Year 8 Science

The Australian Curriculum: Classroom Approaches science units were originally designed to align with Version 3 of the Australian Curriculum (2012) but have recently been updated to align with Version 9 (2024). The four units provide adaptable and scalable learning pathways that can be shaped for use in diverse classroom contexts, and hopefully provide inspiration for locally developed units of work for other depth studies and areas of the curriculum. Click the "Download Year 8 Units" button to get a PDF of the units outlined below.

Year 8 Units Overview

UNIT ONE: [NAME]’ ANATOMY

  • Enduring Understandings:

    • Organs work together in systems to maintain the body.

    • Cells are the basic unit of life.

    • Different cells perform different jobs.

    • Maintaining a healthy body depends on providing cells with the right materials.

  • Performance Task: Individual pamphlet, Pair Oral Presentation

  • Australian Curriculum Codes: AC9S8H01, AC9S8H02, AC9S8H03, AC9S8U01, AC9S8U02, AC9S8U07

  • General Capabilities: Literacy, Numeracy, Intercultural Understanding, Critical and Creative Thinking

UNIT TWO: INDEPENDANT INVEST

  • Enduring Understandings:

    • Validity and reliability are important to scientific investigations.

    • Safety rules must be observed when conducting practical investigations.

    • A formal investigation report is one way of communicating scientific information.

  • Performance Task: Formal experimental report. Individual.

  • Australian Curriculum Codes: AC9S8H01, AC9S8H02, AC9S8H04, AC9S8U05, AC9S8U06

  • General Capabilities: Literacy, Numeracy, ICT, Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Behaviour, Personal and Social Competence

UNIT THREE: MAKING ELECTRICITY

  • Enduring Understandings:

    • There are different forms of energy.

    • Electricity is a form of energy.

    • Energy can be transformed from one form into another.

    • Energy can be transferred from one object or place to another.

    • Energy resources are either renewable or non-renewable.

    • Renewable energy resources are important for a sustainable future.

  • Performance Task: Poster. Individual.

  • Australian Curriculum Codes: AC9S8H01, AC9S8H02, AC9S8H03, AC9S8H04, AC9S8U05

  • General Capabilities: Literacy, Numeracy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Behaviour, Personal and Social Competence

UNIT FOUR: A NIGHT AT THE MUESEUM

  • Enduring Understandings:

    • Chemistry is the study of matter and its interactions with other matter.

    • Scientists develop models to explain observations and make predictions.

    • The particle model of matter can be used to explain properties of matter.

    • Chemical changes involve energy.

  • Performance Task: Museum exhibit. Group.

  • Australian Curriculum Codes: AC9S8H01, AC9S8H03, AC9S8U05, AC9S8U06, AC9S8U07, AC9S7U05*, AC9S7U06*

  • General Capabilities: Literacy, Numeracy, ICT, Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Behaviour, Personal and Social Competence


    *indicates that this outcome appears in the Australian Curriculum: Science for either the previous or following year.

Alternatively, if you prefer to create your own unit of work, please click the 'DIY Design Template' button below to download an attached Word document template.