Integrated Studies

Year Level Description

Integrated curriculum and inquiry develop the Prep student's skills across a number of subject areas – Geography, Health Education, History and Science – and are closely linked to the Prep Learning Journey.

By the end of the year students are expected to:

• use a range of teacher-selected resources to gather information;
• locate and report information related to the topic being investigated;
• organise and present information in a variety of formats.

Information about the learning objectives of Integrated Studies in relation to specific subject areas can be found below.

Geography

Students describe the features of familiar places and recognise why some places are special to people. They recognise that places can be represented on maps and globes and why places are important to people.

Students observe the familiar features of places and represent these features and their location on pictorial maps and models. They share observations in a range of texts and use everyday language to describe direction and location. Students reflect on their learning to suggest ways they can care for a familiar place.

The main content focus for Prep is to understand the representation of the location of places and their features on maps and on a globe.

By the end of the year students are expected to:

• represent the location of places and their features on maps and a globe;
• make observations about familiar places and pose questions about them;
• discuss the places people live in and belong to, and the reasons why some places are special to people;
• represent the location of features of a familiar place on pictorial maps and models;
• present information using everyday language to describe location and direction;
• consider the places that indigenous people belong to in the local area and why they are important to them;
• describe the daily and seasonal weather of their place by its rainfall, temperature, sunshine and wind, and compare it with the weather of other places that they know or are aware of.

Health Education

The major focus is on developing an understanding and recognition of the physical, social and emotional aspects to health and wellbeing. School and family contexts provide concrete examples that students can relate to and draw upon to explore these aspects.

Students participate in the Life Education Program, which aims to empower them to make informed choices for a safe and healthy life.

By the end of the year students are expected to:

• show an awareness of the basic needs to stay healthy and safe;
• identify safe and unsafe behaviours and environments;
• show an awareness of safe people and places to turn to for help;
• describe how they can help others;
• describe relationships with different people in their daily lives;
• describe ways of keeping healthy and safe;
• list some healthy food options.

History

The Prep curriculum provides a study of personal and family histories. Students learn about their own history and that of their family; this may include stories from different cultures and other parts of the world.

By the end of the year students are expected to:

• sequence familiar objects and events;
• distinguish between the past, present and future;
• pose questions about the past using sources provided;
• explore a range of sources about the past;
• identify and compare features of objects from the past and present;
• develop a narrative about the past.

Science

The program provides practical learning experiences during which students describe, using appropriate language, their scientific observations of the physical, chemical and natural world. They identify simple patterns arising from their observations.

By the end of the year students are expected to:

• sort and group materials on the basis of observable properties such as colour, texture and flexibility;
• discuss how the materials used in buildings and shelters are suited to the local environment;
• investigate different forms of clothing used for different activities;
• identify the needs of humans such as warmth, food and water, using students’ own experiences;
• recognise the needs of living things in a range of situations such as pets at home, plants in the garden or plants and animals in bush land;
• compare some of the needs of plants and animals;
• use appropriate language to describe their observations of the chemical, physical and natural world;
• record simple observations;
• make predictions.