The Study of Society and the Environment represents a key learning area in the Year 8 Curriculum. As stated in the syllabus, "it provides a framework for planning learning and assessment by identifying core and discretionary learning outcomes that describe what students are expected to know and do with what they know in relation to the Studies of Society and Environment key learning area".

To achieve this, units of work have been written with the following subject area considerations in mind, Legal Studies and Government, Citizenship, Anthropology and Sociology, including the traditional disciplines of History and Geography.

Examples of topics include:

• The Skills of the Historian
• A study of the law making and the justice process, a study of citizens and crime - the economic influences and how history has dealt with criminal behaviour.
• Get an attitude - our cultural heritage, a social enquiry.

The study of SOSE should be an active process - that is, it should involve students doing things, researching and evaluating.

A range of activities are undertaken in Year 8 SOSE including;
(a) Assignment work based on student research.
(b) Guided use of "evidence" material.
(c) Viewing videos, slides etc.
(d) Listening to tapes.
(e) Debating historical topics.
(f) Writing paragraphs, constructing time lines etc.

Teachers choose from a range of different instruments of assessment including:

(a) Short answer tests.
(b) Practical Exercises.
(c) Report Writing.
(d) Paragraph Writing.