Year 10 Future Studies: Science and English (10FTS)

Course Overview

Term 1
In term 1, students will learn about what it takes to keep us alive and the science behind life expectancy. Linked to genetics, nutrition, diseases, and medicine, students will weigh up the pros and cons of this progress, while collaboratively debating perspectives seen in various forms of writing and literature. For assessment students will compare and contrast ideas seen in stories, articles, and videos with the scientific concepts they have learned.

In term one, parents and caregivers should be asking:
- What stories have you been reading in class? Do you enjoy them, why or why not?
- What can you tell me about the structure of DNA and the way it creates proteins?
- Do you have an opinion about life expectancy and ways we prolong life?

Term 2
In term 2, students will be building on their communication skills in speaking. Students will use their knowledge of global warming and technological advancements to pitch a plausible form of transport that could be used in Auckland or New Zealand to reduce our carbon footprint. Students will need to consider: batteries and their formation, energy demands and solutions, and fuel types. For assessment students will be marked on their ability to convince a panel (their teachers) to invest in a particular technology by delivering a spoken pitch and the plausibility of the science in a written supporting document.

Throughout term two, parents and caregivers should be asking:
- What can you tell me about global warming?
- What things could we do to reduce our carbon footprint at home?

Term 3
In term 3, will be revising and improving students’ communication skills in writing, including a big focus on written literacy. This will then lead into our Ecological Magazine unit where each pod collates a magazine filled with students' writing and other contributions to then be printed and bound for others to read. Concepts we will be covering include, but are not limited to: bird of the year, cats and native bird populations, flowers and seed dispersal, native vs. introduced bees. For assessment students will be marked on their accuracy and style in writing, as well as the depth of scientific concepts they have explored in a piece of writing.

In term three, parents and caregivers should be asking:
- What contexts or ideas interest them in ecology?
- What kind of writing would they like to put forward for the magazine publication?

Term 4
In term 4, students will be building on their collaboration and literacy skills. Students will use their knowledge of chemistry to investigate past nuclear fallout and why they happen. We will also be doing a novel study for a book that has content related to nuclear fallout scenarios. Students will need to consider: chemical reactions, half-life of atoms and morals associated with nuclear technologies. For assessment students will be marked on their ability to write and solve chemical equations, the effect of nuclear technologies on our planet, and the ability to write a literature essay.

Throughout term four, parents and caregivers should be asking:
- What can you tell me about the book you are reading in class?
- What have you learned about the history of nuclear power?