Welcome to the Huonville High School Year 8 curriculum guide. This guideprovides outlinesof the programs and activities which will be delivered throughout the yearto give information to families and students.

The core curriculum is based on the Australian National Curriculum that is currently being implemented in the areas of English, Mathematics, Science, Health and Physical Education, Technologies and Digital Technologies and History/Geography. Huonville High staff have access to world class resources to support the curriculum and standards are moderated with other southern schools.

Parents and carers can access curriculum information at:

All students in Year 8 will study a core educational program.The content and skills promoted throughthese subjects have been researched thoroughly and are consideredessential for students in this grade group. These programs are reviewed, moderated and remodelled to ensure the latest Australian Curriculum requirements are being met. The subjects are:

  • English
  • Maths
  • History
  • Geography
  • Science
  • Health and wellbeing
  • My Education

All students in Year 8 study five optional subjects. Students moving to year 8 may have developed interests and proficiencies that they would like to pursue. These choices should promote deeper engagement with theirlearning.

Option subjects include;

  • Visual Arts
  • Craft and Design
  • Drama
  • Production Works
  • Music
  • Food Studies
  • ICT (Information Communication Technology/Digital Technologies)
  • MDT (Materials & Design Technology)
  • Japanese
  • Science Extended
  • Humanities/English Extended
  • Textiles
  • Kitchen Garden
  • STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths)

N.B. The viability of classes will depend on student choices.

Students enteringYear 8 are encouraged to select programs that will meet their current and future needs and interests. In Year10, students are encouraged to link their goals, aspirations and subject choices through individual course counselling and the My Education process. Teachers will help students discover ways in which they can create and achieve their future goals.

Huonville High strives to deliver the best educational experience possible to all Year 8 students. The vast experience and expertise of the excellent teaching team means that we can offer your child a high quality education. In order to achieve this:

  • we have high expectations for all students
  • we acknowledge that all students should have the opportunity to enjoy school and learn with the class or grade
  • we have firm, fair and transparent standards of behaviour
  • the Year 8 team led by the coordinator will always work with students and parents to rectify problems and share mutual concerns
  • we endeavour to make all aspects of school life interesting, varied, exciting and relevant
  • we use the Australian National Curriculum and other best practice documents in our planning, implementation and assessment and
  • we will continue to plan new and relevant learning sequences.

Reporting and assessment

Reporting and assessment are tools used by teachers to help inform parents and carers of students’ progress. The process provides students with ways in which they can improve or consolidate their learning.

The Huonville High School reporting structure for 2018 will be:

  • an early report in Term 1 which will assess progress, attitude andorganisation
  • a detailed report in the middle of the year which will include information for each subject area. Subject teachers will outline what students have been undertaking, their strengths and suggestions for improvement and
  • a summativeend of year report.

Parents and carers are invited to make contact with the school at any time throughout the year to meet with teachers to discuss their child’s progress. Teachers have staff meetings on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. These afternoons are ideal times for parents and carers to seek meetings with teachers.

Year 8 Curriculum time allocation.

Subjects / Number of 75 minute sessions per week
English / 4
Maths / 4
History / 2
Geography / 1
Science / 2
Health and Wellbeing / 2
My Education / Implemented on whole school My Education curriculum days
Personalised Learning 1-5 / 5 options for the year, 1 session each

Core learning curriculum description.

English
Length of course: Full year – four 75 min periods per week
The English curriculum involves learning about the English Language, Literature and Literacy. These three interrelated areas of learning form the core of the English curriculum and provide the foundation for study across all curriculum areas.
In Year 8 students will:
  • have four periods of English per week
  • complete writing and comprehension tests at the beginning of the year
  • comprehend, create, evaluate and explicitly discuss a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts
  • recognise the ways in which readers view and position themselves in relation to particular views and opinions
  • engage in a diverse range of literary texts eg. Australian literature, including traditional and contemporary literature, classic and contemporary texts including texts from Asia
  • read and discuss texts from various cultures, prose fiction (novels and short stories), author studies, biographies, traditional and modern poetry, play-scripts, formal speeches and discussions of social issues
  • have the opportunity to view current affairs programs, literary websites, feature films, television documentaries etc.
Literacy Support Program
All students have the capacity to improve their literacy skills in oral language, reading, comprehension and writing. Students who struggle with literacy need to build their skills, while those who already write, read and comprehend well have the capacity to add new strategies to their repertoire.
The HHS Literacy program incorporates two overarching processes:
  • comprehending through listening, reading and viewing
  • composing texts through speaking, writing and creating.
There are support programs in place that aim to support improvement in students who are below national bench marks in literacy.
Extension opportunities are offered for high achieving students.
Mathematics
Length of course: Full year – four 75 min periods per week
The study of Mathematics supports students to become numerate, gaining understanding about number sense, patterns, measurement, data and spatial awareness to connect and apply to contexts outside the classroom. It provides opportunities to acquire the mathematical vocabulary to use in all curriculum areas. It allows students to engage with numeracy opportunities and experiences and to ignite their willingness to use skills and understandingsgained throughout life.
Huonville High School endeavours to personalise the learning to reflect the student’s needs, strengths and interests. Classrooms offer a flexible, dynamic context for learning that focusses on the learning aspects of ‘content, process, product and environment’, to develop each student’s independence, whilst building strong learning communities.
Students engage in Mathematics for four 75 minute periods a week. They continue to use efficient mental and written strategies to apply to index laws and rational number. Terminating and recurring decimals are investigated. Problem solving addresses rates and ratios, percentage and profit and loss. Pattern and Algebra continues into expanding, factorising and simplifying to find values, and plotting and reading linear graphs. Application of Algebra extends into Measurement to find the perimeter and area of 2 Dimensional shapes (parallelograms, kites and circles) and the volume of prisms. Duration and 24 hour time is covered. Geometric reasoning is applied to 2D shapes. The effects on data collection, mean and median are explored. Probability situations are represented,described and solved.
A strong emphasis is placed on developing the proficiencies of understanding, fluency, problem solving and reasoning through the content described above.
A numeracy specialist works directly with students identified as below national minimum standards, (NAPLAN data), to establish, monitor and review programmes for targeted support. The specialist teacher also supports teachers to identify student needs and goals, to develop and extend explicit teaching strategies and to plan for and monitor student progress.
Greater detail about the Mathematics Curriculum and definitions can be accessed at:

History
Length of course: Full year – one 75 min lesson per week
History is a disciplined inquiry into the past. It develops understanding of cultural, social and political events as well as processes and issues that have shaped humanity from earliest times. It enriches our appreciation of how the world and its people have changed and the significant continuities that exist into the present. In this way, the study of History enables students to contribute more effectively to creating the future.
The Year 8 curriculum covers history from the end of the Ancient period to the beginning of the Modern period (c. 500-1750). This span of human history was marked by significant social, economic, religious and political changes.
Key inquiry questions for Year 8 include:
  • How do beliefs and values influence people’s way of life?
  • How do societies interact?
  • Why do societies change?
The skills focus for Year 8 includes:
  • analysis and use of primary and secondary sources
  • analysis of fact, bias and opinion
  • historical questions and research
  • perspectives and interpretations
  • comprehension and communication.

Geography
Length of course: Full year – one 75 min lesson per week
Geography uses an inquiry approach to assist students to make meaning of their world. It teaches them to respond to questions in a geographically distinctive way, plan an inquiry, collect, evaluate, analyse and interpret information; and suggest responses to what they have learned. Students conduct fieldwork, map and interpret data and spatial distributions, and use spatial technologies. Students develop a wide range of general skills and capabilities, including information and communication technology skills, an appreciation of different perspectives, an understanding of ethical research principles, a capacity for teamwork and an ability to think critically and creatively. These skills can be applied in everyday life and at work.
There are two units of study in the Year 8 curriculum for Geography: Landforms and landscapes and Changing nations.
Landforms and landscapes focuses on investigating geomorphology through a study of landscapes and their landforms. This unit examines the processes that shape individual landforms, the values and meanings placed on landforms and landscapes by diverse cultures, hazards associated with landscapes, and management of landscapes.
Changing nations investigates the changing human geography of countries, as revealed by shifts in population distribution. The spatial distribution of population is a sensitive indicator of economic and social change, and has significant environmental, economic and social effects, both negative and positive. The unit explores the process of urbanisation and draws on a study of a country of the Asia region to show how urbanisation is changing economies and societies.
Science
Length of course: Full year –two 75 minute lessons per week
Science systematically questions, investigates, predicts and explains events in the universe. It uses logical processes, based on observation, experimentation and modelling, to gather evidence and develop explanations. These explanations are rigorously peer-reviewed, resulting in scientific knowledge – an accepted, robust and soundly established body of processes, principles and facts.
Year 8 students at HuonvilleHigh School are guided through the application of scientific inquiry. They participate in investigations which include fair testing, controlled experiments, fieldwork, models and simulations, and examine existing data and information. They learn to incorporate creativity, insight, imagination and hunches into their work in a balanced way.
Areas studied in Science are drawn from the following key areas:
  • Science inquiry skills
  • Science as a human endeavour
  • Science understanding
Specific topics include:
  • Cells
  • Biological classification
  • Ecosystems
  • Rocks
  • Geology of ecosystems
  • Geological evidence of change
/
  • Mechanical systems
  • Forces
  • Particles
  • Types of substances
  • Chemical properties

Health and wellbeing
Length of course: Full year – two 75 minute lessons per week
Students learn how health related knowledge, skills and understanding can contribute to their own and others’ wellbeing. Students will examine the dimensions of wellbeing, being physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual aspects that contribute holistically to the overall wellbeing of themselves and others. Students participate in individual and team practical experiences, as well as health and fitness activities.
Theory classes cover a wide variety of issues including:
  • dimensions of wellbeing
  • bullying
  • nutrition
/
  • sexual health
  • coping skills
  • risk management

My Education
Length of course: To be completed within a whole school program 2 days/term.
My Education is an initiative of the Department of Education in Tasmania. It will be supported by an online career planning system.
My Education is a coordinated whole-school approach to career and life planning which supports students to identify their personal interests, values, strengths, opportunities and aspirations, while teaching them how to use this knowledge to make decisions about their future learning, work and life opportunities.
My Education is a partnership between the student, parents and carers, the school and the community. We aim to engage with business and industry in Tasmania by linking education with your child’s future employment options.

Personalised Learning Curriculum Description

Japanese
Length of course: Full year – one 75 minute lesson per week
Japanese in Year 8 caters for all styles of learners and does not require previous experience with foreign languages. Students undertaking this course should find that it improves their communication skills generally. It should also give them an insight into the range of exciting career and leisure possibilities that accompany the acquisition of a second language.
Students will be encouraged to find their own preferred personal learning style and to work ahead at their own pace. Online course materials andiPad apps will complement classwork, enabling students to work at their own pace and to achieve targets that are relevant to their interests.
There will be opportunities to engage in both language and cultural activities. Project work will encourage the development of skills in the sharing of multimedia. These skills will allow students to engage in projects with a ‘sister school’ in Japan. There will be opportunities to take part in cross-cultural activities that target such things as cooking, film study, anime, speaking and writing competitions, craft and drama.
DigiTech
Length of course: Fullyear – one 75 minute lesson per week
In this course students may negotiate access to any or all of the following
  • Robotics
  • 3D printing
  • Image manipulation
  • Computational and systems thinking
  • Game creation using proprietary applications
  • Coding from beginner and beyond
Students will also participate in national and global challenges and competitions such as the Bebras Challenge, the STEM Video Game Challenge and the NCSS competition.
Materials Design Technology (MDT)
Length of course: Full year – one 75 minute lesson per week
In this subject students will be given the opportunity to develop an understanding of the properties and uses of a range of natural and manufactured materials and products. Emphasis will be directed towards familiarity with basic tools, machines, processes and systems by which energy and materials are used to create required solutions.
Students will develop skills in design, problem solving, decision making, researching and the application of information in order to undertake practical tasks. They will develop personal confidence, self-reliance and the satisfaction of solving practical problems, while working co-operatively with peers and producingwell-designed and useful articles.
Foods Studies
Length of course: Full year – one 75 minute lesson per week
Course outline aligned to the Australian National Curriculum
Students will learn
  • basic cooking skills and techniques
  • food safety
  • different ways to use local produce in season
  • how to make healthy food choices
  • complete an inquiry project with a design brief
  • food specific vocabulary
  • measurement skills in a practical context
Students will:
  • be involved in the planning and making of quality, safe and nutritious food items, using a range of food preparation tools, equipment and techniques.
  • examine the relationship between food preparation techniques and the impact on nutrient value, for example steaming vegetables.
  • investigate how a recipe can be modified to enhance health benefits, and justify their decisions.
  • analyse food preparation techniques used in different cultures and the impact of these on nutrient retention, aesthetics, taste and palatability, for example stir-frying.
  • explain how food preparation techniques impact on the sensory properties (flavour, appearance, texture, aroma) of food.

Textiles
Length of course – Full year course - one 75 minute lesson per week
Students who are interested in fabric craft and making things for themselves and others will be drawn to this program. This elective could be a good starting point for students who want to explore their creative skills or possibly follow a path into the world of fashion and design.
This program offers students the opportunity to study fabrics and their characteristics leading into creating craft items such as bags and cushions or embarking on pattern work and construction of garments.
No previous skills are necessary as the course starts with basic hand stitching techniques before moving on to sewing machines.
During the course students will be challenged by design briefs allowing them to use problem solving skills and creativity to produce original pieces of work.

Assessment:
Student learning in this program will be assessed against the Australian Curriculum Design & Technologies learning area.