Learning Map
ScienceOcean Lifeusually ages 7–9

Tides, Waves & Currents

Know that the ocean has tides (water level rises and falls twice a day, caused mainly by the Moon's gravity), waves (caused by wind), and currents (rivers of water flowing through the ocean that carry warmth and nutrients around the world)

How to tell they’ve got it

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

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Try this together

If your child noticed the water level changing at the beach during the day, could they explain that tides are caused by the Moon's pull, and that the ocean also has waves from wind and currents that flow like underwater rivers?

Where this sits on the map

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

Builds on
Coasts & Beachesages 5–7Tides shape coastal habitats; builds on beach/coast concept
What Is the Ocean?ages 5–7Tides/waves/currents require basic ocean knowledge
Tides, Waves & Currentsthis skill · ages 7–9
Unlocks
Oceans & Climateages 9–11Ocean-climate connection builds on knowing about currents and evaporation

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

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

Show candidate curriculum codes · 2 ACARA · 1 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

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

AC9S5U02low confidenceYear 5 · Science understanding

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

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2S4U07low confidenceScience · Levels 3 and 4 · 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 Ocean Life skills →