Questions about Interact

How does the curriculum work?

The Interact Curriculum is supplied in two folders of teacher manuals per term (one for years 1-4 and the other for years 5-8).  These folders give teachers guidance in making their own learning programmes.

What subjects are offered?

Devotions/Biblical Studies, Science, Social Science, Health, English, Art.  Other subjects will be added over time.

How do I know if it meets our national or state curriculum requirements?

Detailed outlines of how Interact meets the requirements of New Zealand, New South Wales (Australia) and South African Curriculum or syllabus requirements are available.  We are committed to making Interact useful to people in other countries and states as well, and, if there is sufficient interest, we are open to providing links to another country’s curriculum.  Because Interact has been designed to cover broad topics, we believe that it will meet the requirements of many countries.  The links are made in a brochure at the beginning of each term folder, and detailed outlines are available in the Interact Overview Manual.  If there is sufficient interest from a particular country, we tailor-make some of the Discovery Sheets to that nation (e.g. we have an Australian and a New Zealand version of a recent Social Science manual, with sheets specific to each country).

The New Zealand Education Review Office has highly recommended the Interact Curriculum and sees it as a balanced programme.

What resources are available to support the teaching of the Interact Curriculum?

Photocopiable “Discovery Sheets” are available for the subjects of Devotions, Science and Social Science at both levels: Years 1-4 and Years 5-8.  These are designed to provide some child-friendly information about the topic, some guided teaching opportunities, and some graphic organisers to assist the students in investigations, experiments, interviews and other forms of research. Click here for more details

What resources support the teaching of art?

The Celebrate Art resources give detailed information in student-friendly language about contemporary artists on the theme studied in Interact (e.g. Plants and Trees posters link with the Interact Science unit) and give clear lesson ideas to help teachers and students to interpet the works and to create their own works in a wide range of media.  These resources are in approximately 2000 schools (government and Christian schools) in Australasia.  www.integratededucation.com

I don’t feel that I have a very good understanding of scripture myself and I want to teach it well.  How can Interact help me?

The Devotions programme in Interact is a great opportunity for you to learn alongside your child.  However, we want to equip you as best we can and have provided two resources to that end.  Firstly, within each Devotions Teacher Manual are pages of Background Information for Teachers about the books of the bible to be studied.

Secondly, Dr Rod Thompson has written comprehensive and inspiring introductions to the character quality of God and the books of the Bible being studied in that Interact unit of work. Titled, Where Elephants Swim, these books are available for the following units to date:  God is One God, God is the Owner of the Earth, God is Holy and Pure, and God is Loving. 

Does Interact cater for children with special needs?

Because Interact is a flexible resource, teachers are able to select activities and questions that are appropriate to the students taught.  There is a wide range of higher-order questions that make Interact eminently suitable for teaching gifted and talented students.

Do I have to be a Christian to use the Interact Curriculum?

No, but you will find the curriculum is God-centred and includes references to the need for salvation through Jesus Christ.

No.  We believe that principals are responsible for their schools, and we seek to provide support material that serves schools rather than controls them.  Schools have flexibility to use the curriculum in whichever way they choose.