Handwriting behaviours are not described in the year level achievement standard or the writing assessment pointers. Instead, the Authority has developed the Handwriting Continuum to support Western Australian teachers in the teaching and monitoring of student handwriting for Pre-primary through to Year 10. The Handwriting Continuum can be found under the Teaching menu in the K-10 section of this website. Teachers will need to log in to the Extranet to access this resource.
Reading and Viewing
At Standard, students understand how the use of text structures can achieve particular effects. They analyse and explain how language features, images and vocabulary are used by different authors to represent ideas, characters and events. Students compare and analyse information in different and complex texts, explaining literal and implied meaning. They select and use evidence from a text to explain their response to it.
Writing and Creating
Students understand how language features and language patterns can be used for emphasis. They show how specific details can be used to support a point of view. They explain how their choices of language features and images are used. Students create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences. They demonstrate an understanding of grammar, and make considered vocabulary choices to enhance cohesion and structure in their writing. They use accurate spelling and punctuation for clarity, and make and explain editorial choices based on criteria.
Speaking and Listening
Students listen to discussions, clarifying content and challenging others’ ideas. They understand how language features and language patterns can be used for emphasis. Students show how specific details can be used to support a point of view. They explain how their choices of language features and images are used. Students create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences. They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, using a variety of strategies for effect.
Health Education
At Standard, students describe strategies that promote a healthy lifestyle and use them in a range of contexts. They identify and apply criteria to assess the credibility of different sources of health information.
Students describe skills and strategies to establish and manage positive relationships, such as using active listening and accepting differences. They identify their own emotions and how they impact on decision-making in various contexts, and provide appropriate strategies to manage these emotions.
Physical Education
At Standard, students perform a variety of refined fundamental movement skills and adapt them to move effectively in physical activity or game contexts. They implement simple tactics in response to challenges involving people, objects and space to achieve an intended outcome.
Students explain the benefits of regular physical activity and fitness to health and wellbeing. They provide a simple explanation of the effects of manipulating effort, space, time, objects and people on performance. They encourage others and are able to negotiate and deal with conflicts to achieve a positive outcome.
At Standard, students develop questions for a specific purpose. They locate and collect relevant information and/or data from primary and/or secondary sources, using appropriate methods to organise and record information. Students apply ethical protocols when collecting information. They use criteria to determine the relevance of information and/or data. Students interpret information and/or data, sequence information about events, identify different perspectives, and describe cause and effect. They use a variety of appropriate formats to translate collected information and draw conclusions from evidence in information and/or data. Students engage in a range of processes when making decisions in drawing conclusions. They consider audience and purpose when selecting appropriate communication forms. Students develop a variety of texts that incorporate source materials, using some subject-specific terminology and concepts. They reflect on findings to refine their learning.
Students recognise that Australia’s democracy is based on the Westminster system, and describe the roles and responsibilities of each level of government and how laws are made. They identify the democratic values associated with Australian citizenship and describe the rights and responsibilities of being an Australian citizen.
Students identify the imbalance between needs and wants, and describe how the allocation of resources involves trade-offs. They identify the advantages and disadvantages of specialisation in terms of the different ways businesses organise the provision of goods and services. Students identify the factors that influence consumer decisions when making choices, and the consequences of those choices for businesses and the consumer.
Students identify the location of Asia and its major countries, in relation to Australia. They recognise the geographical and cultural diversity of places, by describing the physical and human characteristics of specific places, at the local to global scale. Students identify that people, places and environments are interconnected and describe how these interconnections lead to change.
Students explain the significance of an individual, group or event on the Federation of Australia, and identify ideas and/or influences of other systems on the development of Australia as a nation. They describe continuity and change in relation to Australia’s democracy and citizenship. Students compare experiences of migration and describe the cause and effect of change on society.
Number and Algebra
At Standard, students recognise the properties of prime, composite, square and triangular numbers. They describe the use of integers in everyday contexts. Students solve problems involving all four operations with whole numbers. They locate fractions and integers on a number line. Students solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of related fractions. They calculate a simple fraction of a quantity. Students connect fractions, decimals and percentages as different representations of the same number. They make connections between the powers of 10 and the multiplication and division of decimals. Students add, subtract and multiply decimals and divide decimals where the result is rational. They calculate common percentage discounts on sale items. Students describe rules used in sequences involving whole numbers, fractions and decimals. They write correct number sentences using brackets and order of operations.
Measurement and Geometry
Students connect decimal representations to the metric system and choose appropriate units of measurement to perform a calculation. They make connections between capacity and volume. Students solve problems involving length and area. They interpret timetables. Students construct simple prisms and pyramids. They describe combinations of transformations. Students solve problems using the properties of angles. They locate an ordered pair in any one of the four quadrants on the Cartesian plane.
Statistics and Probability
Students compare observed and expected frequencies. They describe probabilities using simple fractions, decimals and percentages. Students interpret and compare a variety of data displays including those displays for two categorical variables. They interpret secondary data displayed in the media.
Science Understanding
At Standard, students compare and classify reversible and irreversible observable changes to materials. They describe how energy can be transformed from one form to another in electrical circuits and can be generated from a range of sources. Students explain how natural events cause sudden change to Earth’s surface. They describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on living things.
Science as a Human Endeavour
Students explain how scientific knowledge helps us to solve problems and inform decisions and identify historical contributions.
Science Inquiry Skills
Students follow procedures to develop investigable questions and design investigations into simple relationships. They identify variables to be changed and measured and describe potential safety risks when planning methods. Students collect, organise and interpret their data, identifying where improvements to their methods or research could improve the data. They describe and analyse relationships in data using appropriate representations to communicate ideas, methods and findings.
At standard, students participate in oral interactions and guided writing tasks in Chinese through collaborative tasks, class experiences, activities and transactions, to exchange some information and recount some experiences about planning and organising future social events. They use simple modelled descriptive and expressive language with some guidance when collaborating with peers in guided tasks to organise displays, develop projects or budget for a shared event through emails, descriptions of a place, invitations, publicity fliers, or photo-stories. They gather, classify, compare and respond to most information and some supporting details from spoken and visual texts related to their personal and social worlds. They locate some key information in written texts and convey using learnt words, characters and phrases. Students identify, with some guidance, some cultural elements, share and compare responses, and express some opinions about characters, events and ideas in simple imaginative texts. They create or adapt, with some guidance, imaginative texts for different audiences, describing characters, plotting storylines and sequencing events. They identify some familiar words and phrases in simple texts that do not translate directly in English and interpret/translate them, with some guidance. Students experiment with and discuss the usefulness of various forms of dictionaries. They engage in intercultural experiences, describing simply, some aspects of language and culture that are unfamiliar, and discuss their own reactions and adjustments.
Students are becoming more familiar with the systems of the Chinese language, explaining and applying features of intonation, pronunciation and writing conventions used in different contexts and types of texts with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They use vocabulary and develop and apply knowledge of grammatical elements in simple spoken and written texts, with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students recognise and use grammatical features to form sentences to express details, such as the time, place and manner of an action, and to sequence ideas. They compare the use of tenses in English and Chinese, such as how future tense is often expressed through time phrases in Chinese. They identify the use of adverbial phrases and extend understanding of sentence structure using subject-time-place-manner-verb-object, such as 我星期一上学 and 我在澳大利亚上学. Students examine the clauses of a sentence in Chinese and notice how they are linked coherently. They apply processes of discourse development, such as joining (也、和), contrasting (但是) and sequencing (就) information. They explore, with guidance, values and beliefs across cultures, and identify ways in which cultural values are expressed through language. Students identify some ways in which Chinese is different in spoken and written forms.
At standard, students initiate, with guidance, interactions in Japanese with others through class experiences, activities and transactions, to exchange information and relate experiences about free time, such as サッカー が とくい ですか；けんくん は テニス が じょうずです and to show interest in and respect for them, using mostly descriptive and expressive language. Students collaborate with peers in guided tasks to plan events or activities to showcase their progress in learning and using Japanese, developing projects or budgeting for a shared event. They share and compare some key messages in imaginative texts such as the moral of a story, ideas or values expressed, or characterisation and, with guidance, compare their treatment across cultural contexts and time. They create or present, occasionally with guidance, simple alternative versions of imaginative texts for different audiences, adapting elements for different modes or contexts. They demonstrate and explain, with guidance, simple elements of non-verbal Japanese communication that require interpretation for non-Japanese speakers, such as hand gestures, eye contact and counting systems. Students experiment with and discuss the usefulness of various forms of dictionaries. They engage in intercultural experiences, describing some aspects of language and culture that are unfamiliar, and discuss their own reactions and adjustments.
Students are becoming more familiar with the systems of the Japanese language, engaging with authentic spoken language with guidance, sometimes recognising how words blend. They describe the relationship between sounds, words and meaning; stating that certain combinations of two moras make one rhythm unit. Students distinguish and comprehend few single and whole word katakana with support of a katakana chart. They apply, with guidance, the basic principles of stroke order to write most hiragana and high-frequency kanji and write, with guidance, simple texts using hiragana and kanji on familiar topics, with some inaccuracies. They use vocabulary and develop and apply knowledge of the systematic nature of Japanese grammatical rules, with a satisfactory level of accuracy, in simple spoken and written texts. Students use verbs to indicate – Would you …? or Shall we …? ～ませんか； ～ましょうか. They explain the use of これ/それ/あれ/どれ and use the verb て form as a formulaic expression, such as when giving instructions or seeking permission. They use common counters and classifiers and conjunctions such as そして、それから to link ideas. Students talk in Japanese about how the Japanese language works. They apply formulaic expressions with satisfactory accuracy and mostly understand the significance of textual features and how the composition of texts reflect cultural values. Students discuss how the Japanese language is both influenced by and, in turn, influences other languages and cultures, and explain how language and culture are integral to the nature of identity and communication.
At standard, students interact, with guidance, in German with others through collaborative tasks, class experiences, activities and transactions, to exchange information and recount experiences about free time. They begin to use complete sentences in familiar contexts to ask questions, such as Bist du fertig? Was machst du jetzt? and they share responses, such as Ich kann gut sprechen, aber ich finde das Schreiben schwierig.They use some descriptive and expressive language to express feelings, opinions and personal preferences. They work collaboratively, usually to plan events or activities, to showcase their progress in learning and using German. They identify some relevant information and supporting details from a range of texts. They convey, respond to and compare information, ideas and opinions in texts related to their personal and social worlds to usually suit specific audiences and contexts. They compare and share responses and identify cultural elements, sometimes, in a variety of imaginative texts. They create or reinterpret, present or perform alternative versions of imaginative texts for a range of audiences to suit different modes or audiences, with some guidance. They translate and interpret some short texts from German to English and vice versa, identifying occasional words and meanings that do not directly translate between languages. They experiment with and discuss the usefulness of various forms of dictionaries. Students describe some aspects of language and culture that are unfamiliar and discuss their own reactions and adjustments.
Students explain and usually apply basic rules for German pronunciation, as well as phonic and grammatical knowledge to spell and write some unfamiliar words. They use some relevant vocabulary and develop and apply knowledge of grammatical elements in simple spoken and written texts, with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students use common separable verbs such as aufstehen and fernsehen to describe current, recurring and future actions. They use lieber or comparative and superlative forms of adjectives such as besser, am and besten, to make comparisons. They use some modal verbs such as müssen or dürfen to express obligation and permission, and compare their meaning with the English equivalent. Students speak about past events by recreating sentences in the present perfect and simple past tense. They use adverbs and adverbial expressions, prepositions and formulaic expressions to describe frequency. Students refer to dates and years to express and locate events in time, including use of the 24-hour clock. They respond to questions using Warum? with simple sentences, attempting to use conjunctions such as dass and weil. Students discuss how the German language is used differently in different contexts and situations. They discuss how the German language is constantly changing due to contact with other languages and as a result of intercultural experiences. Students explain how language and culture are integral to the nature of identity and communication.
At standard, students initiate, with guidance, interactions in Italian using descriptive, expressive and modelled language to collaborate in guided tasks or activities and to exchange information and relate experiences about free time. Students gather, compare and respond to most information and some supporting details from texts related to their personal and social worlds and they convey simple information, ideas and opinions. With some guidance, students select texts to suit specific audiences and contexts. They share and compare responses to characters, events and ideas, and identify some cultural elements in imaginative texts. They create, adapt or present, with guidance, their own simple alternative versions of imaginative texts for different audiences, modes or contexts. They translate short texts from Italian to English and vice versa, explaining or providing a description, with guidance, some familiar words or expressions that do not directly translate between languages. Students experiment with and discuss the usefulness of various forms of dictionaries. They engage in intercultural experiences, describing simply aspects of language and culture that are unfamiliar, and discuss their own reactions and adjustments.
Students explain and use appropriate intonation, pronunciation, spelling and writing conventions with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They generate simple written and spoken texts by applying knowledge of familiar vocabulary and grammatical elements with a high level of accuracy and less familiar elements with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students apply understanding of adjective-noun agreements, formulate questions and requests using dove, che, cosa and con chi and express preferences using adverbs, such as tanto and molto to intensify the meaning. They talk about present events and situations, and those in the near future, using the present tense. They relate experiences in the past using the perfect tense of common verbs, such as Domencia pomeriggio Alex ed io siamo andati in città. Students discuss language patterns and rules, how Italian texts use language to create different effects and suit different audiences, and how Italian is used differently in different contexts and situations. They discuss how the Italian language is constantly changing due to contact with other languages and the impact of new technologies, and explain that language and culture are integral to the nature of identity and communication.
At standard, students initiate, with guidance, interactions in Indonesian with others through collaborative tasks, class experiences, activities and transactions, to exchange information and relate experiences about free time. They use mostly descriptive and expressive language to express feelings, opinions and personal preferences, such as Teman saya baik hati dan lucu. Students collaborate with peers in guided tasks to plan events or activities to showcase their progress in learning and using Indonesian, developing projects or budgeting for a shared event. Students gather, compare and respond to most information and some supporting details from texts related to their personal and social worlds and they convey information, ideas and opinions, selecting appropriate texts to suit specific audiences and contexts. Students share and compare with some guidance, responses to characters, events and ideas, and identify several cultural elements in a variety of imaginative texts. They create or present, occasionally with guidance, simple alternative versions of imaginative texts for different audiences, adapting elements for different modes or contexts. They translate and interpret short texts from Indonesian to English and vice versa, recognising that words and meanings do not always correspond across languages, and with guidance, give examples where necessary, to assist meaning. Students experiment with and discuss the usefulness of various forms of dictionaries. They engage in intercultural experiences, describing some aspects of language and culture that are unfamiliar and discuss their own reactions and adjustments.
Students apply the pronunciation of phonemes and of loan words from English with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They generate simple spoken and written texts by using a range of vocabulary and applying the knowledge of grammatical elements with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students use adjectives to describe people, activities and things, and describe frequency using adverbs. They create cohesion using conjunctions, and refer to relationships between people and things using prepositions. Students express reactions with exclamations, locate events in time and use days of the week and months. They compare and evaluate using comparatives and superlatives. Students extend subject-focus construction by adding prepositions or adverbs to subject-verb-object word order, and describe actions using ber- and me- verbs. Students describe with guidance, how the Indonesian language works, describing patterns, grammatical rules and variations in language structures. They discuss how Indonesian texts use language in ways that create different effects and suit different audiences, and explain how the Indonesian language is used differently in different contexts and situations. Students discuss how the Indonesian language is constantly changing due to contact with other languages and to the impact of new technologies and knowledge, and explain how language and culture are integral to the nature of identity and communication.
At standard, students initiate, with guidance, interactions in French with others through collaborative tasks, class experiences, activities and transactions to exchange information and relate experiences about free time. They use mostly descriptive and expressive language to express feelings, opinions and personal preferences, such as C’est mon frère — il est sympa ! and Excuse-moi Sophie, mais … à mon avis … . Students collaborate with peers in guided tasks to plan events or activities to showcase their progress in learning and using French, developing projects or budgeting for a shared event. They gather, compare and respond to most information and some supporting details from texts related to their personal and social worlds and they convey simple information, ideas and opinions, selecting appropriate texts to suit specific audiences and contexts. Students share and compare with some guidance, responses to characters, events and ideas and identify several cultural elements in a variety of imaginative texts. They create or present, occasionally with guidance, simple alternative versions of imaginative texts for different audiences, adapting elements for different modes or contexts. They translate short texts from French to English and vice versa, explaining or providing a description, with guidance, to some familiar words or expressions that do not directly translate between languages. Students experiment with and discusses the usefulness of various forms of dictionaries. They engage in intercultural experiences, describing some aspects of language and culture that are unfamiliar and discuss their own reactions and adjustments.
Students are becoming more familiar with the systems of the French language, explaining and applying features of intonation, pronunciation and writing conventions used in different contexts and types of texts with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They use vocabulary and develop and apply knowledge of grammatical elements in simple spoken and written texts with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students use je/tu/il/elle/on/nous/vous/ils/elles + present tense of regular -er, -ir and -re verbs and of high-frequency irregular verbs. They use the indicative plus the infinitive,such as Ils vont faire du surf, le futur proche, such as Je vais partir and become familiar with le passé compose. They formulate questions using Est-ce que … ? and experiment with the inverted form of the verb, or changed intonation. Students use negative constructions, and include the use of de after a negative verb form. They use exclamations to indicate agreement, disagreement, intention or understanding. Students describe, with guidance, how the French language works, describing patterns, grammatical rules and variations in language structures. They discuss how French texts use language in ways that create different effects and suit different audiences, and explain how the French language is used differently in different contexts and situations. Students discuss how the French language is constantly changing due to contact with other languages and the impact of new technologies and knowledge, and explain how language and culture are integral to the nature of identity and communication.
At Standard, students identify how people address and overcome competing considerations, including sustainability, when designing products, services and environments for current and future use. In Engineering principles and systems, students connect ways electrical energy and forces can control movement, sound or light in a product or system. In Food and fibre production, students investigate and determine what past, current and future needs are to be considered when designing sustainable food and natural fibre systems for products. In Food specialisations, students identify and consider principles of food preparation and benefits of healthy eating. In Materials and technologies specialisations, students consider suitability of use when defining characteristics, properties and safe handling practices of a range of materials, systems, tools and equipment.
With all Design and Technology contexts, students identify available resources to design a solution for a given task, outlining problem-solving decisions, using sequenced steps. Students develop alternative solutions by designing, modifying and following both diagrammatically and in written text, using a range of appropriate technical terms, technologies and techniques. They select and apply safe procedures when using a variety of components and equipment to make solutions. Students develop criteria collaboratively to evaluate and justify design processes and solutions. They work independently, or collaboratively, considering resources and safety to plan, develop and communicate ideas and information for solutions.
At Standard, students outline interactions between components and basic functions within digital systems and how they transmit different types of data to form networks. They make a connection between whole numbers being used to represent data within a digital system. They use software to collect, sort, interpret, visually present and manipulate data for a range of purposes. Students use simple visual programming environments to design, modify, follow and represent both diagrammatically, and in written text, algorithms (sequence of steps), involving branching (decisions), iteration (repetition) and consider user input. Students manage, create and communicate information for online collaborative projects, using agreed social, ethical and technical protocols.
In Digital Technologies, students identify available resources to design a solution for a given digital task, outlining problem-solving decisions, using algorithms (sequenced steps). Students develop alternative solutions by designing, modifying and following both diagrammatically and in written text, using a range of appropriate technical terms, technologies and techniques. They select and apply safe procedures when using a variety of components and equipment to make solutions. Students develop criteria collaboratively to evaluate and justify design processes and solutions. They work independently, or collaboratively, considering resources and safety to plan, develop and communicate ideas and information for solutions.
At Standard, students plan, produce and present media work for specific audiences and purposes, using codes and conventions of media for audience engagement. They explore how narrative structure, tension and different viewpoints engage an audience. Students use audio to convey mood and edit text appropriately to support the message. They use props, costumes and places to represent fictional and non-fictional characters and settings, and use body language to create meaning. Students follow some appropriate media protocols.
Students describe some factors that influence media in different cultures and times. They describe how the narrative, codes and conventions communicate meaning, using some media terminology.
At Standard, students use improvisation skills, dramatic action and/or narrative to present dramatic meaning to an audience. They use voice, movement, role/character and relationships to create some dramatic meaning in devised, improvised or scripted drama. Students use rehearsal processes in different groups to develop dramatic narratives for a purpose.
Students describe elements of drama and dramatic meaning in performance of their work and the work of others. They describe some factors that influence drama in different cultures, times and contexts. Students use some general drama terminology.
At Standard, students use improvisation skills, and sometimes experiment with movement choices drawn from stimuli, to choreograph dance that explores character/mood and communicates some meaning. They combine the elements of dance (BEST) in familiar ways, and use choreographic devices (repetition, contrast, unison and/or canon) when structuring dance. Students demonstrate some control and precision of combinations of a range of fundamental movement skills. They demonstrate, on occasion, performance skills of focus and clarity of movement and use some appropriate facial expression to reflect character/mood. Students perform dance generally acknowledging the audience.
Students outline, using dance terminology, how the elements of dance (BEST), specified choreographic devices and design concepts are used in their own and others’ dance to reflect character/mood. They outline some factors that influence dance in particular cultures, times and/or contexts.
At Standard, students improvise, select and organise rhythm patterns in simple and compound time, with some errors. They identify metre and some metre changes in simple and compound time, and identify tempo and some tempo changes. Students improvise, identify, sing and play melodic patterns based on pentatonic and major scales, with some inconsistencies. They generally identify pentatonic, major and minor tonalities, and use standard rhythmic and pitch notation. They improvise, select and organise some elements of music to represent a music idea. Students experiment with an element of music in an attempt to provide contrast and incorporate some known expressive and stylistic features. They identify and describe some instruments and methods of sound production, and identify some different parts within a composition. Students identify some forms and musical structures. They sing and play with some inconsistencies in tuning, timing and technique, incorporating some appropriate expression and stylistic features, and generally maintain their own part when performing with others. Students use some peer feedback to adapt and refine their ideas when rehearsing and performing.
Students listen and respond to music, and identify and describe links between the use of some elements of music to the composer’s purpose, or a particular time, culture, event or context. Students identify and describe some stylistic and musical characteristics, using some appropriate music terminology.
At Standard, students apply their ideas, skills and techniques to making artwork. Their ideas suggest some inspiration from other artists or cultures. Students apply some visual art elements through the selection of relevant materials and some appropriate techniques to convey their ideas. They produce and enhance their finished artwork by manipulating a range of complex shapes, using and manipulating a variety of line types, exploring descriptive, expressive and symbolic use of colour, selecting different types of actual and implied texture, organising space using a range of visual devices, and creating values through mixing and manipulating various media. Students select and use some specific techniques relevant to various art forms.
Students identify that audiences interpret artwork differently. They list some factors that influence artwork from different social, cultural and/or historical times. Students provide examples of how artists use visual art elements and techniques to convey ideas and messages, using some visual art terminology.