Year 7 Term 1 Overviews

Year 7 - Term 1 curriculum 

English:  In Term 1, Year 7 students will begin to look at the aspects of narratives. They will be presented with a specific mentor text from which they will begin to examine the different elements of what goes in a narrative.They will visually look at modes of different language features, character development, underlying themes, and imagery to improve their reading skills. From this, they will then indulge in improving their writing skills, looking at elements of how to properly pace their writing, show, don't tell imagery, implementing intricate vocabulary to enhance meaning. The aspect of writing and reading will work concurrently with the aim to improve a students understanding of the English language. It is imperative to note that this will also contribute to later weeks of Term 1 when students will be sitting their NAPLAN tests, they will get an opportunity to heavily look at persuasive writing which will challenge their inquisitive minds. In the midst of all this, work will be thoughtfully given to students as homework tasks, students will be placed in literature circles which will give them an opportunity to work, collaborate, and also challenge each other’s views. Additionally, they will also be asked to work by themselves using their prior and new-found knowledge to become a competent learner.

Humanities: In Term 1,  Year 7 students will explore the history of Medieval Europe. Throughout this term, students will unpack a range of new vocabulary and concepts such as feudal society, privilege, and inequality. The key ideas that students will be focusing on investigating include the role of religion and the church in Medieval Europe, cause and effect of changes in Medieval life, and features of the Medieval period. Students will have the opportunity to develop their historical knowledge and critical thinking skills by comparing and contrasting resources from different perspectives and different periods of time (from Medieval time to modern time). By the end of the term, students will also complete a summative assessment of any key area covered in this unit to respond to the driving question ‘Learning from the past enables us to make critical decisions for the future’.

Health:For Term 1, the English/Hums and PE team will be delivering a two-pronged curriculum for year 7 health focusing on “Mental Health and Me” and “Relationships: You, Me, Us”. These focus areas will assist students in developing key communication skills for forming and maintaining vital relationships. Positive relationships with peers and mentors serve as protective factors against struggles with mental health while equipping them to support others as needed. 

The PE team will initially invite the students to reflect on how they are changing emotionally and physically over time. They will learn to navigate challenges that may arise during this time of growth. Following this, will be a couple of modules where they will discover resources and explore services available regarding mental health. Then they will briefly learn about cybersafety. The final week will consist of a reflection on the learnings of the term through a lens of better decision making. The ENG/HUMS team will explore some of these topics through the perspective of student relationships and behavior in the classroom and the schoolyard. Some of the key points of focus in this aspect of the unit will be boundaries, emotions, empathy and relationships that enhance wellbeing. 

Maths:In Term 1, Year 7 students will be engaged to obtain sets of data for discrete and continuous numerical variables, and compute the variables' range, median, mean, and mode. They will also decide whether measures of central tendency offer valuable insights into the characteristics of the data distribution and present a rationale for your choices. In addition, they will create various numerical data displays, such as dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots; describe and compare the data distribution. Later on they will 

analyze and evaluate data distributions, then report results using shape and summary statistics. In the middle of term 1, students will be involved in comparing, sorting, and resolving addition and subtraction problems involving integers. They will also demonstrate the connection between square roots and perfect square numbers, and utilize both square roots and squares of numbers to solve issues. In addition, they will express natural numbers as products of powers of prime numbers using exponent notation, and as natural numbers in expanded notation using powers of 10. By the end of term 1, they will be able to depict mixed numbers, positive and negative rational numbers on a number line, and comparable representations of rational numbers. Following this , they will use effective written and mental procedures, as well as digital resources, to multiply and divide fractions and decimals along with finding percentages of numbers and, both with and without digital tools, express one quantity as a percentage of another. They will get the opportunity to utilize the four operations on positive rational numbers—fractions and decimals—to answer problems with effective written and mental computation techniques.

Science: In Term 1, year 7 students will be exploring various scientific concepts focused on biological sciences. They will explore that cells are the basic units of living things, cellular organelles and their functions. They will further examine a variety of cells using a light microscope, by digital technology or by viewing a simulation. Using light microscopes, they will identify the structures within the cell. They will prepare cell mounts and investigate the differences between plant cells from animal and fungal cells. Students will work on identifying that some organisms consist of a single cell and extend their understanding on multicellular organisms.

The Technologies: In Term 1, year 7 students will focus on the Design and Technology component of the Technologies curriculum.  They will explore the food and fibre production technological context at the local and global levels.  Students will analyze how food and fibre are produced when creating managed environments and how these can become more sustainable.  This unit will provide a framework for all students to understand and value primary industries.  They will start their unit by exploring modern and indigenous ways of land and water management systems in Australia.  Students will have the opportunities to gain knowledge, skills and understanding about the production of the food they eat, the fibres they use and their environment.  They will investigate the key processes of production, marketing, consumption, sustainable use of resources and waste recycling.