Year 8 Term 4 Overviews
Year 8
Humanities -
This term, Year 8 students will explore why people work and the different goals businesses pursue beyond making money. They are learning about target markets and market opportunities, discovering how businesses identify customer needs and gaps to innovate. Students also examine how jobs are changing with new technologies and the impact of these changes on workers and communities. They explore different business ownership structures and gain appreciation for the unique products and services offered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses. Throughout the unit, students will practice using business language and develop critical questions about entrepreneurship and the economy.
Science
This term in Earth and Space Science, students will begin by exploring Renewable and Non-renewable Resources. They will investigate how natural resources such as fossil fuels, minerals, wind, solar and water are formed and used, and evaluate their environmental impact and long-term sustainability. Students will also examine the importance of responsible resource management and consider real-world examples of how societies balance energy needs with environmental protection. Following this, we will move into Plate Tectonics, where students will learn about the structure of the Earth, the movement of tectonic plates and how these processes shape our planet. They will explore how earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain formation occur and analyse case studies of major geological events around the world.
In Biology, our focus will be on Ecology and Ecosystems. Students will study the interactions between living organisms and their environment, including food chains, food webs, energy flow and the roles of producers, consumers and decomposers. They will investigate how changes in ecosystems—both natural and human-influenced—can affect biodiversity and species survival. Through hands-on activities and real-life examples, students will develop an understanding of how ecosystems function and the importance of conservation and sustainability in maintaining balanced environments. This term offers engaging and meaningful learning experiences that connect science concepts to the world around us.
Technologies - Year 8 Engineering Principles
This term, our Year 8 students are applying their understanding of mechanical and electrical systems to design, build, and test their own functional drones. Working through the engineering design process—from planning and prototyping to flight testing—students are demonstrating creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration. The project encourages them to consider sustainability, aerodynamics, and ethical design as they prepare for their final flight trials later this term.
English -
In Term 4, Year 8 students are exploring the world of satirical writing—a genre that uses humour, irony, and exaggeration to comment on real-world issues. Students are learning how writers use language features, appeals, and tone to persuade audiences and make social commentary. They will read and analyse a range of short satirical texts and media examples, identifying how authors use structure and style to engage readers and convey messages about society. Students will also create their own satirical responses, experimenting with voice, humour, and purpose to entertain while making a point. This unit encourages students to think critically about current issues, recognise bias, and understand how language can influence the way we think, feel, and respond.
Maths: -
In term 4 , our Year 8s will be working on the Measurement, applying their reasoning, problem‑solving, and fluency skills to a range of challenging and real‑world contexts. They will learn to use appropriate metric units while solving perimeter and area problems for composite shapes, calculate volume of prisms identifying the appropriate dimensions to use and apply Pythagoras’ Theorem to find unknown lengths in right‑angled triangles within composite shapes. Students will apply the relevant formulas that will be established to solve problems involving area and circumference of circles. They will also solve duration problems in both 12‑ and 24‑hour cycles across multiple time zones. As part of their learning, students will undertake investigations to: measure and explore the circumference of circles, derive and justify area formulas for kites, trapezia, and rhombi, deepen understanding of area of a circle and plan an international trip, using times across time zones.
Students will finally undertake semester 2 exams that will cover what students learnt in term 3 and term 4 which will be congruence and similarity, Pythagoras theorem, probability and measurement.
Health
In Term 4, Year 8 students are exploring the topic of Drugs and Alcohol, taking a harm minimisation approach. Students will investigate the effects that drugs and alcohol have on the body and ways that they can keep themselves and others safe when encountering environments where drugs and alcohol may be present. Through series of interactive activities and scenarios, students will gain the ability and understanding to identify risky behaviours in relation to drugs and alcohol, they will be able to apply assertive communication strategies and understand what community resources are available to help themselves and others.
Physical Education
In Term 4, Year 8 students will be exploring striking and fielding games such as longball chaos, kickball and softball and target games such as bocce, kan jam, and bucket ball. Through this exploration, students will gain awareness of defensive and offensive strategies, develop resilience, and understand how their role enhances team performance. They will also
SEL
In Term 4 for SEL lessons, Year 8 s will be focusing on teamwork, perseverance, and resilience. They will achieve this by participating in a variety of small group hands-on activities. These will range from small construction-based tasks to physical team challenges. Each of the challenges will require them to work together to problem solve, provide peers with feedback, and take action on feedback. Students will investigate how to manage ‘failing’ at a task, and build a perspective where they view this as an opportunity to learn and grow. Later in the Term, students will then be working together to design their own challenge scenarios where they will have planned tasks to ‘test’ their peers teamwork and resilience strategies.
Electives
Literature
In year 8 Literature this term students will undertake a number of exciting areas of study across 2 units. Students will engage in our first unit for the first few weeks of term 4 where students will be learning new skills in literary criticism. As they trial these new skills they will be reading and criticising Lord of the Flies. As this occurs they will also receive an introduction into relevant theories and how to apply them when criticising a text. By the end of this first unit they will form their own opinion on whether or not literary criticism has the potential to destabilise power imbalances.
The second unit will be larger and encourage student autonomy to select a text of their own to analyse and study. Their goal will be to write a literary analysis by week 10 and submit a creative writing story based-on their chosen text by week 11. These assessments will encapsulate their learnings over the course of term 3-4 demonstrating their creative writing skills and literary analysis skills. When they walk away from this unit, should they choose to study literature in later years of high school, they will hold a cutting edge that will enable them to excel.