Curriculum planning

Climate-related content appears across the curriculum and teaching it can come with an added layer of emotional complexity. A new study published in the Australian Journal of Education (AJE) shines a light on how primary and secondary teachers are responding to eco-anxiety in their own classrooms, including where they need more support.

It’s National Reconciliation Week this week – a time for Australia to consider how we can all contribute to reconciliation in our country. In this Q&A, Reconciliation Australia highlights why this week matters, curriculum resources available for schools, and how you can keep the momentum going beyond National Reconciliation Week. 

We’re well and truly into the new school year here in Australia. In today’s Teacher Staffroom podcast, we run you through the highlights from this month, including our round-up of some key events happening throughout the school year to help you with lesson planning, and an article that shares 4 design principles to help turn classrooms into spaces that support and celebrate student learning.

In early childhood settings, educators often navigate a familiar tension: how to honour children’s play as the foundation of learning while ensuring curriculum expectations are met? In today’s article, early childhood educators Helen Bartlett and Lauren Bastion explain how they built a curriculum-tracking platform that analyses children’s learning stories and generates visual curriculum insights.

Welcome to the 2026 school year and fresh content from Teacher. As is tradition, we’re kicking off our 2026 content with an article to help you with your lesson planning. Read more to get across key events for the year to inspire some of your curriculum planning. 

It is important that teachers feel confident to respectfully and effectively address religion and beliefs in diverse classrooms. In today's podcast, Professor Peter Sherlock discusses why it’s important for schools to engage with religion and belief systems, how to engage students in meaningful conversations about religion in a respectful way, and resources available to help teachers build their confidence in this space. 

‘Too often, civics and citizenship education is framed about students rather than with them.’ In his latest Teacher column Professor Martin Westwell – Chief Executive of the South Australian Department for Education – shares details of the first Active Citizenship Convention, which gave prominence to student voice.

For teachers introducing students to the periodic table for the first time, Dr Gregory Watson and Dr Jolanta Watson from the University of the Sunshine Coast recommend you begin with a series of 3 pre-periodic tables. In today’s article, they explain what the introductory non-chemistry tables are, and how they can be used at a primary, secondary and even tertiary level.

Redlands School’s new 9-week, device-free residential learning program for all year 9s is providing opportunities for integrated learning, relationship building and community mindedness. Head of Secondary School Gemma Van de Peer tells Teacher readers about why and how the program was developed, and the impact it has had on student learning and wellbeing.

When you consider your curriculum planning for the term, or the year, linking learning goals and lesson activities to key events can be a great hook, and a chance to bring students and teachers from different year levels together. Today’s article looks at free curriculum-aligned resources for National Science Week, and a school example of planning in action for this annual celebration.