Year Level Description
In Year 4, students develop their
understanding of God’s Word in Scripture as they use the Bible’s
referencing system to locate books, people, places and things in the
Bible and engage with a variety of books and text types in the Old
Testament and New Testament. They listen to, read, view and interpret
Scriptural passages that express God as Father, as Son and as Holy
Spirit, to learn about the Christian belief that God, as Trinity, is
relational in nature.
Students begin to appreciate the
significance of community for Christians: of living in loving
relationship with God, others and all of creation. They develop their
understanding of community through an exploration of different texts,
including the Decalogue and the writings of St Paul, and the experiences
of different communities, including Jewish communities in first century
Palestine, early Church communities in Australia (c.1788 CE – c.1850
CE) and contemporary parishes and dioceses. They examine how free
choices result in actions that affect the individual and their
community. They broaden their understanding of the significance of the
Sacraments for Church communities through an exploration of the
Sacraments of Healing, including Anointing of the Sick and Penance. They
examine prayers of blessing, petition and intercession to facilitate an
appreciation of the significance of these forms of prayer for Christian
communities
Overarching Idea
Trinity and Jewish community
Focus Area
Knowledge and use of the Bible
Fertile Question/s
- How do we find God in the text?
Students will investigate the Bible’s
referencing system and how it is structured according to book, chapter
and verse. Students will learn to identify some features of text
organisation namely book, chapter, verse, Table of Contents, Index,
headings and subheadings used to order and present information in the
Bible.
Students will learn how Scripture
speaks of God in many ways but most significantly for Christians as
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Students will identify and explain Scriptural passages that express God as Father, God as Son and God as Holy Spirit.
Overarching Idea
Jesus’ healing ministry
Focus Area
Church mission and ministry
Fertile Question/s
- How does our Church follow in the mission and ministry of Jesus?
Students will investigate how the
practices of each Church community including: prayer and worship;
proclaiming the Good News; building peaceful relationships; caring for
the marginalised; rejoicing in the achievements of one another; seeking
and offering forgiveness; supporting and encouraging one another and
welcoming and creating a sense of belonging.
Students will make connections between the practices of Church communities and the mission and ministry of Jesus.
Students learn about meditative prayer and how to participate respectfully in meditative prayer.
Overarching Idea
Jewish community in the time of Jesus
Focus Area
Jesus and Judaism
Fertile Question/s
- What was life like for Jesus as a child? Easter
Students will learn how Jewish people
used to worship in the first century under the Roman Empire. Students
will compare and contrast some significant features of Temple Judaism
and Rabbinic Judaism.
Students use different language features to make meaning from Scriptural teachings.
Students look at how they can apply Scriptural teaching to their daily lives.
Overarching Idea
Church community and Living in loving relationship with God, others and all creation
Focus Area
Morality and Conscience
Fertile Question/s
- How does God want people to live in community?
Students will learn to distinguish
between right and wrong choices in a variety of morally challenging
situations. Students will explain how wrong choices harm oneself and
one’s loving relationships with God, with others and with all creation.
Students will learn about the concept of ‘community’.
They will explain how living in community helps people reach their full potential.
Students will classify the commandments
of the Decalogue according to their content and make connections between
the 10 commandments their own experience.
Overarching Idea
Prayers of blessing, petition and intercession
Focus Area
Sacraments of Healing and Prayer in Christian Communities
Fertile Question/s
- Why do we pray?
- Why is prayer important in Christian communities?
Students will describe connections
between the life journey of each believer and the Sacraments of the
Church.The identify words, actions and symbols used in the Sacrament of
Anointing of the Sick and PenanceStudents make connections between
Jesus’ healing ministry and the Church’s healing ministry in the
Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick and explain how the Sacrament of
Penance calls believers to conversion and forgiveness of others.In the
Christian tradition, essential forms of prayer include prayers of
petition and intercession. Students will communicate an understanding of
the features of prayers of petition and intercession and create a
prayer of petition or intercession.
Overarching Idea
Prayers of Blessing, petition and intercession
Focus Area
Essential forms of Prayer in our Christian tradition to nurture spiritual life
Fertile Question/s
- How do Christians pray?
- How do Christians use the Bible to pray?
In the Christian tradition, essential
forms of prayer, including prayers of blessing, nurture the spiritual
life of believers. Students will communicate an understanding of the
features and create a prayer of blessing for a particular purpose.
Overarching Idea
Old Testament text types
Focus area
Understanding text types in the Old Testament and the nature of the truths they reveal
Fertile question/s
- What are sacred myths?
- Does the Bible contain sacred myths? What can we learn from Biblical sacred myths about creation?
The books of the Old Testament contain a
variety of text types. God’s Word is revealed through an understanding
of the books and text types. The human author’s choice of text type is
important in determining the nature of the truth revealed in the text.
Students will investigate the typical
stages and language features of various types of text and explain how
they affect a reader’s understanding of the message.
Christians are called to be responsible stewards, caring for all of God’s creation.
Students will learn key features of stewardship according to Christian teaching and environmentally friendly practices.
Focus area
Making meaning from key Parables in the New Testament
Fertile question/s
- Why did Jesus use parables? What can we learn from them?
Students will identify and explain language features of parables,
experiment with changing particular aspects, apply their own experiences
and apply the teaching to their lives.
There are a variety of text types in the New Testament, each with
particular textual features. Students will investigate typical stages
and language features of various types of text in the New Testament and
how they affects a reader’s understanding of the message.
Overarching Idea
Church community
Focus Area
Expression of faith in the first Catholics in Australia
Fertile Question/s
- What can we learn from St Paul and early Australians about living in community?
- Why did they want to create a community for prayer and worship?
The first Catholics in Australia
preserved their faith in an environment of suspicion and conflict,
mostly without the presence of priests. Catholic laity and clergy were
among the first to recognise and respond to the impact of settlement and
expansion on Aboriginal people.
Students will sequence some key people
and events of early colonial Australia and recognise their significance
in bringing about change.
Develop historical narratives about
some key events and people’s experiences and identify different points
of view towards Aboriginal people in early colonial Australia.
The wisdom of St Paul helps people
understand about living in community. Students will Iook at some wise
words from St Paul and make connections between the wisdom of St Paul
about living in community and their own experiences.
Achievement Standard
By the end of Year 4, students use the
Bible’s referencing system to locate books, people, places and things in
the Bible. They identify a variety of books and text types in the Old
Testament and New Testament and explain how a reader uses this knowledge
to better understand God’s Word. They recognise the Christian belief
that God, as Trinity, is relational in nature by identifying and
explaining some Scriptural passages that express God as Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.
Students explain the significance of
community for Christians. They connect ideas about living in community
from different texts (including the Decalogue and the wisdom of St Paul)
and from the experiences of different communities (including Jewish
communities in first century Palestine, early Church communities in
Australia (c.1788 CE – c.1850 CE) and contemporary Church communities).
They explain how free choices result in actions that affect the
individual and their community. They describe practices and
characteristics of contemporary parishes and dioceses (including
celebration of the Sacraments of Anointing of the Sick and Penance) and
explain how these are modelled on the mission and ministry of Jesus.
They use an appropriate structure to create prayers of blessing,
petition and intercession, and demonstrate understanding of the
significance of these forms of prayer for Christian communities. They
participate respectfully in a variety of prayer experiences, including
meditative prayer and prayers of blessing, petition and intercession.
