and societies in places beyond New Zealand. Settings in the Pacific, Europe, and Asia have been emphasised because of their particular significance to New Zealand. These settings must be included in a school’s social studies programmes.
Level 6: Place and Environment
Achievement Objectives and Indicators
Students will demonstrate knowledge and understandings of:
- The implications of changes to places, for people and for the environment:
Students could demonstrate such knowledge and understandings when they:
- identify factors that lead to changes to places and changes in the environment
- explain the process by which one change to a place can lead to further changes for people, for the place, and for the environment.
The social studies processes at Levels 5-6
Inquiry
Achievement Objective
Students will demonstrate skills as they:
- Collect, process, and communicate information about human society
Within these levels, students could:
- establish a framework for inquiry
- collect and record information from a range of primary and secondary sources
- process information using appropriate conventions and establishing the relevance of information
- make a range of valid generalisations supported by evidence
- communicate findings clearly and concisely, using conventions appropriate to the mode of communication
Values Exploration
Achievement Objective
Students will demonstrate skills as they:
- Explore and analyse values
Within these levels, students could:
- explain how values positions develop and change over time
- establish criteria to evaluate values positions
- demonstrate how groups may share some values and agree to different about others
Social Decision Making
Achievement Objective
Students will demonstrate skills as they:
- Make decisions about possible social action
Within these levels, students could:
- identify a range of problems associated with an issue and identify underlying problems
- generate a range of possible solutions
- plan possible actions in relation to identified problems or issues and identify the likely consequences of these actions
- make a choice about preferred action and justify that choice
The social studies processes at Levels 7-8
Inquiry
Achievement Objective
Students will demonstrate skills as they:
- Collect, process, and communicate information about human society
Within these levels, students could:
- establish a framework for inquiry independently
- collect and record information from a range of primary and secondary sources reflecting a variety of perspectives
- process information using appropriate conventions and establishing the relevance and accuracy of the information
- develop significant ideas about human social behaviour on the basis of a range of valid generalisations supported by evidence
- communicate a logically developed position or argument.
- communicate findings clearly and concisely, using conventions appropriate to the mode of communication
Values Exploration
Achievement Objective
Students will demonstrate skills as they:
- Explore and analyse values
Within these levels, students could:
- explain reasons for and consequences of differing values and positions in society
- identify ways of resolving conflict (or other issues) arising from differing values positions
- explain how people prioritise values positions in order to come to a decision about action.
Social Decision Making
Achievement Objective
Students will demonstrate skills as they:
- Make decisions about possible social action
Within these levels, students could:
- identify the relationships between problems associated with an issue and identify underlying problems.
- generate a range of possible solutions
- plan possible actions in relation to identified problems or issues, identify the likely consequences of these actions, and evaluate the proposed actions
- make a choice about preferred action and justify that choice
