Nature at Play cards are linked to the Australian Curriculum, but what does this mean for people living in each different state or territory?
First, imagine the Australian Curriculum like a learning guidebook. It’s full of information about what to teach and is given to every state and territory in Australia to use. The information is all public, easy to navigate and can be found on this website: (https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/)
Once they’re given this ‘guidebook’, each Australian state or territory can then choose how they use it. Some states (Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory) choose to use the curriculum as it has already been written. Schools and teachers in these states would visit the Australian Curriculum website and documents for all of their planning and teaching.
However, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia are given the same ‘guidebook’, but have chosen to make some changes to what it includes and how it is presented. Each of these three states have written their own syllabus for schools and teachers to use, with different wording and curriculum codes. However, these syllabi are still derived from the Australian Curriculum, so much of the content will be the same.
So what does this mean for using Nature at Play cards?
If you’re a parent or carer, simply looking to spend more time outdoors, learning and having fun with your children, then it means very little. You can rest assured that the Nature at Play activities align to the curriculum and will address appropriate learning content, no matter which state or territory you are living in.
If you are working in a school, home-schooling or tutoring environment, you may want to know more about which parts of the curriculum each activity aligns with. We chose to include the Australian Curriculum codes on our cards, as this is the overarching guide for learning in Australia (and because aesthetically, listing so many different codes on one card looks a bit clunky!) However, if you would like a clear overview of how the Australian Curriculum codes on our cards align with the codes used in NSW and Victoria, please click here (note that Western Australia writes their own syllabus but still uses the Australian Curriculum codes so we did not include them in this document).
The image below shows an overview aligning Foundation Maths (note that the name for the first year of schooling also differs across states and territories. 'Foundation' is the same year level as Prep (QLD, VIC, TAS), Kindergarten (NSW/ACT), Reception (South Australia), Pre-primary (WA) & Transition (NT). Click to enlarge.
The image below shows an overview aligning Grade 1 Maths (click to enlarge)
Do Nature at Play cards address every part of the Australian Curriculum and State syllabi?
Our cards are not designed to perform as a complete curriculum. They are a collection of fun, hands-on and engaging learning activities that will apply to the curriculum no matter which state or territory you are living in. They are a great basis for outdoor learning and include many meaningful activities. However, they do not address every part of the curriculum and additional activities would be required to form units for use in a classroom to appropriately address each achievement standard. . What about the Australian Curriculum V9? To complicate matters a little more, the Australian Curriculum is revised once every 6 years. Currently (up to 2023), schools have been using version 8.4 of the Australian Curriculum. The updated version (V9) of the Australian Curriculum is being rolled out. However, the timeline for implementation is also up to each state and territory. Curriculum codes for the Australian Curriculum V9 have also been included on our Nature at Play cards, as this will be the new curriculum used in all schools throughout the next few years. We wanted to make sure the activities we provided on our cards were still useful and relevant as these changes are implemented. Please note, educators within schools often work as a team to plan using curriculum documents. Sometimes there can be different professional interpretations around the most appropriate was to link activities, units and curriculum codes. It is hoped that the inclusion of Australian curriculum codes on our Nature at Play cards (and in the documents on this page) can be useful for anyone wishing to look at this information. The activities on our cards are all made to facilitate meaningful outdoor learning, but it is up to individual educators to interpret how these activities fit in with their own curriculum and teaching practices.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to get in touch at natureatplaycards@gmail.com References: ACARA. (2018). The Australian Curriculum. The Australian Curriculum ; ACARA. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
Early Stage 1 | NSW Education Standards. (2021). Nsw.edu.au. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/years/kindergarten Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2019). Foundation level - Victorian Curriculum. Vic.edu.au. https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/foundationlevel ACARA. (2023). V9 Australian Curriculum. V9.Australiancurriculum.edu.au; ACARA. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ Ross, E. (2021, November 19). Why do Australian states need a national curriculum, and do teachers even use it? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-do-australian-states-need-a-national-curriculum-and-do-teachers-even-use-it-171745
k10outline - Western Australian Curriculum. (2017). Wa.edu.au. https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/teaching/curriculum-browser
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