What Your Child Will Learn with Alex

As an experienced Year 8 Science tutor, Alex strictly adheres to the official Victorian Curriculum. She ensures students master all required areas and meet the achievement standards set by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Here's what students will cover throughout the year:

Science as a Human Endeavour

Alex will guide students to understand how scientific knowledge continually evolves with new evidence. Students will explore how collaborative approaches and connecting ideas across disciplines advance scientific understanding. They'll examine how science and technology contribute to solutions for contemporary issues and the ethical considerations these solutions involve, developing a more nuanced appreciation of science's role in society.

Biological Sciences

Students will deepen their understanding of diversity among organisms and how classification systems organize this diversity. Alex will expand their knowledge of cellular biology, exploring specialized structures and functions. Students will investigate complex ecological interactions through food chains and food webs, analyzing how human activities affect these relationships. They'll also study organ systems in multicellular organisms and how these specialized systems enable survival and reproduction.

Chemical Sciences

Alex will help students analyze mixtures and solutions, teaching various separation techniques for pure substances. Students will use particle models to explain the properties of different states of matter and distinguish between elements, compounds, and mixtures. They'll investigate chemical changes and learn to identify evidence of reactions through color changes, heat production, gas formation, and precipitate development.

Earth and Space Sciences

Students will examine the celestial relationships between the Sun, Earth, and Moon that create predictable phenomena like seasons and eclipses. Alex will guide discussions about renewable and non-renewable resources and their classification based on timescales. Students will study the water cycle and its environmental importance, along with the formation processes and mineral composition of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks.

Physical Sciences

Alex will teach students about unbalanced forces causing motion changes and Earth's gravitational pull. Students will explore various energy forms (kinetic, heat, light, chemical, potential) and how energy transfers and transformations cause changes in systems. They'll learn about image formation using curved mirrors and lenses, light dispersion, and using wave models to explain sound properties.

Science Inquiry Skills

Throughout the year, Alex will develop students' abilities to identify scientifically investigable questions, make predictions, and plan various investigation types while following safety protocols. Students will learn to measure variables in fair tests, construct meaningful data representations, evaluate scientific claims, reflect on methodologies, and communicate findings using appropriate scientific language.