Subjects - Science

The HomeLearn Launchpad program uses a 'thematic' approach, to keep the 'big picture' context while still having work related to the different subject 'details'. It uses a sequence of "themes" or Units to make sure that the full curriculum for Science and Society is covered over the course of the year.

The sequence is primarily organised around 12 Science topics, in the same order and timing each year to allow shared activities or excursions across age/grade groups, but with the actual treatment of the topic varying with the content of the core source reader for each different course. This is the 'concentric curriculum' approach - to keep coming back around to similar topics but at increasing depth and breadth - which seems to have been lost with the National Curriculum.

The National Science Curriculum after year 10 is generally fragmented into the focussed topics of Earth Science, Physics, Biology and Chemistry, but as we adopt a 'general' approach across all courses, and also because the HomeLearn Launchpad program is based on 'literacy' levels instead of 'grade' levels, we use the general year 10 curriculum as a reference for all Science units.

This chart shows a typical sequence of the 12 Science topics, in this case for the "English Project A" course, with some general comments about the style of treatment of each topic.

	ENGPRO A (English Project A) Course
Book	Science Topic	Topic comments
		Natural Resources is a 'cross-over' topic between Science and Society, and is matched with 'Conservation' for a Society topic in most courses. This covers aspects of mineral and other natural resources and their mining, use and conservation, and is part of 'Earth Sciences'.
		Weather and Climate is part of 'Earth Sciences', but is often missed at upper secondary level. It does include consideration of possible 'climate change' which is approached in our 'balanced' way of looking at evidence and alternate theories.
		Earth Forces is also part of 'Earth Sciences', and includes such topics as earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis, as well as consideration of theories of 'plate tectonics'. We try to cover this area in our 'balanced' way of looking at evidence and alternate theories, including both 'long-age' and 'catastrophic' views.
		Astronomy is a further part of 'Earth Sciences' that is also often missed at upper secondary level. This includes revision of basics of the solar system, as well as looking beyond that.
		The topic of 'Energy' is part of 'Physics', and includes coverage of specific 'types' of energy, such as light and heat, as well as more general relationships, including energy production and conservation.
		The topic of 'Forces and Motion' is a well-known part of 'Physics', and our coverage includes the use of experimentation (using readily available equipment from home) and equations of motion.
		'Ecosystems' is the first part of 'Biological Sciences', and looks at the interactions between living things in the environment. This often gets matched with the topic of 'Conservation' in Society because the two are quite inter-related.
		This topic of 'Living Things' is another part of 'Biology', concentrating on the structure and function of living things, including human and vertebrate body systems.
		'Reproduction' is another 'Biology' topic, which covers genetic variation, cellular reproduction and life cycles. The topic specifically does NOT step into the area of 'sex education' - that is left for the home setting.
		'Adaptation' is also a 'Biology' topic, and covers the way in which living things 'fit' into the environment. At junior levels we do not go into alternate theories as to 'why' or 'how' this has happened - the nuances of fit of evidence to alternate theories are generally beyond students of that age - but senior secondary students should definitely consider the way in which 'evidence' is looked at through alternate theory 'eyes'.
		This unit is the first part of 'Chemistry', and looks at the subject from the perspective of the structure of matter, including states of matter. Wherever possible we include an experimental approach, using materials and items that are readily available at home.
		This unit is the second part of 'Chemistry', and looks at the way in which substances react or combine together. Wherever possible we include an experimental approach, but using materials and items that are readily available at home - often in a 'cooking' context.