Year 8 Science – Term 1 (WA Curriculum): Cells and Body Systems

What this unit covers

In Term 1, Year 8 Science in the WA Curriculum centres on the unit “Cells and Body Systems”.

Students explore cell structures and their functions, then investigate how plants and animals have evolved different systems for gas exchange, material transport, and reproduction.

Lesson sequence (30 lessons)

The unit breaks down into the following lesson-by-lesson sequence — each title below is a teachable lesson, in order:

1. Introduction to Cells: Building Blocks of Life
2. Observing Cell Structures Under the Microscope
3. Measuring and Calculating Cell Size
4. The Cell Membrane: Gateway to the Cell
5. Cytoplasm: The Cell's Living Jelly
6. The Nucleus: Control Centre of the Cell
7. Mitochondria: Powerhouses of the Cell
8. Plant Cell Walls: Protection and Support
9. Chloroplasts: Green Energy Factories
10. Large Vacuoles: Storage Compartments in Plant Cells
11. Comparing Plant and Animal Cell Structures
12. Cellular Respiration: How Cells Release Energy
13. Photosynthesis: How Plants Make Food
14. Writing Word Equations for Cellular Processes
15. Introduction to Body Systems
16. Gas Exchange in Plants: Stomata and Guard Cells
17. How Guard Cells Control Gas Exchange
18. The Human Respiratory System: Breathing and Gas Exchange
19. Comparing Plant and Animal Gas Exchange Systems
20. Transportation in Plants: Xylem and Phloem
21. Capillarity: How Water Moves Up Plant Stems
22. Transpiration: Water Loss from Plant Leaves
23. The Human Heart: A Pumping Machine
24. Blood Vessels: Highways for Transport
25. Blood: The Body's Transport Medium
26. Comparing Plant and Animal Transport Systems
27. Reproduction in Flowering Plants
28. Reproduction in Vertebrate Animals
29. Comparing Plant and Animal Reproductive Systems
30. Review: Cells, Systems and Life Processes

Curriculum codes in this unit

Content codes:

Reading the codes: WA codes (the ones starting with WA) pack the year level, learning area, strand and content number into one string, while the national Australian Curriculum v9 uses a different anatomy that starts with AC9 — same content family, different labels. Our complete WA Curriculum guide decodes both, character by character.

Planning notes for Term 1

WA terms run roughly 9–11 weeks, and in 2026 Term 1 runs from Monday 2 February to Thursday 2 April — 9 weeks for WA public schools. With 30 lessons in this unit, that leaves breathing room for assessment, moderation and the weeks that disappear to carnivals, camps and public holidays — plan the assessable work to land two to three weeks before the end of term rather than in the final week.