Learning Map
ScienceWeather & Climateusually ages 9–11

Sun-Driven Weather Systems

Understand how the Sun drives weather: the Sun heats Earth's surface unevenly (land heats faster than water, equator gets more heat than poles), creating differences in air pressure that cause wind patterns, ocean currents, and large-scale weather systems

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

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Try this together

Can your child explain why coastal areas often have sea breezes and why the equator is hotter than the poles, connecting it all back to the Sun heating Earth unevenly?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on
The Water Cycleages 7–9Sun as weather engine requires understanding the water cycle it drives
What Causes Windages 7–9Sun-driven weather systems extend the basic wind-cause concept to global scale
Sunlight warms things upages 5–6Sun drives weather builds on curriculum sunlight warms Earth's surface
Weather vs Climateages 7–9Sun-driven weather benefits from weather vs climate distinction
Sun-Driven Weather Systemsthis skill · ages 9–11
Unlocks
Greenhouse Gas Scienceages 11–12Greenhouse radiation physics depends on sun as driver of weather
Climate Change Basicsages 9–11Climate change understanding benefits from knowing Sun drives weather
Climate Zonesages 9–11Climate zones benefit from understanding Sun drives weather systems
Weather-Resistant Engineeringages 9–11Engineering solutions benefit from understanding weather systems

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 1 NSW · 2 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9S6U02medium confidenceYear 6 · Science understanding

describe the movement of Earth and other planets relative to the sun and model how Earth’s tilt, rotation on its axis and revolution around the sun relate to cyclic observable phenomena, including variable day and night length

AC9S5U02low confidenceYear 5 · Science understanding

describe how weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition cause slow or rapid change to Earth’s surface

AC9S4U02low confidenceYear 4 · Science understanding

identify sources of water and describe key processes in the water cycle, including movement of water through the sky, landscape and ocean; precipitation; evaporation; and condensation

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

ST2-SCI-01low confidenceScience and Technology K-6 · Stage 2

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2S4U08low confidenceScience · Levels 3 and 4 · Science Understanding strand
VC2S6U07low confidenceScience · Levels 5 and 6 · Science Understanding strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

All Weather & Climate skills →