Year 6 Science Achievement Standard – Australian Curriculum v9
This Achievement Standard describes what students are expected to know and do in Year 6 Science by the end of the year. Teachers can use it to guide assessment design, collect evidence of learning, and ensure planning stays aligned with the Australian Curriculum v9.
What Students Should Know
By the end of Year 6 students explain how changes in physical conditions affect living things. They model the relationship between the sun and planets of the solar system and explain how the relative positions of Earth and the sun relate to observed phenomena on Earth. They identify the role of circuit components in the transfer and transformation of electrical energy. They classify and compare reversible and irreversible changes to substances. They explain why science is often collaborative and describe different individuals’ contributions to scientific knowledge. They describe how individuals and communities use scientific knowledge.
Students plan safe, repeatable investigations to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictions. They describe risks associated with investigations and key intercultural considerations when planning field work. They identify variables to be changed, measured and controlled. They use equipment to generate and record data with appropriate precision. They construct representations to organise and process data and information and describe patterns, trends and relationships. They identify possible sources of error in their own and others’ methods and findings, pose questions for further investigation and select evidence to support reasoned conclusions. They select and use language features effectively for their purpose and audience when communicating their ideas and findings.
Content Descriptors by Strand
This standard is supported by 12 Content Descriptors:
Science as a human endeavour
Nature and development of science
AC9S6H01 examine why advances in science are often the result of collaboration or build on the work of othersUse and influence of science
AC9S6H02 investigate how scientific knowledge is used by individuals and communities to identify problems, consider responses and make decisionsScience inquiry
Questioning and predicting
AC9S6I01 pose investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictionsPlanning and conducting
AC9S6I02 plan and conduct repeatable investigations to answer questions including, as appropriate, deciding the variables to be changed, measured and controlled in fair tests; describing potential risks; planning for the safe use of equipment and materials; and identifying required permissions to conduct investigations on Country/Place AC9S6I03 use equipment to observe, measure and record data with reasonable precision, using digital tools as appropriateProcessing, modelling and analysing
AC9S6I04 construct and use appropriate representations, including tables, graphs and visual or physical models, to organise and process data and information and describe patterns, trends and relationshipsEvaluating
AC9S6I05 compare methods and findings with those of others, recognise possible sources of error, pose questions for further investigation and select evidence to draw reasoned conclusionsCommunicating
AC9S6I06 write and create texts to communicate ideas and findings for specific purposes and audiences, including selection of language features, using digital tools as appropriateScience understanding
Biological sciences
AC9S6U01 investigate the physical conditions of a habitat and analyse how the growth and survival of living things is affected by changing physical conditionsEarth and space sciences
AC9S6U02 describe the movement of Earth and other planets relative to the sun and model how Earth’s tilt, rotation on its axis and revolution around the sun relate to cyclic observable phenomena, including variable day and night lengthPhysical sciences
AC9S6U03 investigate the transfer and transformation of energy in electrical circuits, including the role of circuit components, insulators and conductorsChemical sciences
AC9S6U04 compare reversible changes, including dissolving and changes of state, and irreversible changes, including cooking and rusting that produce new substancesAt a Glance
| Strand | Substrand | CDs | Elaborations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science as a human endeavour | Nature and development of science | 1 | 6 |
| Science as a human endeavour | Use and influence of science | 1 | 4 |
| Science inquiry | Questioning and predicting | 1 | 5 |
| Science inquiry | Planning and conducting | 2 | 9 |
| Science inquiry | Processing, modelling and analysing | 1 | 5 |
| Science inquiry | Evaluating | 1 | 5 |
| Science inquiry | Communicating | 1 | 5 |
| Science understanding | Biological sciences | 1 | 7 |
| Science understanding | Earth and space sciences | 1 | 6 |
| Science understanding | Physical sciences | 1 | 6 |
| Science understanding | Chemical sciences | 1 | 6 |
| Total | 12 | 64 | |