Sarah Young

Welcome to our Term 4 professional learning on ‘CHPS sample units: from planning to practice.’ My name is Sarah Young, and I’m a curriculum adviser K–6. I’m joined today by colleagues from Primary Curriculum: Kate Slack-Smith, David Opie, and Jessica Townsing, who will be presenting alongside me today. There is a participant workbook for you to download to support you throughout this professional learning.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the many lands we are joining from across New South Wales. I’m presenting from Awabakal Country, and I pay my respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues with us today.

As we engage in this professional learning focused on curriculum and teaching practice, we are reminded that the New South Wales syllabuses strengthen the inclusion of Aboriginal histories, cultures, and perspectives. This is not only an educational requirement; it is a responsibility. It invites us to teach in ways that honour truth, embed cultural integrity, and recognise the diversity of Aboriginal nations across New South Wales.

Today is also a reminder that deepening our understanding of Aboriginal content is not a single lesson or unit; it is a commitment to practice. It requires ongoing learning, respectful collaboration with local communities, and ensuring that Aboriginal perspectives are embedded meaningfully, not just as a token, but as a thread woven throughout learning. May we continue to walk together, listen deeply, and create classrooms where every student sees themselves and their culture respected and valued.

On the slide, you’ll see the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers that today’s professional learning will be addressing. We’ll give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

6.2 – Engage in professional learning and improve practice.

6.2.2 – Participate in learning to update knowledge and practice, targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities.

6.3 – Engage with colleagues and improve practice.

6.3.2 – Contribute to collegial discussions and apply constructive feedback from colleagues to improve professional knowledge and practice.]

On screen are the purpose and outcomes of today’s professional learning. I will give you a moment to review these.

[Text on screen:

The purpose of this session is to understand the common lesson structure of CHPS sample units and plan effectively for next steps in 2026.

• preview the sample units prior to release
• develop a clear understanding of what is required for 2026 readiness at year and stage level
• deepen their understanding of unit and lesson structures
• identify practical next steps for successful syllabus implementation at their school.]

Today’s professional learning previews sample units across the four key learning areas with a focus on the common lesson structure designed to support effective teaching and learning. The professional learning will unpack how key unit features guide our planning for assessment and differentiation, ensuring all students’ needs are met.

There will also be a focus on classroom readiness for Term 1, 2026. This includes access to resource lists, as well as key vocabulary lists to support EAL/D students and enhance whole-class planning. The professional learning will conclude by identifying next steps for 2026 readiness at both year and stage levels, outlining clear actions for leaders and classroom teachers to ensure a smooth and successful start.

For multi-age schools, you may want to consider deferring implementation of the new syllabuses until they are mandatory in 2027. Early adoption is possible, though supporting resources may be limited. Primary curriculum acknowledges the unique challenges of multi-age settings and will provide ongoing communication and support to assist with planning in integration.

The extended familiarisation period offers time to adapt units thoughtfully to the diverse classrooms and context that you are working with, while preparing for mandatory implementation.

On this slide, you’ll see today’s agenda. I will give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

• Introduction and Acknowledgement of Country, Common lesson structures across the four key learning areas
• Human Society and Its Environment unit spotlight; Science and Technology unit spotlight
• Break (10 minutes)
• Creative Arts unit spotlight; Personal Development, Health and Physical Education unit spotlight; Reflection activity
• Gap analysis
• Resources; Conclusion; survey and close.]

I’d now like you to pause the video to take a moment to reflect or discuss the questions you see on the slide. Please pause the video.

[Text on screen:

1. Have you reviewed any of the sample English and mathematics units released?
2. Are you currently implementing any aspects of the new CHPS syllabuses, or do you plan to do so soon?
3. Have you ever thought about how the department develops these sample units?]

Thank you for engaging in that task.

This section will explore common lesson structures across the four key learning areas to show you their consistent look and feel and explain how the key sample unit features support explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

When the Primary Curriculum team talk about the design of CHPS sample units, it’s important to understand that everything created is grounded in 3 key pillars: evidence-based principles, purposeful design, and practical classroom support. These pillars guide the work from initial concept through to final delivery, ensuring high-quality, impactful, and genuinely useful resources for teachers and students.

Evidence-based principles ensures every resource is informed by current research, best-practice, and data on what works in improving student learning. Developers engage in educational research and curriculum policy, so the work aligns with system priorities and supports consistent, high-quality teaching.

Purposeful design refers to intentionally designing resources with a clear purpose, logical structure, and a strong alignment to syllabus outcomes and learning progressions. The focus is on clarity, accessibility, and coherence so that teachers can easily see how each part connects to the bigger picture.

Practical classroom support: Teachers need resources that they are confident to pick up and use. The materials are created to be adaptable and supportive of diverse learners. Built in are clear instructions, scaffolds, differentiation suggestions, and assessment checkpoints so teachers can focus on teaching rather than creating resources from scratch.

Why consistency matters. The sample units play a central role in supporting schools as they move towards the 2027 mandatory implementation of the new syllabuses. They have been designed to reflect the new syllabuses and provide leaders and teachers with practical, high-quality resources that they can confidently use in classrooms.

The CHPS sample units are directly aligned with department scope and sequences and NESA’s whole-school plan. This alignment provides clarity, prevents duplication, and helps reduce workload.

The CHPS sample units are designed to engage students, support teachers, and promote consistent, high-quality learning experiences that support explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

This slide highlights where you can access the department scope and sequence. We have used a Creative Arts example on screen, and you can follow the breadcrumbs to be able to access them.

[Text on screen:

Home > Teaching and Learning > Curriculum > Creative Arts K–12 > Planning, programming and assessing Creative Arts K–6 (2024)]

If you would like to explore scope and sequences further, the Term 3 micro-learning professional learning has a focus on scope and sequences and can be accessed on demand with the resources.

The CHPS sample units are designed as a flexible framework. This is just one example of how programming might look. Schools are encouraged to adapt them to suit their own context and student needs.

Each unit uses the same template, giving a consistent look and feel across all four key learning areas. On page one, you’ll see the identified syllabus, stage, unit number, and focus areas.

Every unit begins with a clear description that outlines the duration of the lesson, the focus of learning, and how students will build knowledge and skills. Related learning is highlighted to demonstrate possible connections to relevant prior learning.

Syllabus outcomes are clearly identified, ensuring every lesson is grounded in syllabus content.

Each unit also includes a resources overview, and lessons are structured as two 60-minute sessions per week, aligning with NESA’s suggested time allocation for CHPS’s key learning areas.

This design streamlines planning, keeps expectations clear, and ensures a consistent experience for teachers and students.

The resources overview makes preparation simple. Everything is listed in one place, from videos and audio tracks to physical materials like hoops, percussion instruments, or action cards. This not only supports smooth planning but also helps schools plan for and manage resourcing across each term.

Each lesson in the CHPS sample units follows the same structure, ensuring consistency across all four key learning areas.

We begin with an overview that provides a short description of the learning and identifies the prior learning the lesson builds on. This prior learning isn’t necessarily a content point but is aligned to the syllabus content.

The overview also lists the key vocabulary to be taught and highlights any preparation required.

Each lesson is 60 minutes in duration. The beginning of each lesson is usually 10 minutes in duration.

You will notice explicit teaching strategies embedded in the units. The learning intention and success criteria are so the students know exactly what they’re working towards and how they know when they’ve achieved it. Making this visible is part of explicit teaching.

It removes the guesswork and gives learning a clear purpose. This also includes activating prior knowledge. Here, the focus is on students retrieving what they already know, not on re-teaching content.

This approach hooks into their existing schema to prepare them for new learning in the core lesson.

Right from the start, explicit teaching is modelled, being clear about the destination and deliberately connecting the learning to what students bring with them.

The core lesson is planned for around 40 minutes. You will notice more explicit teaching strategies embedded here.

Teachers begin by explaining and modelling the new knowledge or skill. Then students move into guided practice before working more independently. This is the gradual release of responsibility in action.

The activities are tightly aligned to the learning intention. They are sequenced from simple to complex. Scaffolds are gradually removed, and extension opportunities are built in, so every student is challenged at the right level.

Throughout the core lesson, teachers use ‘check for understanding,’ such as questioning, response systems, or observations, to monitor learning progress.

These checks for understanding drive timely feedback, helping teachers adjust pace, identify areas that require reteaching, and are connected to the success criteria.

While explicit teaching strategies are central, they are balanced with a variety of other high-quality practices of collaborative learning, use of real-world context, inclusion of diverse backgrounds and abilities, and multimodal resources.

Each lesson includes a differentiation table to help teachers plan for the full range of learners in their classrooms. It provides practical examples of additional scaffolds for students who need more support, as well as extension strategies for those ready to be challenged.

All adjustments are anchored to the same learning intention and success criteria. This means students may take different pathways, but everybody is working towards the same goal.

The table helps teachers anticipate need in advance, promotes inclusive practice, and ensures high expectations are maintained for every student.

Assessment is also embedded in every lesson, always tied directly to the learning intention, success criteria, and syllabus outcome.

The ‘What to look for’ section gives teachers clear guidance on the observable evidence that shows whether the students are meeting the learning intention.

For example, in this lesson, teachers are looking at whether students can refine and apply skills and strategies to participate effectively in territory games and demonstrate respectful and effective communication to promote leadership, inclusion, and collaboration.

By aligning assessment with the success criteria, we take the guesswork out of checking progress. Teachers know exactly what evidence to gather, and students understand what success looks like. Importantly, this doesn’t add extra workload. Assessment is built into the flow of the lesson and doubles as a check for understanding to guide next steps.

The conclusion of each lesson is approximately 10 minutes and provides an intentional wrap-up of the learning.

This phase is about revisiting the learning intention and success criteria, so students are reminded of the purpose of the lesson and what they have achieved.

It allows them to reflect on how the activities connected to the learning and to make sense of the knowledge and skills they’ve developed.

There is no new content introduced here, and no formal check for understanding. It’s simply about clarifying, reinforcing, and closing the loop so students leave the lesson with a clear picture of their progress.

Each lesson contains optional assessments. They are designed to be a flexible, optional resource available for use when and where they are needed and are a tool to support your teaching.

Benefits of these assessments is that they can help you identify the gaps in students’ learning and misconceptions that can occur during a lesson.

This is valuable, ensuring that all students grasp essential concepts before new learning is introduced.

They guide teaching decisions. By using these assessments, teachers can gain real-time insights into students’ understanding and use that information to adjust instruction, provide targeted support, or extend learning.

The optional assessment serves as a practical way to check comprehension at the lesson level and plan for the next steps in teaching.

Optional assessments offer a range of approaches from informal methods like planned observations and targeted questioning to identifying misconceptions, to more formal tasks, such as evaluating student work samples using predetermined criteria.

NESA’s diagram provides an overview of the organisation of content for creating written text, which is included in all CHPS syllabuses.

In Early Stage 1 and Stage 1, the focus in PDHPE and Creative Arts is on developing students’ subject-specific vocabulary to support communicating.

In HSIE and Science and Technology, there are individual content groups.

In Stage 2 for PDHPE, and Creative Arts, opportunities are embedded within the content for students to create written text.

In HSIE and Science and Technology, there is an individual content group.

In Stage 3, there is a dedicated creating written text outcome for all CHPS key learning areas with subject-specific content.

NESA highlights that various methods of transcription may be employed, and a student’s preferred communication form should be considered when teaching writing.

NESA states, ‘Creating written text is a way of organising thoughts, explaining thinking, and making connections within and across learning areas. The learning areas provide meaningful content for writing beyond the subject of English.’

Please take a moment to review the PDHPE example on the screen.

[Text on screen:

PH3-CWT-01 creating written texts supports understanding of health, safety and wellbeing.
PH3-IHW-01 changes and factors can promote a positive identity.

Activity: Create a mind map to determine who or what was an influence on their personal wellbeing and how it impacted them.

Reflect on individual mind map. Use a combination of simple, compound and complex sentences to record reflections.]

This example demonstrates how creating written text is effectively integrated into the PDHPE curriculum to enhance students’ understanding of health, safety, and well-being.

By engaging in the activity of creating a mind map, students reflect on influences affecting their personal well-being, promoting self-awareness and positive identity development.

This task encourages the use of varied sentence structures, supporting literacy skills alongside personal development.

This integrated approach helps students articulate their thoughts clearly while connecting literacy with key health concepts.

It exemplifies how writing activities can deepen learning across key learning areas by combining content knowledge with essential communication skills.

With students at the centre of all decisions, planning started with the NESA syllabus and teaching advice, ensuring fidelity to the syllabus rationale, intent, and extensive evidence base to shape decisions.

Teachers with deep content knowledge can explain concepts clearly, chunk learning effectively, differentiate with purpose, and respond confidently to key teaching moments.

The sample units build this expertise by highlighting misconceptions, identifying essential vocabulary, practical tools, and expert advice.

Engagement is a non-negotiable.

The design is for students to be ‘in task’ more than just ‘on task,’ thinking deeply, doing the work, and feeling positive about their learning.

The pedagogy and practices within the sample units are anchored in the ‘Explicit teaching in New South Wales public schools’ statement and research-informed practices tailored to each key learning area.

The sample units have been a collaborative build and in consultation with stakeholders to ensure understanding and inclusive approaches.

These partnerships ensure that the sample units are comprehensive, culturally responsive, and aligned with best practices to support diverse student needs and enhance learning outcomes.

This slide outlines the 13-week roadmap for every CHPS unit with quality assurance built in at every stage.

It begins at the design stage, where subject matter specialists map syllabus expectations from the sample scope and sequence.

Next is the consult stage, where we test the draft with key stakeholder groups, including Aboriginal Education, Respectful Relationships, Effective Teaching Practices, and others, to ensure intent and inclusivity.

In the develop stage, writing pods build the full sequence, embedding explicit teaching, high-quality resources, and assessment in every lesson.

In the review stage, Key Learning Advisers provide detailed feedback, followed by Coordinator and Leader endorsement, and close the consultation loop on the final lessons.

Finally, in the digital stage, editorial and website checks are completed, and units are published.

Through this process, Primary Curriculum will deliver 114 units, over 2,200 lessons ready to support mandatory CHPS implementation in 2027.

Now you have viewed the features of the sample units for CHPS, I will ask you in a moment to pause the video and discuss the questions you see on the slide. Pause the video now.

[Text on screen:

1. What similarities to the way you plan now can you see in the sample units?
2. What differences to the way you plan now can you see in the sample units?]

Thank you for your engagement. I hope you feel reassured that the way you are currently programming aligns with the sample units and that some of the differences you identify will further support student learning.

Kate Slack-Smith

In this next section, the content being covered in Term 1 of Early Stage 1 for all 4 CHPS key learning areas will be explored further.

The image on the screen outlines all of the syllabus content from the Term 1 Early Stage 1 CHPS sample units. A copy of this content is in your participant workbook.

The units have been written using the department’s scope and sequence, which is aligned with NESA whole-school plan.

There is new content in all CHPS key learning areas, which Early Stage 1 teachers will need to prepare for with connections across key learning areas. One example of content which connects is Aboriginal content and the use of Dreaming Stories, which are being covered in PDHPE and HSIE.

There is also content which is new.

In HSIE Early Stage 1, students in Term 1 are learning to locate land, water, and Australia using world maps, globes, and images; describe natural and human features of Australian coastal and inland places using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary; and observe and record natural and human features of familiar places and presenting data displays. This is a change from what may have been taught previously in a Term 1 unit. Typically, they focused on the student, their family, and the school.

I will give you now time to pause this recording, find the page in your participant workbook, and read through these content points.

Thank you. We’ll come back together now and look at how Early Stage 1 learning lays the foundation for future learning, and the scope and sequence builds on this learning.

The content on screen shows the progression of the Early Stage 1 Geography HSIE syllabus content to the Stage 1 Geography HSIE syllabus content.

The foundation learning in Early Stage 1 supports students to continue to build schema in Stage 1. I will give you a minute to read the content groups and content points on the screen to see the progression of learning.

[Text on screen:

Content group: Places can be located and described using geographical information

ES1-HSE-GEO-01

• Locate land, water and Australia using world maps, globes and images
• Describe natural and human features of Australian coastal and inland places using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary
• Observe and record natural and human features of familiar places and present in data displays
• Recognise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples connect to features of Country or Place in variety of ways

Content group: People show their connection to places using geographical information

S1-HS1-GEO-01

• Locate the 7 continents and 5 oceans of the world
• Locate Australia in relation to hemispheres, oceans, continents and neighbouring countries using physical maps, political maps and globes
• Describe the features of Australian urban, rural and remote places and communities by comparing images
• Locate Australian states, territories and capital cities using political maps
• Describe reasons people are connected to places across the world by collecting and organising data in lists, tables or picture graphs
• Distinguish Aboriginal Country from Torres Strait Islander Places using language maps]

Thank you. I am sure you could see the connection and building of content.

Let’s explore the Early Stage 1 content covered in all Term 1 sample units.

Return to the Early Stage 1 content in your participant workbook. You may like to tick or highlight the content which will need preparation, as it is new for Early Stage 1.

Look at the connections which exist across the key learning areas. Use the scope and sequence to see how this foundational knowledge builds across the stages.

There is a note space provided in your workbook to record your thinking.

You might now like to pause the recording and spend about 20 minutes undertaking this activity.

Thank you for engaging with the task. We hope you found this a useful way to build your understanding of the content covered in the Term 1 units.

[Text on screen:

Human Society and its Environment, Unit 1].

We will start with Human Society and Its Environment Unit 1.

In Unit 1, students explore the significance of Aboriginal Country and the traditional custodians of the land on which their school is located.

Through engaging with Dreaming Stories, mapping activities, and discussions on cultural practices, students develop an understanding of the natural and human features of their environment and the connections that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have with Country and place.

Unit 1 covers the focus area: ‘People are connected to places.’

There are two outcomes addressed in this unit, which are on the screen, and I’ll give you a moment now to read these.

[Text on screen:

Focus area: People are connected to places.

HSE-ACH-01 identifies ways that Aboriginal Peoples connect with country, Culture and Community.
HSE-GEO-01 identifies and locates places people connect with, using geographical information.]

There are 3 content groups covered in this unit.

Two of these, ‘Aboriginal Peoples are the Traditional Custodians of Country,’ ‘Aboriginal Peoples are connected to Country,’ are displayed on the screen with the content points from the unit. I’ll give you a moment to read through the content points in this unit, which appear on your screen.

[Text on screen:

Content group: Aboriginal peoples are the Traditional Custodians of Country.

• Identify the Traditional Custodians and Aboriginal Country where the school is located using images
• Describe natural features of land, water and sky Country by engaging with Aboriginal Dreaming Stories and Languages.

Content group: Aboriginal peoples are connected to Country.

• Identify the importance of and differences between a Welcome to Country and an Acknowledgement of Country.]

The third content group in the unit is ‘Places can be located and described using geographical information.’

I’ll give you a moment to read through the content points in this unit, which appear on your screen.

[Text on screen:

Content group: Places can be located and described using geographical information.

• Locate land, water and Australia using world maps, globes and images.
• Describe natural and human features of Australian coastal and inland places using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary
• Observe and record natural and human features of familiar places and present in data displays
• Recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples connect to the features of Country or Place in a variety of ways]

Thank you.

We will now look at the Aboriginal cultures and history content.

All HSIE units which cover Aboriginal cultures and history content are written in consultation with the Department of Education Aboriginal Education Advisers.

When planning and programming content relating to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, teachers are encouraged to involve local Aboriginal communities and/or appropriate knowledge holders in determining suitable resources, use Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander authored or endorsed publications, read the principles and protocols relating to teaching and learning about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, and the involvement of local Aboriginal communities.

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources has been developed to assist teachers in selecting appropriate resources for teaching about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and languages respectfully and effectively.

Students are provided with opportunities to learn and apply geographical skills whilst learning about the content. In Unit 1, students engage in locating and describing places using maps, globes, and images. The skill of locating is carefully introduced using a map with opportunities to describe the features of water, land, and Australia.

Describing natural and human features of places using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary. The modelled use of vocabulary to understand natural and human features for coastal and inland places in multiple lessons provides opportunities for repeated use of Tier 2 and Tier 3 words.

Identifying the Traditional Custodians and Aboriginal Country through contextualised experiences to their school and local area, students have a solid understanding of the land on which they learn.

Identifying ways Aboriginal peoples connect with country, culture, and community, providing learning experiences, identifying and describing features of land, water, and sky Country is supported through videos, stories, and images.

Embedded throughout this unit is learning that develops students’ understanding of Aboriginal cultures and histories. The concepts of land, sky, and water country are explored through engagement with Aboriginal Dreaming Stories.

The use of a wide variety of stories and images helps students identify and describe and use Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary.

One of the exciting opportunities for Early Stage 1 students is learning about ‘Sky Country’ and the ‘Emu in the Night Sky’ Aboriginal Dreaming Story. Exploring the use of stars to guide and help understand the seasons by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is strengthened with the use of a short video shared by Ben Flick. In the video, the story of the Emu in the Sky guiding the timing for hunting is shared.

The video is an engaging way for students to hear an Aboriginal Dreaming Story spoken and shared, as has been the tradition for thousands of years.

Here, we’ll place some of the video for you to enjoy the experience as well.

Narrator

‘I’d just like to talk about some traditional knowledge that was handed down to most of us Indigenous fellas in this area, and it’s the “Emu in the Sky”.

Around April, May every year, the emu will appear in the Milky Way. Just underneath the Southern Cross, you’ll see a dark spot, a rounded dark spot. That’s the head of the emu. In front of him, of course, is his beak, and as we follow it down, you can see his neck in the dark spots of the Milky Way comes right down to his body. And you can see his legs, and you can see a couple of eggs underneath.

At that certain time of year, it’s the time that for us to go out and collect emu eggs. We go out, of course, into the bush, always leaving some eggs for next year and for the generations to keep going. They only last up until early June. Anytime after early June, they start getting chicks in them, but before that, from April, May, you’re pretty right to go gather.’

Kate Slack-Smith

This unit includes learning experiences that develop students’ knowledge and understanding of the traditional custodians and Aboriginal Country for their school and local area.

Students will develop an understanding of the importance of a Welcome to Country and an Acknowledgement of Country.

Activities strengthen this understanding by exploring the school environment for Acknowledgement of Aboriginal Country and development of a class Acknowledgement of Country for the traditional custodians of the land the school is on.

An interesting element of this unit is introducing the idea of being a geographer to students.

Throughout the unit, the tools of geographers, such as maps and globes, are introduced with their purpose explained and opportunities to practice being geographers with these tools.

The skills geographers use, such as identifying, sorting, observing, and recording, are explicitly introduced and taught. Scaffolded hands-on learning experiences are provided to allow students the time to develop these skills in age-appropriate ways.

In multiple lessons, students locate water, land, and Australia with the introduction of maps and globes, which is then supported with many images of water and land to support the connection to the globe and the real world.

Over the series of lessons exploring natural and human features engages students in sorting images, demonstrated viewing of maps in street view, and learning about coastal and inland areas. The use of storybooks also connect students’ learning.

This unit supports students to be geographers and introduces the tools and skills of geography to support future learning in HSIE.

Now, there is an opportunity for you to pause the recording to reflect on what you have seen, make some notes, and start to think about what this could look like in your school context.

In your participant workbook, you will find the reflection section and a heading for each key learning area.

Capture your initial thoughts and think about how this could take shape in the unique context of your school.

David Opie

Unit 1 focuses on one Science content group about living things, with an emphasis on identifying and describing living things through observation.

The unit explores how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples use plants and animals for survival. Students learn how plants provide food, shelter, tools, and even medicine.

Here is an activity from the unit to support the content, describing how Aboriginal peoples apply knowledge of animal characteristics for survival, including using tracks to understand animal behaviour.

[Text on screen:

Write down the names of the 6 animals that made these tracks.]

Now is a good time to pause the recording to identify the 6 animals that made the tracks shown on the screen. The answers will be revealed at the end of the Science and Technology section.

In the unit, students identify the 5 sense organs, their functions, and how they’re used to make observations. They use tools, such as magnifying glasses and cameras, to enhance and extend their sensory observations.

They investigate how living things survive and compare the characteristics of living and non-living things. They explore and document living things in their local environment.

They describe parts of plants and animals and group animals based on the characteristics, and they learn how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples use plants and animals for food, tools, and survival.

The focus area for Unit 1 is ‘Observations and questions spark curiosity.’ Technologies is not scoped for this unit.

The Science outcome identifies and describe characteristics of living things, properties of materials, and movement is multifaceted.

In this unit, students will learn how to identify and describe the characteristics of living things.

Later units provide opportunities to engage with the other parts of the outcome, the properties of materials, and movement.

Much of this unit guide students to make observations, pose questions, and collect data.

I’ll give you a moment to read through the content points covered in this unit, which appear on the screen.

[Text on screen:

Content group: Living things have characteristics that help them survive in their environment.

• Identify the sense organs and describe their functions
• Identify and use tools to aid and extend sensory observations
• Describe how living things get air, water and energy to survive in their environment
• Recognise that plants produce their own food, and animals need to find their food
• Examine flowers, fruit, leaves, roots and stems of plants and describe their purpose
• Examine animal bodies, their body coverings, and how and what they eat
• Observe and group animals based on their characteristics and justify the grouping
• Describe ways Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples use knowledges of the characteristics of plants and animals to survive
• Pose questions to compare the characteristics of living things and non-living things.]

The first content point builds knowledge of sense organs and their function. Initially, students build the vocabulary and skills to observe and then apply this to future content points.

Across Early Stage 1, all content points are addressed only once.

I’ll give you a moment to read through the content points covered in this unit, which appear on the screen.

I would like to draw your attention to the last content point that starts ‘Pose questions.’

Please remember that throughout the unit, students will be observing, posing questions, and collecting data. The skills within the posing questions outcome are developed throughout the content. Data is also collected by students as they undertake a census scavenger hunt, observe plants and animals, and group them, so the posing questions outcome is more than just the final content point.

The posing questions outcome is new to the Science and Technology syllabus and appears in each stage.

For Early Stage 1, the outcome is: ‘Poses questions based on observations to collect data.’

When Early Stage 1 students develop their questioning and observation skills, we form a foundation to explore cause and effect in Stage 1.

Making observations and posing questions provides opportunities to collect data, which leads to further questioning. The ability to pose scientific questions builds towards the introduction of Working Scientifically outcomes in Stage 4.

To supplement the syllabus teaching advice, the department has created an information document on posing questions. This will be published on the department’s website. The advice provides background information, examples, and teaching tips relevant to each stage of learning.

For Early Stage 1, students pose questions based on their observation to collect data.

Throughout the unit, students are scaffolded to develop their ability to pose questions. They are first introduced to the types of questions scientists ask, then taught the characteristics of living things, and finally guided to pose questions that compare the characteristics of living and non-living things. Some examples of these are on the screen.

A common misconception is that observations are only things that can be seen. In fact, observations can be made using all 5 senses. In the unit, students will learn about their senses and are provided experiences to observe the world using a range of senses beyond sight. We have avoided activities that include taste.

Generally, it is not advisable to include taste with science investigations. Using new vocabulary, such as ‘bright,’ ‘smooth,’ ‘rough,’ ‘crunchy,’ and ‘loud,’ students will add precision to their description of observations.

An engaging feature of this unit is the use of tools to enhance student senses. Magnifying glasses, binoculars, and cameras support detailed observation, while discussions about glasses and hearing aids highlight how technology assists our senses when needed.

Observation skills are reinforced through a scavenger hunt where students search for objects linked to each sense. For example, they might photograph a flower to represent smell or collect bark to represent touch.

Describing their chosen objects helps students connect them to the appropriate sense organ.

Students also grow seeds to observe plant parts and their functions, and spend time studying animals, their body coverings, diets, and behaviour. They then apply this knowledge by grouping animals according to the characteristics and justifying their groupings.

A strong focus of the unit is connecting students with their environment. Excursions to local, environmental, or zoo education centres provide valuable opportunities to deepen their connection through hands-on experience with living things.

Now, how did you go with the animal track guesses? Please say the answers revealed on the slide.

[Graphics on screen:

sea turtle, duck, emu, snake, kangaroo, lizard]

Now would be a good time to pause the recording and reflect on what you have seen and heard. Make some notes and start to think about what this unit could look like in your school context.

Please return to your participant workbook reflection section.

Sarah Young

Each Creative Arts unit provides students with opportunities to engage in syllabus content in meaningful and connected ways. Students are supported to meet the aim of the syllabus by developing curiosity, creativity, imagination, self-expression, and collaboration as they develop knowledge, understanding, and skills in Dance, Drama, Music, and Visual Arts.

Each semester, students will learn about 2 focus areas.

In semester 1, the sample scope and sequence identifies Dance and Music. While in semester 2, attention shifts to drama and visual arts.

Focus areas are repeated across two terms to support students in making connections and building schema by activating prior learning. This approach provides students with greater opportunities to consolidate learning and supports assessment and reporting practices on 2 focus areas each semester.

Across these areas, students apply knowledge, understanding, and skills.

The content groups in Creative Arts are not isolated or linear and should not be taught in a sequential way. What is learnt in one content group connects to the others and supports students to understand, interpret, critique, and apply their learning in meaningful ways.

In Dance, the interrelated practices are composing, performing, and appreciating.

Students are not just learning dance steps, they are creating, expressing, analysing, interpreting, appreciating, reflecting, and applying their learning.

In Music, the interrelated practices are performing, listening, and composing.

Students experience music as performers and as creators, while also developing their ability to reflect and respond through listening to a range of music from cultures all around the world.

This structure allows students to experience the creative arts holistically. It provides multiple entry points for expression while building students’ confidence and deepening their understanding across all four focus areas.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the key features of the Creative Arts sample units.

Equal time allocation. Each unit contains 10 dance lessons and 10 music lessons. Of these, 4 lessons are optional consolidation lessons, allowing for interruptions to regular timetables and supporting teachers to extend learning where needed.

The units make clear connections across the focus areas. Students aren’t learning in silos. In semester 1, they’re seeing how movement and sound work together to communicate meaning. The Dance and Music components connect, but they do not rely on each other. If a school chooses to teach only the music component or only the dance component, the lessons still maintain a consistent flow and meet the syllabus requirements and intent.

The units are designed with context in mind, whether they’re delivered by a classroom teacher timetabled as RFF or taught by a specialist teacher. The design allows schools to adapt while still staying true to the syllabus.

Resources. Each unit contains direct links to songs and videos that will support learning, with opportunities for teachers to adapt and select alternatives if preferred. Lesson templates and posters are provided. The units are intentionally designed to support all school contexts. If percussion instruments aren’t available, an alternative is provided so students could use body percussion, digital applications, or their voice to achieve the same learning.

The outcomes for Unit 1 are on the slide. I’ll give you a moment to review these.

[Text on screen:

Focus areas: Dance and Music.

CAE-DAN-01 experiments with and identifies ways shapes and movements are used in dance.
CAE-MUS-01 experiments with and identifies ways sound is organised in music through singing, moving, playing instruments and using listening skills]

On the screen, you can see how content is organised through the interrelated practices. I will give you a moment to review these.

[Text on screen:

Dance.

• Composing and performing: Dance is made and performed using shapes and movements
• Appreciating: Dance can be experienced and described.

Music.

• Performing and composing: Music is performed and made by organising sound through singing, moving and playing.
• Listening: Music can be listened to, experienced and described]

Unit 1 explores how Dance and Music helps students develop creativity, self-expression, and joy through movement and sound. The unit introduces students to the fundamental elements of both art forms.

In Dance, students begin to understand how the body can move to express ideas as they explore movement, personal space, shapes, and safe dance practices. They observe and learn dancers from different cultures, including the Hawaiian hula and Irish folk dancing.

In Music, students explore how sound can be organised and performed to communicate meaning as they explore beat, rhythm, pitch, and dynamics through listening, body percussion, singing, and playing instruments. They can pose and perform music to express ideas and connect different cultures as they experience folk songs from France, Morocco, and Jamaica.

The strength of the unit lies in its integration of practical hands-on activities with cultural connections. Students are learning skills while also experiencing how dance and music are used across different places and traditions to share stories and connect communities.

This unit invites students to explore dance through playful, creative, and culturally rich experiences. Students begin by learning safe dance practices, exploring personal space through their dance bubbles, and freeze games. They create and connect body shapes using both locomotor and non-locomotor movements and learn to move in time with a steady beat.

As the unit progresses, students experience cultural dances. As I’ve mentioned, the Hawaiian hula, where they tell stories through gentle swaying and curved shapes, and the Irish stew dance, which is energetic and collaborative.

The unit concludes with students composing and performing their own short movement sequences, celebrating dance as a way of sharing ideas and feelings.

In Music, students learn to keep a steady beat and echo rhythm patterns using body percussion, clapping games, and movement activities. Students will explore tempo, pitch, and dynamics through movement and sound.

Cultural connections are emphasised through songs, including ‘Frere Jacques’ from France, ‘A Ram Sam Sam’ from Morocco, and ‘Shake the Papaya Down’ from Jamaica. Students improvise rhythms, layer sounds, and consider how different sounds and patterns are used in music.

One of the exciting features of this unit is its mix of authentic cultural context and engaging hands-on learning experiences. In each lesson, students move, sing, dance, and make music with their bodies or instruments, fostering and supporting them to express themselves through movement and sound.

Teachers are supported with quality resources such as movement cards, visual prompts, and observation checklists. Designed to be practical and engaging, the unit ensures the joy of music and dance shines through in every classroom.

In lesson 3, so our second Dance lesson, the focus is on students exploring how to make and describe body shapes using non-locomotor movements while moving safely in their personal dance space.

Students continue to develop the idea of a dance bubble, the space around their body that helps them move safely without bumping into others. They practice moving within this bubble through playful activities and songs. Students practice isolating and moving different body parts in a variety of ways.

They play a game of shape party and do a shape stretch to cool down and relax their bodies.

Students reflect on their movements to consider what shapes they made, how it felt to move different body parts, what was challenging, and how they stayed safe while moving.

This lesson continues to lay the foundation of Dance in Early Stage 1: moving safely, respecting space, and having fun with movement. It builds confidence and sets students up for later experiences where they learn cultural dances and create their own movement sequences.

To give you a taste of what students experience in this unit, I’ll ask you to try a quick activity.

First, imagine your own dance bubble, so that’s safe space around your body where you can move without bumping into others.

In a moment, I will ask you to pause the video and select one body part and one action from the visual cues on screen. These cards are included as a resource in the unit, so you can display them digitally, print them off, or cut them up to use however you choose.

When you pause the video, think of one body part and one action. You need to safely move that body part with the chosen action. So pause the video and give it a go.

This shows how students develop their understanding of safe dance practices and non-locomotor movements in a fun and engaging way. It helps them explore shapes, develop body awareness, and practice moving safely in shared spaces.

We’ll now take some time to reflect on what you’ve seen and heard.

Make some notes and start to think about what this unit can look like in your school context. Please return to your participant workbook reflection section.

Pause the video to give yourself time to complete this task or have discussions with colleagues.

Thank you, everyone. We will now continue to explore the final Term 1 sample Unit 4, PDHPE.

Jessica Townsing

We will now shift our focus to the key learning area of Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education.

This slide answers frequently asked questions the PDHPE team receives regarding time allocation. PDH and PE lessons are designed to balance both subject areas equally, following NESA’s recommendation of about 8% of lesson time, or roughly 2 hours per week.

Each unit is planned over a 10-week term with eight 60-minute PDH lessons and eight 60-minute PE lessons. This enables one PDH and one PE lesson weekly, keeping timings balanced.

There are also 4 optional lessons for reviewing key concepts or skills. This time allocation is consistent across all PDHPE sample units.

The graphic on screen illustrates how schools can meet the department’s sport and physical activity requirements.

The red circle shows the NESA syllabus, and the blue circle represents the department’s procedures, highlighting the sources contributing to the 150 minutes of physical activity weekly.

PE lessons directly contribute to the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity each week. PDH lessons only count towards this total when they include physical activity.

School sport is a mandatory component of the weekly schedule and contributes to the 150 minutes of physical activity. For students in Years 3 to 6, schools are required to provide at least 60 minutes of sport each week. While there is no specific time requirement for sport in Kindergarten to Year 2, these students still need opportunities to participate. Many schools offer weekly sport sessions to ensure younger students are active as well.

In Unit 1, students build knowledge, skills, and understanding to support both their personal development and physical education.

The personal development and health component introduces students to personal strength, respectful relationships, and essential safety skills. They also engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories that share lessons about identity, well-being, and community. Students practice ways to improve their health through hygiene routines and build self-management and interpersonal skills. They learn how to recognise and manage emotions, make decisions, ask for help, and respond respectfully in different situations. These are the foundations for positive relationships and effective communication.

These are the syllabus outcomes covered in Unit 1. I will give you a moment to review them.

[Text on screen:

PHE-MSP-01 demonstrates fundamental movement skills and participates with others in physical activities.
PHE-RRS-01 identifies how respectful relationships and safety contribute to wellbeing.
PHE-IHW-01 identifies factors that contribute to identity, health and wellbeing.
PHE-SMI-01 identifies and demonstrates self-management and interpersonal skills.]

All 4 focus areas are covered in Unit 1.

In Movement, Skill and Physical Activity, students are learning to participate with others in physical activities and develop confidence in their movement.

In Respectful Relationships and Safety, students are learning how respectful relationships and safe behaviours contribute directly to their health and well-being.

In Identity, Health and Well-being, students identify and practice everyday hygiene strategies that help keep them healthy and safe.

In Self-management and Interpersonal Skills, students are learning how to manage themselves and interact positively with others in a variety of situations.

This slide highlights the PDH skill that students will build throughout the unit.

Students learn and practice everyday hygiene routines such as brushing teeth, washing hands, and covering coughs and sneezes.

They begin developing help-seeking and decision-making skills, learning how and when to ask for assistance, and how to make safe and respectful choices.

Students explore how to express themselves clearly, listen to others, and interact in ways that build positive relationships.

Students explore road safety education, covering pedestrian, passenger, and wheel safety, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories that share cultural perspectives on keeping safe.

These are the PE skills students will develop across the unit.

Students begin with balance activities such as static balances, partner work, and obstacle courses. These activities help build stability and coordination. They also work on locomotive skills like running and sprinting with an emphasis on spatial awareness so they can move safely and confidently in shared spaces.

In addition, students practice object control skills, particularly catching, using varied objects and distances to build precision and confidence.

Equally important is the focus on fair play and safe participation. Students learn how to follow rules, share equipment responsibly, and encourage each other during activities.

The unit also introduces goal-setting as a way for students to reflect on their progress and identify areas for improvement.

Finally, students experience the enjoyment and motivation that comes from being active and working together.

Lesson 8 is a favourite of mine, and it focuses on learning about safety through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories. Students explore how stories carry important messages about keeping ourselves, others, and Country safe.

We begin by Acknowledging Country and talking about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have shared knowledge through storytelling for generations.

Students listen to stories such as ‘Tiddalik the Frog,’ which reminds us that water is precious, or the ‘Emu and the Jabiru,’ which shows how listening and working together keeps us safe. Other stories emphasise themes such as respecting rules and authority, being careful in nature, or preparing for natural events like storms. The key takeaway is that stories don’t just entertain. They teach us lessons about respect, safety, and caring for ourselves, our community, and the land.

Another highlight for me is in lesson 10.

Static balance shifts the focus to body control and stability. Students learn what static balance means and practice postures such as standing on one leg or heel-to-toe.

Through activities like balance circuits and beanbag challenges, they explore how to keep their body steady and upright. The emphasis is on building coordination, strength, and the confidence to hold still positions.

Differentiation ranges from offering handholds and stable positions for support to adding transitions, balancing on different surfaces, and using props for challenge.

Assessment centres on whether students can hold a balance without movement, demonstrate body control, and reflect on strategies that helped them stay steady.

Together, these lessons connect safe, fair participation with the development of fundamental movement skills. Students learn that respecting rules and others makes play inclusive and enjoyable, while practising balance builds the strength and stability needed for more complex physical activity.

Now is another opportunity to pause the recording and capture your initial thoughts and think about how this could take shape in the unique context of your school. You could return to your participant workbook reflection section.

This session is designed to give you an overview of the content changes across the new CHPS syllabuses.

Also, to introduce the gap analysis tool, which supports schools in identifying differences in content, timing, and potential gaps in student knowledge.

By the end, you’ll see how this tool can guide future planning and discussion in your teams.

The CHPS syllabuses have been updated to better reflect current knowledge, skills, and priorities. These changes are designed to create a more streamlined, relevant, and future-focused curriculum.

By understanding and engaging with these updates, we can adapt and refine teaching programmes to reflect current priorities, plan strategically for resourcing across the school, engage in targeted professional learning to build teacher confidence, and provide consistent and equitable support for students, ensuring every learner can thrive.

To identify gaps students will have, when you implement the new syllabuses, you can compare the content with what students were expected to learn with the previous syllabus.

Think about your school curriculum, your stage, the scope and sequences, and class programmes.

Then, cross-check whether students have these understandings through assessments, class discussion, and observation of their learning.

To support you to identify new syllabus content, you have access to information in the New South Wales Department of Education intranet page through the curriculum tab. On this screen, you can see the pathway to find the HSIE ‘What has changed’ overview.

[Text on screen:

Home > Teaching and Learning > Curriculum > HSIE K–12 > Leading HSIE K–6 > Human society and its environment K–6 Syllabus (2024) – information for school leaders].

The links to all the CHPS key learning areas overview can be found in your participant workbook.

In HSIE, Aboriginal cultures and history outcomes and content are strengthened from Early Stage 1 to Stage 3.

This requires teachers to embed Aboriginal perspectives consistently and authentically, not just in isolated units. This will require consultation with local Aboriginal communities to ensure respectful, authentic learning.

Students will now begin exploring ancient cultures and histories earlier in their schooling, from Stage 1 and 2. This shift introduces historical inquiry skills at a younger age, allowing students to engage with the diversity of human experience and compare past and present societies in more meaningful ways.

There is an increased focus on students using maps and other geographical tools to build spatial awareness and interpret information. Teachers will need to strengthen their own knowledge and confidence with geographical skills, and schools may need to invest in updated resources such as atlases, digital mapping tools, and classroom globes.

Previously taught as separate syllabuses, History and Geography are now combined into one HSIE key learning area. This integration encourages teachers to plan more connected units that draw on both historical and geographical perspectives. Supporting students to see the links between people, place, and time. It also reduces duplication and provides more flexibility in program design.

In Science and Technology, human body content is a new focus across K–6, with students learning about key systems and structures such as the ears, eyes, digestive system, muscles, and skeleton.

This development provides a strong foundation for understanding how the body functions, promoting health awareness and scientific literacy from an early age.

Integrating this content across all year levels ensures students build progressively deeper knowledge and connect connections between body systems, health, and everyday experiences.

Electricity syllabus content requires additional practical investigation, demonstration, and hands-on learning. This may require additional resources to provide appropriate materials and equipment. Teacher guidance is essential to ensure students can explore concepts safely, engage with experiments, and develop a deep understanding of electrical circuits and energy transfer.

Working scientifically skills are now embedded across all year levels rather than treated as a separate component. Students consistently develop skills such as questioning, predicting, planning, conducting investigations, collecting and interpreting data, and evaluating results.

Embedding these skills throughout the curriculum ensures they are applied in context, strengthening students’ problem-solving, critical thinking, and scientific reasoning capabilities from K–6.

In Creative Arts, Dance and Music elements have been updated from the previous syllabus, providing students with more contemporary, engaging, and developmentally appropriate learning experiences.

These updates support skill progression, creativity, and expression, while ensuring alignment with current educational standards.

There is a strength and focus on historical and cultural arts practices from around the world, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions. This approach enables students to appreciate the diversity of artistic expression, understand cultural contexts, and develop respect for both local and global creative practices.

Through creating written text, there is now greater emphasis on vocabulary development, critical and creative writing. Students are encouraged to articulate ideas effectively, analyse artistic works critically, and engage in imaginative and reflective thinking, which strengthens both literacy and cognitive skills in meaningful arts contexts.

Digital technologies and digital safety are explicitly referenced in the essential content, ensuring students understand how to use digital tools responsibly, ethically, and safely within arts learning. This inclusion reflects the growing role of technology in creative practice and prepares students to confidently navigate digital spaces.

In PDHPE, financial well-being is now an explicit focus from Stage 1 to Stage 3. Students are supported to develop foundational skills in managing money, such as understanding needs versus wants, making responsible spending and saving choices, and recognising the value of financial planning. Integrating financial literacy from an early age equips students with practical life skills, helping them to make informed decisions and build long-term economic resilience.

Media literacy is explicitly embedded from Stage 1 to Stage 3, recognising the increasingly complex media environment students navigate. Students learn to critically analyse and interpret information, identify bias or misinformation, and respond thoughtfully to media messages across multiple platforms. Early and consistent teaching of media literacy supports informed citizenship and encourages safe, responsible engagement with digital media.

Physical Education now places a stronger emphasis on small-sided games, which promote higher levels of participation, teamwork, spatial awareness, and decision-making compared with traditional, large group formats. Implementing small-sided games requires new teaching approaches, modified resources, and adaptable game structures to ensure all students are actively engaged and developing their skills. This approach also supports differentiation, allowing students of varying abilities to participate meaningfully.

PE for K–2 now includes the explicit teaching of all fundamental movement skills, with the goal that students achieve proficiency by the end of Stage 1. This ensures that students have a strong foundation in core movement patterns like running, jumping, catching, throwing, balancing, and dodging. Achieving this goal may require targeted professional learning for teachers, additional resources, and structured practice opportunities to provide consistent and effective skill development for all students.

The gap analysis tool helps you identify differences in content and timing between old and new syllabuses.

To use it, identify new content by comparing the updated syllabus with the previous one, review prior stage learning to spot what students may have missed, note possible gaps and to assess them, and plan actions to address these gaps through teaching.

After completing the analysis, regularly review and update it during and after instruction to support student progress.

Now, let’s look at a Stage 2 example you can apply to other stages relevant to your work.

The image on the screen shows all content covered in Stage 2, Unit 5 for each of the CHPS syllabuses. A copy of content for Unit 1 and Unit 5 has been included in the participant workbook. Considering PDHPE as the example, highlighted is one area of new content.

This can now be reviewed using the gap analysis tool.

Think of this example from the perspective of a Stage 2 classroom teacher planning to implement the PDHPE syllabus. The new content comes from the focus area, identity, health, and well-being.

The content group is decisions and actions promote health and well-being, with a content point that requires students to describe the benefits of responsible saving and spending of money for well-being.

In Stage 1, students learn the basics, recognising that money can be saved or spent on needs and wants. In Stage 2, students build on this foundation by exploring the benefits of responsible saving and spending, with clearer connections made to well-being.

A Stage 2 teacher needs to consider the gaps in student knowledge, as they may not have previously experienced this content, now included in the syllabus. For example, students may struggle to consistently differentiate between needs and wants or may not understand how money behaviours relate to well-being yet.

To identify these gaps, the teacher can use pre-assessments, observations, and regular check-ins. For instance, the teacher might ask students to draw or write how they would spend or save an imaginary $20 or present a similar contextually relevant scenario.

Questions like, ‘If you save money every week, what could that help you do?’ can encourage students to think about the link between money and well-being.

Once gaps are identified, the teacher can take deliberate actions. These might include creating a financial vocabulary word wall to help students understand and use key terms, modelling goal-setting together, establishing a class savings goal, and reflecting on how achieving that goal felt. Then link these activities directly to well-being, making it clear that informed financial decisions can help people feel safe, proud, and happy.

This approach supports not only money management skills but also embeds financial literacy within the broader context of health and well-being, helping students see the real-life benefits of their choices.

As you can see, this process assists both leaders and teachers in identifying content gaps and adjusting their practice accordingly.

Now you have time to start your own gap analysis based on a key learning area you are currently using or planning to use at your school.

Please map the key content changes we have identified during this professional learning session and consider the implications for your planning and assessment. Examples can be found in your participant workbook alongside this activity.

First, choose a key learning area relevant to your work, open this corresponding digital syllabus, and identify the new content.

Next, review prior stage learning and consider what students should already know from earlier stages.

Then decide on strategies you could use to pinpoint gaps in students’ learning and record how you will address any identified through your teaching.

You can pause the video now and take the time needed to start a gap analysis.

Alongside the CHPS sample units of work are carefully curated resources and vocabulary lists.

To support your preparation for implementing the new CHPS sample units, a suggested resource list and key vocabulary for sample Unit 1 and Unit 5 is provided in this microlearning module 4 suite of resources. Recognising that many schools may not have access to all material, the units also include freely available and digital alternatives.

For example, in HSIE, when a globe is needed for an activity, a link to a digital version is provided along with similar alternatives for maps and other resources.

Vocabulary lists are included in each sample unit to give teachers a clear reference, supporting consistent teaching and learning of subject-specific terms. They also assist EAL/D students by providing focused language to improve comprehension and communication.

Overall, these resources are designed to make your planning and delivery as efficient as possible, allowing you to focus on engaging your students effectively.

‘See, think, wonder’ is a great routine to make connections between new learning and prior knowledge.

Take a moment to reflect on what we have learned by previewing the sample units for the CHPS key learning areas.

You can pause the recording and take time to reflect.

To conclude this professional learning, take a moment to reflect on the key takeaways that you see on the screen.

[Text on screen:

• CHPS sample units have a common lesson structure across all four key learning areas
• Key sample unit features support explicit teaching, assessment and differentiation
• Support materials will be available for teaching and learning in Term 1 2026 including resource lists
• Vocabulary lists will be available to support EAL/D students and strengthen whole class planning.

Consider: How will you identify next steps for 2026 at year and stage levels including actions for leaders and teachers?]

The common lesson structure across CHPS sample units provides a consistent framework that supports explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

The upcoming support materials, including resource and vocabulary lists, will enhance planning and effectively assist EAL/D learners.

Moving forward, it will be important to identify next steps for 2026 at year and stage levels by collaborating with leaders and teachers to implement targeted actions that build on these resources.

We have unpacked the structure and shared a preview of the first units being released, which will support your next steps in implementation in your school.

We would like you to complete a short survey to provide feedback on today’s professional learning. Please use your phone to access the QR code or use the link on the screen [this QR code and link may no longer be current].

If you have any questions or would like to reach out to the Primary Curriculum team, please contact us via this email address

[email address on screen]

[primarycurriculum@det.nsw.edu.au or through the statewide staffroom https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=muagBYpBwUecJZOHJhv5kUwsTv61JFtLox4KgWmDAmxUNU45WDlDVEUxUEE3WVpEU0o5ME5KM0w0VyQlQCN0PWcu] .

This QR code takes you to the enrolment page to join the Primary Curriculum statewide staffroom [this QR code may no longer be current].

Thank you for accessing the professional learning recording. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

[End of transcript]

Sarah Young

Welcome to our Term 4 professional learning on CHPS sample units ‘From planning to practice’. My name is Sarah Young, and I’m a curriculum adviser K–6. I’m joined today by colleagues from Primary Curriculum, Kate Slack-Smith, David Opie, and Jessica Townsing who will be presenting alongside me today. There is a participant workbook for you to download to support you throughout this professional learning.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the many lands we are joining from across New South Wales. I’m presenting from Awabakal Country and I pay my respects to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues with us today.

As we engage in this professional learning, focused on curriculum and teaching practice, we are reminded that the New South Wales syllabuses strengthen the inclusion of Aboriginal histories, cultures, and perspectives. This is not only an educational requirement, it is a responsibility. It invites us to teach in ways that honour truth, embed cultural integrity, and recognise the diversity of Aboriginal nations across New South Wales.

Today is also a reminder that deepening our understanding of Aboriginal content is not a single lesson or unit, it is a commitment to practice. It requires ongoing learning, respectful collaboration with local communities, and ensuring that Aboriginal perspectives are embedded meaningfully, not just as a token, but as a thread woven throughout learning. May we continue to walk together, listen deeply, and create classrooms where every student sees themselves and their culture respected and valued.

On the slide, you’ll see the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers that today’s professional learning will be addressing. We’ll give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

6.2 – Engage in professional learning and improve practice.

6.2.2 – Participate in learning to update knowledge and practice, targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities.

6.3 – Engage with colleagues and improve practice.

6.3.2 – Contribute to collegial discussions and apply constructive feedback from colleagues to improve professional knowledge and practice.]

On screen are the purpose and outcomes of today’s professional learning. I will give you a moment to review these.

[Text on screen:

The purpose of this session is to understand the common lesson structure of CHPS sample units and plan effectively for next steps in 2026.

• Preview the sample units prior to release.
• Develop a clear understanding of what is required for 2026.
• Readiness at year and stage level.
• Deepen their understanding of unit and lesson structures.
• Identify practical next steps for successful syllabus implementation at their school.]

Today’s professional learning previews sample units across the four key learning areas, with a focus on the common lesson structure designed to support effective teaching and learning. The professional learning will unpack how key unit features guide our planning for assessment and differentiation, ensuring all students’ needs are met.

There will also be a focus on classroom readiness for Term 1, 2026. This includes access to resource lists, as well as key vocabulary lists to support EAL/D students and enhance whole-class planning. The professional learning will conclude by identifying next steps for 2026 readiness at both Year and Stage levels, outlining clear actions for leaders and classroom teachers to ensure a smooth and successful start.

For multi-age schools, you may want to consider deferring implementation of the new syllabuses until they are mandatory in 2027. Early adoption is possible, though supporting resources may be limited. Primary curriculum acknowledges the unique challenges of multi-age settings and will provide ongoing communication and support to assist with planning in integration.

The extended familiarisation period offers time to adapt units thoughtfully to the diverse classrooms and context that you are working with while preparing for mandatory implementation.

On this slide, you’ll see today’s agenda. I will give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

• Introduction and Acknowledgement of Country; Common lesson structures across the four key learning areas
• Human Society and Its Environment unit spotlight; Science and Technology unit spotlight
• Break (10 minutes)
• Creative Arts unit spotlight; Personal Development, Health and Physical Education unit spotlight; Reflection activity
• Gap analysis
• Resources; Conclusion survey and close.]

I’d now like you to pause the video to take a moment to reflect or discuss the questions you see on the slide. Please pause the video.

[Text on screen:

1. Have you reviewed any of the sample English and Mathematics units released?
2. Are you currently implementing any aspects of the new CHPS syllabuses, or do you plan to do so soon?
3. Have you ever thought about how the department develops these sample units?]

Thank you for engaging in that task.

This section will explore common lesson structures across the four key learning areas to show you their consistent look and feel and explain how the key sample unit features support explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

When the Primary Curriculum team talk about the design of CHPS sample units, it’s important to understand that everything created is grounded in 3 key pillars: evidence-based principles, purposeful design, and practical classroom support. These pillars guide the work from initial concept through to final delivery, ensuring high-quality, impactful, and genuinely useful resources for teachers and students.

Evidence-based principles ensures every resource is informed by current research, best practice, and data on what works in improving student learning. Developers engage in educational research and curriculum policy, so the work aligns with system priorities and supports consistent, high-quality teaching.

Purposeful design refers to intentionally designing resources with a clear purpose, logical structure, and a strong alignment to syllabus outcomes and learning progressions. The focus is on clarity, accessibility, and coherence so that teachers can easily see how each part connects to the bigger picture.

Practical classroom support. Teachers need resources that they are confident to pick up and use. The materials are created to be adaptable and supportive of diverse learners. Built in are clear instructions, scaffolds, differentiation suggestions, and assessment checkpoints so teachers can focus on teaching rather than creating resources from scratch.

Why consistency matters. The sample units play a central role in supporting schools as they move towards the 2027 mandatory implementation of the new syllabuses. They have been designed to reflect the new syllabuses and provide leaders and teachers with practical, high-quality resources that they can confidently use in classrooms.

The CHPS sample units are directly aligned with department scope and sequences and NESA whole-school plan. This alignment provides clarity, prevents duplication, and helps reduce workload.

The CHPS sample units are designed to engage students, support teachers, and promote consistent, high-quality learning experiences that support explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

This slide highlights where you can access the department scope and sequence. We have used a Creative Arts example on screen, and you can follow the breadcrumbs to be able to access them.

[Text on screen:

Home > Teaching and Learning > Curriculum > Creative Arts K–12 > Planning, programming and assessing Creative Arts K–6 (2024).]

If you would like to explore scope and sequences further, the Term 3 micro-learning professional learning has a focus on scope and sequences and can be accessed on demand with the resources.

The CHPS sample units are designed as a flexible framework. This is just one example of how programming might look. Schools are encouraged to adapt them to suit their own context and student needs.

Each unit uses the same template, giving a consistent look and feel across all four key learning areas. On page one, you’ll see the identified syllabus, stage, unit number, and focus areas.

Every unit begins with a clear description that outlines the duration of the lesson, the focus of learning, and how students will build knowledge and skills. Related learning is highlighted to demonstrate possible connections to relevant prior learning.

Syllabus outcomes are clearly identified, ensuring every lesson is grounded in syllabus content.

Each unit also includes a resources overview, and lessons are structured as two 60-minute sessions per week, aligning with NESA’s suggested time allocation for CHPS’s key learning areas.

This design streamlines planning, keeps expectations clear, and ensures a consistent experience for teachers and students.

The resources overview makes preparation simple. Everything is listed in one place, from videos and audio tracks to physical materials like hoops, percussion instruments, or action cards. This not only supports smooth planning but also helps schools plan for and manage resourcing across each term.

Each lesson in the CHPS sample units follows the same structure, ensuring consistency across all four key learning areas.

We begin with an overview that provides a short description of the learning and identifies the prior learning the lesson builds on. This prior learning isn’t necessarily a content point but is aligned to the syllabus content.

The overview also lists the key vocabulary to be taught and highlights any preparation required.

Each lesson is 60 minutes in duration. The beginning of each lesson is usually 10 minutes in duration.

You will notice explicit teaching strategies embedded in the units. The learning intention and success criteria are so the students know exactly what they’re working towards and how they know when they’ve achieved it. Making this visible is part of explicit teaching. It removes the guesswork and gives learning a clear purpose. This also includes activating prior knowledge. Here, the focus is on students retrieving what they already know, not on reteaching content.

This approach hooks into their existing schema to prepare them for new learning in the core lesson.

Right from the start, explicit teaching is modelled, being clear about the destination and deliberately connecting the learning to what students bring with them.

The core lesson is planned for around 40 minutes. You will notice more explicit teaching strategies embedded here.

Teachers begin by explaining and modelling the new knowledge or skill. Then students move into guided practice before working more independently. This is the gradual release of responsibility in action.

The activities are tightly aligned to the learning intention. They are sequenced from simple to complex. Scaffolds are gradually removed, and extension opportunities are built in, so every student is challenged at the right level.

Throughout the core lesson teachers use ‘check for understanding,’ such as questioning, response systems, or observations, to monitor learning progress.

These checks for understanding drive timely feedback, helping teachers adjust pace, identify areas that require reteaching, and are connected to the success criteria.

While explicit teaching strategies are central, they are balanced with a variety of other high-quality practices of collaborative learning, use of real-world context, inclusion of diverse backgrounds and abilities, and multimodal resources.

Each lesson includes a differentiation table to help teachers plan for the full range of learners in their classrooms. It provides practical examples of additional scaffolds for students who need more support, as well as extension strategies for those ready to be challenged.

All adjustments are anchored to the same learning intention and success criteria. This means students may take different pathways, but everybody is working towards the same goal.

The table helps teachers anticipate need in advance, promotes inclusive practice, and ensures high expectations are maintained for every student.

Assessment is also embedded in every lesson, always tied directly to the learning intention, success criteria, and syllabus outcome.

The ‘What to look for’ section gives teachers clear guidance on the observable evidence that shows whether the students are meeting the learning intention.

For example, in this lesson, teachers are looking at whether students can refine and apply skills and strategies to participate effectively in territory games and demonstrate respectful and effective communication to promote leadership, inclusion, and collaboration.

By aligning assessment with the success criteria, we take the guesswork out of checking progress. Teachers know exactly what evidence to gather, and students understand what success looks like. Importantly, this doesn’t add extra workload. Assessment is built into the flow of the lesson and doubles as a check for understanding to guide next steps.

The conclusion of each lesson is approximately 10 minutes and provides an intentional wrap-up of the learning.

This phase is about revisiting the learning intention and success criteria, so students are reminded of the purpose of the lesson and what they have achieved.

It allows them to reflect on how the activities connected to the learning and to make sense of the knowledge and skills they’ve developed.

There is no new content introduced here, and no formal check for understanding. It’s simply about clarifying, reinforcing, and closing the loop so students leave the lesson with a clear picture of their progress.

Each lesson contains optional assessments. They are designed to be a flexible, optional resource available for use when and where they are needed and are a tool to support your teaching.

Benefits of these assessments is that they can help you identify the gaps in students’ learning and misconceptions that can occur during a lesson.

This is valuable, ensuring that all students grasp essential concepts before new learning is introduced.

They guide teaching decisions. By using these assessments, teachers can gain real-time insights into students’ understanding and use that information to adjust instruction, provide targeted support, or extend learning.

The optional assessment serves as a practical way to check comprehension at the lesson level and plan for the next steps in teaching.

Optional assessments offer a range of approaches from informal methods like planned observations and targeted questioning to identifying misconceptions to more formal tasks, such as evaluating student work samples using predetermined criteria.

NESA’s diagram provides an overview of the organisation of content for creating written text, which is included in all CHPS syllabuses.

In Early Stage 1 and Stage 1, the focus in PDHPE and Creative Arts is on developing students’ subject-specific vocabulary to support communicating.

In HSIE and Science and Technology, there are individual content groups.

In Stage 2 for PDHPE, and Creative Arts opportunities are embedded within the content for students to create written text.

In HSIE and Science and Technology, there is an individual content group.

In Stage 3, there is a dedicated creating written text outcome for all CHPS key learning areas with subject-specific content.

NESA highlights that various methods of transcription may be employed, and a student’s preferred communication form should be considered when teaching writing.

NESA states, ‘Creating written text is a way of organising thoughts, explaining thinking, and making connections within and across learning areas. The learning areas provide meaningful content for writing beyond the subject of English.’

Please take a moment to review the PDHPE example on the screen.

[Text on screen:

PH3-CWT-01 creating written texts supports understanding of health, safety and wellbeing.
PH3-IHW-01 changes and factors can promote a positive identity.

Activity – Create a mind map to determine who or what was an influence on their personal wellbeing and how it impacted them. Reflect on individual mind map. Use a combination of simple, compound and complex sentences to record reflections.]

This example demonstrates how creating written text is effectively integrated into the PDHPE curriculum to enhance students’ understanding of health, safety, and well-being.

By engaging in the activity of creating a mind map, students reflect on influences affecting their personal well-being, promoting self-awareness and positive identity development.

This task encourages the use of varied sentence structures, supporting literacy skills alongside personal development.

This integrated approach helps students articulate their thoughts clearly while connecting literacy with key health concepts.

It exemplifies how writing activities can deepen learning across key learning areas by combining content knowledge with essential communication skills.

With students at the centre of all decisions, planning started with the NESA syllabus and teaching advice, ensuring fidelity to the syllabus rationale, intent, and extensive evidence base to shape decisions.

Teachers with deep content knowledge can explain concepts clearly, learning effectively, differentiate with purpose, and respond confidently to key teaching moments.

The sample units build this expertise by highlighting misconceptions, identifying essential vocabulary, practical tools, and expert advice.

Engagement is a non-negotiable. The design is for students to be ‘in task’ more than just ‘on task,’ thinking deeply, doing the work, and feeling positive about their learning.

The pedagogy and practices within the sample units are anchored in the ‘Explicit teaching in New South Wales public schools’ statement and research-informed practices tailored to each key learning area.

The sample units have been a collaborative build and in consultation with stakeholders to ensure understanding and inclusive approaches. These partnerships ensure that the sample units are comprehensive, culturally responsive, and aligned with best practices to support diverse student needs and enhance learning outcomes.

This slide outlines the 13-week roadmap for every CHPS unit with quality assurance built in at every stage.

It begins at the design stage, where subject matter specialists map syllabus expectations from the sample scope and sequence.

Next is the consult stage, where we test the draft with key stakeholder groups, including Aboriginal Education, Respectful Relationships, Effective Teaching Practices, and others, to ensure intent and inclusivity.

In the develop stage, writing pods build the full sequence, embedding explicit teaching, high-quality resources, and assessment in every lesson.

In the review stage, Key Learning Advisers provide detailed feedback, followed by Coordinator and Leader endorsement, and close the consultation loop on the final lessons.

Finally, in the digital stage, editorial and website checks are completed, and units are published.

Through this process, Primary Curriculum will deliver 114 units, over 2,200 lessons ready to support mandatory CHPS implementation in 2027.

Now you have viewed the features of the sample units for CHPS, I will ask you in a moment to pause the video and discuss the questions you see on the slide. Pause the video now.

[Text on screen:

1. What similarities to the way you plan now can you see in the sample units?
2. What differences to the way you plan now can you see in the sample units?]

Thank you for your engagement. I hope you feel reassured that the way you are currently programming aligns with the sample units and that some of the differences you identify will further support student learning.

Kate Slack-Smith

Let’s begin with Stage 1 Human Society and Its Environment Unit 1. In Unit 1, students explore continents, oceans, and Australia on physical and political maps, and consider reasons people are connected to places worldwide. Students distinguish between Aboriginal Country and Torres Strait Islander places using language maps, and describe the diversity of Australian places and communities.

Unit 1 covers the focus area, people are connected to places and groups. The two outcomes covered are on the screen. The first is the Stage 1, Aboriginal Cultures and History outcome, and the second is the Stage 1, Geography outcome. I’ll give you some time to read these two outcomes.

[Text on screen:

Focus area: People are connected to places and groups.

HS1-ACH-01 describes interactions between Aboriginal Peoples and Country
HS1-GEO-01 describes ways people connect to and care for places, water environments and each other, using geographical information.]

There are two content groups in this unit, Aboriginal Peoples have a responsibility to Country, and people show their connection to places using geographical information.

I’ll give you a moment to read through the content points from the unit displayed on the screen.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: Aboriginal Peoples have a responsibility to Country

• Identify how Aboriginal Country is represented in a range of contexts.

Content group: People show their connection to places using geographical information

• Locate the 7 continents and 5 oceans of the world
• Locate Australia in relation to hemispheres, oceans, continents and neighbouring countries using physical maps, political maps and globes
• Describe the features of Australian urban, rural and remote places and communities by comparing images
• Locate Australian states, territories and capital cities using political maps
• Describe reasons people are connected to places across the world by collecting and organising data in lists, tables or picture graphs
• Distinguish Aboriginal Country from Torres Strait Islander places using language maps.]

Thank you.

We will now have a look at the Aboriginal Cultures and History content.

All HSIE units, which cover Aboriginal Cultures and History content, are written in consultation with the Department of Education Aboriginal Education Advisers.

When planning and programming content relating to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, teachers are encouraged to involve local Aboriginal communities and/or appropriate knowledge holders in determining suitable resources.

Use Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander author or endorsed publications, read the principles and protocols relating to teaching and learning about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures and the involvement of local Aboriginal communities.

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies ‘Guide to evaluating and selecting educational resources’ has been developed to assist teachers in selecting appropriate resources for teaching about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and languages respectfully and effectively.

Throughout this unit, students are provided with opportunities to learn and apply geographical skills, while building their knowledge understanding. In Unit 1, students develop mapping skills to learn to locate the seven continents, five oceans, the hemispheres, and Australia on a globe and a variety of maps. Identify Australian states, territories and capital cities on a political map and locate local Aboriginal Country and Torres Strait Islander places using language maps. Explore and compare urban, rural and remote environments.

This builds on early Stage 1 content where students learned about inland and coastal environments as well as natural and human features and collect and record data in a table.

An interesting element of this unit is including the idea of being a geographer to students.

Throughout the unit, the tools of geographers, such as maps and globes, are introduced with their purposes explained and opportunities to practice being geographers with these tools. The skills geographers use, such as locating, describing, organising and identifying are scaffolding, using hands-on learning experiences to allow students time to develop these skills in age-appropriate ways.

In multiple lessons, students locate the 7 continents and 5 oceans of the world and locate Australia, identifying where it is in the world and in relation to hemispheres, using tools such as physical and political maps and globes.

Over a series of lessons, students use political maps to locate Australian states and territories and capital cities. Describing the features of Australian urban, rural, and remote places and communities is supported through images, watching video clips, and using Google Earth to explore. The lessons also use Venn diagrams to organise information.

Students are learning content, which has not previously been taught in Stage 1. When writing this unit, resources have been included, which will support teachers and students and include games that can be played again, songs to revise concepts, and anchor charts to organise ideas. Unit 1 introduces and uses a class KWL, Know, Wonder and Learn chart to engage the students. The chart is used and added to throughout the unit to activate prior learning, during core lesson activities and to summarise learning.

This unit also allows students to learn about Australia’s place in the world using a variety of maps. After using a world map to locate Australia in relation to all the continents, students move to explore Australia in more detail using political maps. Political maps are used to identify Australia’s states and territories. Language maps are used in the unit to learn about Aboriginal Country and Torres Strait Islander places. Students will also use maps to locate their school in relation to Australia and the rest of the world, enhancing their geographical understanding.

Describe reasons people are connected to places across the world by collecting and organising data in lists, tables or picture graphs is a content point of this lesson.

This lesson sequence invites students to explore and describe the reasons people are connected to places around the world, by examining personal, family and cultural ties.

Through this activity, students read cards provided about grandparents and organise data into a table, as seen on screen.

Additionally, students make meaningful connections to another country, broadening their understanding of how people relate to different places. Students are then able to connect the data to the previous lesson’s knowledge about the continents and record information on a world map.

This lesson requires students to explore and identify the similarities and differences between urban, rural and remote environments. Students listen carefully to clues to determine if a place is urban, rural, or remote, and then select one environment to describe in detail.

Our second spotlight unit is the Stage 1 Unit 5.

Unit 5, students explore how communication has changed over time, beginning with communication used in the present and then investigating and sequencing changes in written communication, the telephone, postal services, and the impact of technology.

Students describe how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples communicated using stories, images, objects, or sites as evidence. Students compare changes in communication in Australia and the world, and use Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary to draw conclusions about these changes.

Unit 5 addresses the focus area people learn about the past by engaging with stories, images, objects and sites. The two outcomes covered are on the screen. The first is the Stage 1, Aboriginal Cultures and History outcome, and the second is the Stage 1, History outcome.

I’ll let you read these two outcomes.

[Text on screen:

Focus Area: People learn about the past by engaging with stories, images, objects and sites.

HS1-ACH-01describes interactions between Aboriginal Peoples and Country
HS1-HIS-01 describes the ancient past and changes in communication over time, using stories, images, objects and sites as evidence.]

There are two content groups covered, the first is the way people communicate has changed over time. I’ll give you a moment to read through the content points on your screen.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: The way people communicate has changed over time.

• Examine ways people communicated with each other in the past
• Identify ways people communicate with each other in the present
• Describe ways communication has changed over time by comparing stories, images, objects and sites as evidence
• Describe ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have communicated over time by comparing stories, images, objects or sites as evidence
• Sequence significant changes in communications that connected Australia to the world
• Draw conclusions about why communications have changed over time using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary.]

The second content point covered in the unit is sequencing ideas in written text supports understanding of the past. I’ll pause for a moment for you to read through the 4 content points on your screen.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: Sequencing ideas in written texts supports understanding of the past.

• Use past and present tense to describe change over time
• Use time connectives to sequence information and events
• Create compound sentences using coordinating conjunctions to compare, describe or give an opinion on the past
• Group simple and compound sentences into paragraphs to recount a sequence of events or a story from the past.]

Let’s now have a look at the skills developed in this unit.

Throughout this unit, students are provided with an opportunity to learn and apply historical skills, whilst building their knowledge and understanding. In Unit 5, students identify ways people communicate with each other in the past and present using images and stories as evidence. Examine storytelling as an ancient and enduring form of communication. Examine evidence to acquire information about the past. Describe ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have communicated over time using images, stories, and sites as evidence.

Sequence changes in communication over time, including phones, written and postal communication. Compare past and present writing implements. Draw conclusions about the changes from the past to the present, for example, messages on horseback, horseback coaches, international mail service via ship, air mail, and drawing conclusions using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary about why communication methods have changed over time, and the impact of these changes. Students construct a written text which describes or explains how communication has changed over time.

The NESA teaching advice calls out that Venn diagrams, charts, timelines and tables provide a scaffold for organising and comparing ideas. Through presenting information in this way, students can be supported to see that communication is a constant while the mode and media may have changed. Throughout this unit, students are provided with engaging activities, some of which are displayed on the screen. For example, Resource 8c a Venn diagram, Resource 13b a chart and Resource 11 a table, to investigate changes in communication over time.

An additional activity is a class timeline that is updated with different forms of communication as they are introduced. Students sequence these items, creating a visual timeline to support their learning.

In Unit 5, students will use a variety of artefacts and sources as evidence to explore how communication has changed over time. The unit begins with present communication methods, and following a guest speaker, who shares changes they’ve witnessed in their lifetime, moves to looking at the recent and ancient past. The images on screen are from a lesson where students examine ancient communication forms, including the clay tablet, papyrus, and quill. They use images, stories, video clips, and Venn diagrams to compare evidence and describe changes in written communication over time. These images are sequenced on a class timetable and compare to written communication methods today.

In addition to exploring how communication has changed over time, globally, the unit also guides students to examine enduring forms of Aboriginal communication as a powerful way of sharing knowledge across generations.

Students examine evidence of storytelling as a continuous form of oral communication and evidence that stories and knowledge were shared through pictures created on Country.

One lesson in the unit explores rock art, focusing on hand prints as an early form of communication that often indicated who was present. Students then make a meaningful connection by creating their own hand prints to represent the number of people present in the class.

As a final activity, students explore the significant changes in communication technologies that have connected Australia to the world, focusing on examples, such as computers, satellites, and internet technology. They sequence them and add them to the class timeline.

Using a range of evidence, students discuss how communication via the internet has affected people’s lives and draw conclusions about why communication has changed. Throughout the lesson, they apply Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary to articulate their understanding of these technology and the impact on people’s lives.

Now, there is an opportunity for you to pause the recording to reflect on what you have seen, make some notes, and start to think about what this could look like in your school context.

In your participant workbook, you’ll find the reflection section and a heading for each key learning area. Capture your initial thoughts and think about how this could take shape in the unique context of your school.

David Opie

We would now like to introduce Science and Technology Unit 1. This unit marks the beginning of student Science and Technology learning in Stage 1.

They investigate the life cycles of plants and animals, exploring how living things grow and change. Students also learn how both scientists and Aboriginal peoples have observed, recorded, and passed on knowledge about these changes over time.

As part of their inquiry, students collect and group data from a local habitat and use digital tools to record their observations. They also create simple sequential algorithms to control digital devices. Finally, students examine how scientists use evidence from the past to investigate plants and animals that are now extinct, building their understanding of how the natural world has changed over time.

The Science focus area for Stage 1 is investigations of change, provide knowledge and understanding. The Stage 1 Technology’s focus area is design and digital solutions are created through knowledge and understanding. Keep the wording of each focus area front of mind as we unpack the content of the Stage 1 sample units.

Here are the outcomes for this unit. As it is still early in the student Stage 1 learning journey, students may only demonstrate achievement of relevant parts of an outcome. Just a reminder here that, in Science and Technology, there is no requirement for an equal allocation of time between science and technology. I’ll give you a moment to read through the outcomes covered in this unit, which appear on the screen.

[Text on screen:

Focus area: Investigations of change provide knowledge and understanding.

ST1-SCI-01 measures and describes changes in living things, materials, movement, Earth and the sky.
ST1-PQU-01 poses questions based on observations and information to investigate cause and effect.
ST1-DAT-01 interprets data to support explanations and arguments.

Focus area: Design and digital solutions are created through knowledge and understanding.

ST1-DDT-01 creates, evaluates and modifies algorithms to code or control digital devices and systems.]

Within this Science focus area sits the content group Living things change over time. On the screen, you can see the science content covered in the unit.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: Living things change over time.

• Describe the changes in a plant as it grows using data and scientific models
• Recognise that data can be collected through observation, testing and research, and that it can be represented as descriptions, diagrams, graphs, images and tables
• Describe how Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples use Knowledges of the life cycles of livings things
• Use nouns, noun groups and verbs to create notes, annotations and labels to document observations
• Describe the changes in an animal as it goes through its life cycle using data and scientific models
• Examine the evidence for extinct animals
• Collects, represents and uses data to identify patterns and relationships
• Collect data about the variety of living things in a local habitat, group them and justify the groupings.]

As the data content point is multifaceted, we have underlined the aspects covered in this unit. Pause the recording to read the content covered in the unit.

On the screen, you can see the content that sits under the digital focus area, design and digital solutions are created through knowledge and understanding. Pause the recording to read through the content points covered in this unit.

[Text on screen:

Content group: Digital systems use inputs and algorithms to produce an output.

• Identify digital systems that can be used to collect personal data and how to protect personal information
• Use the basic features of common digital tools to capture, save and retrieve data to communicate and collaborate following agreed rules
• Create a sequential algorithm that controls a digital device.]

New to the 2024 Science and Technology syllabus, for each stage are posing questions outcomes. Right from the beginning of Early Stage 1, students are developing their questioning, observation and data analysis skills in a sequential way. This learning supports the introduction of working scientifically outcomes in Stage 4. To supplement the syllabus teaching advice, the department has created an information document for posing questions.

In Stage 1, learning is scaffolded to build student skills in posing questions to investigate cause and effect.

In Stage 1, Unit 1, students are learning to pose questions based on observations. The skill of posing questions to investigate cause and effect will continue to be developed in future Stage 1 units.

The first activity we would like to highlight from the unit is plant growing. This activity is introduced in lesson one and the observation activities are included at the beginning of lessons 4 to 8. These plant growing activities align closely with the teaching advice, students observe their plant kits and document the changes they see by either capturing images using a digital device or creating labelled sketches. The next few slides will provide a closer look at the activities within the unit.

This activity is at the beginning of the first extinct animals lessons. Students are asked to decide which animal does not belong to a group made by the other animals. It is explained that there may be more than one answer or more than one reason, which one doesn’t belong is a flexible thinking routine. Students may make a case for why any one item is excluded by characteristic pose by the other items. Students may focus on observable characteristics or have relevant background knowledge. It is a great tool because the focus is not on the answer, but on the student being able to communicate their reasoning and justification.

Now would be a good time to pause the recording, select an image that doesn’t belong and discuss with your team the reason for your choice.

In this unit, students learn to describe the observable changes in the life cycle of the kangaroo. They learn about how Aboriginal peoples use knowledge of their life cycles of various plants and animals. The lesson revisits that Aboriginal peoples, Australia’s first scientists, have a deep understanding of animal life cycles.

This knowledge helps them know when the seasonal foods are ready, when animals are breeding, and when to carry out important land and sea management activities.

Students explore the Awabakal interactive seasonal calendar to explore how knowledge of animals and plant life cycles are used by Aboriginal peoples. They will notice the connection between animal and plant life cycles, such as when the watalong start to bloom late in the cooler months. This signifies that the tureya will start to bite more.

Teachers are encouraged to use seasonal calendars from the Country that their school is located on, if available, to provide local contextualised content.

As with many areas of science education, part of the teacher’s role is to understand and to address student misconceptions using evidence-based approaches. Being aware of common misconceptions is the first step in addressing them.

The sample unit includes note boxes to alert teachers to possible student misconceptions. This sample unit seeks to address student misconceptions, including that observations are only things that can be seen, associating life with movement, for example, clouds or cars, and energy with sun, fire and lightning. That plants only refer to things in pots, excluding trees and grass, and that humans, birds, fish, insects, worms and other invertebrates are not animals.

We will now explore Unit 5.

In this unit, students explore how sound is produced and transmitted through various materials and recognise the role of vibration in creating sound. Students will apply selected steps of a design process to create items that demonstrate how material properties affect sound production and transmission.

There are strong content connections to Creative Arts, particularly the focus area of Music.

This unit focuses on the content group, light and sound interact with materials in different ways. In this unit, as per the sample scope and sequence, only sound has been scoped.

Now is a good opportunity to pause the recording, read the unit overview points on screen, and identify which one aligns closest to the image of the cup telephone activity from the unit.

This activity aligns closest with the first point, that sound can travel through air, water and some solids and is affected by these materials. In the activity, the string is the solid that the sound is travelling through.

As I mentioned before, the science focus area for Stage 1 is investigations of change provide knowledge and understanding. On the screen are the outcomes for the unit. Pause the recording to read through these.

[Text on screen:

Focus area: Investigations of change provide knowledge and understanding.

ST1-SCI-01 measures and describes changes in living things, materials, movement, Earth and the sky.
ST1-PQU-01 poses questions based on observations and information to investigate cause and effect.
ST1-DAT-01 interprets data to support explanations and arguments.

Focus area: Design and digital solutions are created through knowledge and understanding.

ST1-DDT-01 uses technologies and materials to design and make products to address user needs or opportunities.]

The content group is light and sound interact with materials in different ways. However, as I explained earlier, only sound is scoped for this unit. Pause the recording to read through the content points covered in this unit, which appear on the screen.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: Light and sound interact with materials in different ways.

• Recognise that light and sound can travel through air, water and some solids and are affected by those materials
• Recognise that sound is created and carried by vibrations
• Observe how Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples use a range of materials and cations to create sound for specific purposes
• Test how different materials and actions affect the volume and pitch of sound.]

Shifting our focus now to the Stage 1 Technologies focus area, design and digital solutions are created through knowledge and understanding. Pause the recording to read through the content point covered in this unit, which appear on the screen.

[Text on screen:

Content group: A design process is used to define user needs and create solutions.

• Apply one or more steps of a design process to make a product
• Describe the ways in which Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples design using natural materials for specific purposes
• Content group: Digital systems use inputs and algorithms to produce an output
• Identify digital systems that can be used to collect personal data and how to protect personal information
• Use the basic features of common digital tools to capture, save and retrieve data to communicate and collaborate following agreed rules.]

The first activity we would like to highlight from this unit is the sound audit. This activity involves students observing a range of sounds in the classroom and school grounds, using the senses of hearing and touch, while collecting data that describes the different sounds. Students will begin the sound audit by drawing themselves in the centre of the page. As they listen to the sounds around them, they illustrate each sound as an image. The size of each image represents the volume of the sound. Louder sounds are drawn larger and softer sounds are drawn smaller. The position of each image on the page reflects the direction the sound came from.

In lesson 10 and 11, students design and make an instrument for a specific purpose. In lesson 10, students are introduced to the design process on the screen. This design process comes from the teaching advice and you will see the process embedded into most sample units from Stage 1 to Stage 3.

Students begin to design their instrument by generating ideas and they capture their ideas in a digital format to support making the instrument in the following lesson. In lesson 11, students use their design plans to build their instrument. Throughout the process, they document key steps using a digital device. For example, photographing when they have gathered all the materials, when placing the shaker materials inside the container, and when attaching the lid. Images captured are used to support the optional assessment in the lesson.

In this activity, students use the sounds of the orchestra to identify and categorise blowing, plucking, striking and shaking instruments. They match instruments to the action that makes the sound. Pause the recording to give you a minute to categorise the actions that produce the sound for the eight instruments on the screen.

[Graphics on screen:

tambourine, cymbals, recorder, triangle, maracas, xylophone, guitar and drum.]

The correct categories are for striking, the drum, cymbals, triangle, and xylophone. For the blowing is the recorder, the shaking is the maracas and tambourine, and for plucking, the guitar.

In Unit 5, we highlight some common student misconceptions about sound, and it’s really important to spot these and address them using strategies backed by research and evidence.

For example, one misconception is that sound can’t travel through solid materials. This unit includes lots of hands-on activities that lets students see for themselves how sound actually does move solids. Other common misconceptions include some students think that volume and pitch are the same thing.

In lesson 8, this is tackled by modelling a think aloud to help students hear and understand how pitch changes differently from volume. Another misconception is the idea that nothing passes between the sound source and our ears.

In lesson 2, students investigate how sound travels through air and find out that different materials can block or muffle it.

Addressing common misconception is essential for building accurate scientific understanding, ensuring that students develop a strong conceptual foundation and are better equipped to engage with more complex ideas in the future stages of learning.

Take a moment now to consider what you’ve observed, record any thoughts, and begin to imagine how this might be applied within your own school setting.

Return to your participant workbook reflection section and add some notes.

Sarah Young

Each Creative Arts unit provides students with opportunities to engage in syllabus content in meaningful and connected ways. Students are supported to meet the aim of the syllabus by developing curiosity, creativity, imagination, self-expression, and collaboration as they develop knowledge, understanding, and skills in Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts.

Each semester, students will learn about two focus areas. In semester 1, the sample scope and sequence identifies Dance and Music, while in semester 2, attention shifts to Drama and Visual Arts. Focus areas are repeated across two terms to support students in making connections and building schema by activating prior learning.

This approach provides students with greater opportunities to consolidate learning and supports assessment and reporting practices on two focus areas each semester.

Across these areas, students apply knowledge, understanding, and skills. The content groups in Creative Arts are not isolated or linear, and should not be taught in a sequential way. What is learned in one content group connects to the others and supports students to understand, interpret, critique, and apply their learning in meaningful ways.

In Dance, the interrelated practices are composing, performing and appreciating. Students are not just learning dance steps, they are creating, expressing, analysing, interpreting, appreciating, reflecting, and applying their learning.

In Music, the interrelated practices are performing, listening and composing. Students experience music as performers and as creators, while also developing their ability to reflect and respond through listening to a range of music from cultures all around the world.

This structure allows students to experience the Creative Arts holistically. It provides multiple entry points for expression while building students’ confidence and deepening their understanding across all four focus areas.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the key features of the Creative Arts sample units.

Equal time allocation, each unit contains 10 Dance lessons and 10 Music lessons. Of these, four lessons are optional consolidation lessons, allowing for interruptions to regular timetables and supporting teachers to extend learning where needed.

The units make clear connections across the focus areas. Students aren’t learning in silos. In semester 1, they’re seeing how movement and sound work together to communicate meaning.

The Dance and Music components connect, but they do not rely on each other. If a school chooses to teach only the music component or only the dance component, the lessons still maintain a consistent flow and meet the syllabus requirements and intent.

The units are designed with context in mind whether they’re delivered by a classroom teacher, timetabled as RFF, or taught by specialist teacher. The design allows schools to adapt, while still staying true to the syllabus.

Resources, each unit contains direct links to songs and videos that will support learning. With opportunities for teachers to adapt and select alternatives if preferred. Lesson templates and posters are provided. The units are intentionally designed to support all school context.

If percussion instruments aren’t available, an alternative is provided so students could use body percussion, digital applications, or their voice to achieve the same learning.

The outcomes for Units 1 and 5 are on the screen. I’ll give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

Focus areas: Dance and Music.

CA1-DAN-01 composes and performs dance using shapes and movements to communicate ideas, and describes ways that dance conveys ideas.
CA1-MUS-01 performs, uses listening skills and composes to communicate ideas through sound, and describes ways musical ideas are conveyed.]

On the screen, you can see how content is organised through the interrelated practices.

I will give you a moment to review these.

[Text on screen:

Dance.

• Composing: Dance is composed to communicate ideas through shapes and movements.
• Performing: Dance is performed to communicate ideas through shapes and movements.
• Appreciating: Ideas are conveyed in various ways in dance.

Music.

• Performing: Music is performed to communicate musical ideas through sound.
• Composing: Musical ideas are conveyed through sound
• Listening: Music is composed to communicate musical ideas through sound.]

Our first sample unit is Unit 1.

This unit enables students to explore creative expression and storytelling through both Dance and Music.

In Dance, the focus is on traditional African dancers. Students explore the elements of space and time, improvising movements inspired by living things and developing confidence in expressing ideas through their bodies.

In Music, the focus is on creating soundscapes and performances inspired by African songs and animals. Students experiment with duration, pitch, timbre and structure, giving them a toolkit to compose and perform their own musical ideas.

These experiences encourage students to connect movement and sound in creative ways and to develop a deeper appreciation of diverse cultures through authentic artistic context.

Looking at Dance, students start with locomotor and non-locomotor movements inspired by performance from the Birmingham Royal Ballet to ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Cafe. They explore space by making animal-inspired body shapes, then move into pathways level and direction representing the lifecycle of a butterfly.

As the unit progresses, students experience South African gumboot dancing and finish with high energy composition tasks where they create their own short movement sequences.

In Music, students explore beat and rhythm by moving, clapping and passing objects in time to music. These playful activities help them feel the pulse of music and work together as a group.

They experiment with a range of sound sources, including voices, body percussion, environmental sounds, classroom instruments or digital tools to explore different ways to express themselves through sound.

Students also listen to and retell a South African story called ‘Abiyoyo’ using music and sound effects to bring it to life, they compose and perform their own short stories that combine sound, imagination, music and teamwork. The unit highlights real world cultural connections and creative learning. The ready-made resources, flashcards, anchor charts and checklists make it easy for teachers to bring music to life, even without a musical background.

In lesson 4 Music, students explore beat, tempo and rhythm through the traditional Ghanaian song ‘Obwisana.’ The lesson begins with students moving to a steady beat. They practice keeping the beat together, first with clapping, then with stomping or marching. Students are introduced to ‘Obwisana’ by listening and echo singing line by line until they can perform the full song.

Students then play a stone passing game where each student passes a stone to the person beside them on the beat. This activity helps students feel the beat and notice how the speed of the beat, the tempo, affects the energy of the music. It also helps to reinforce the importance of everyone keeping in time with the beat and working together.

The lesson then moves into exploring rhythm. Students create body percussion patterns and then layer these over the steady beat of the song to develop the understanding that the beat stays the same, but rhythms can change. The lesson ends with students sharing what they noticed about beat, rhythm and tempo.

Our next sample unit is Unit 5.

Unit 5 gives students the opportunity to explore creative storytelling through Dance and Music related to cultural context. In Dance, students investigate Bollywood to explore how movement, shape and expression are used to communicate stories. They experience that dance is both a cultural art form and a way to share meaning without words.

In Music, students listen to a variety of music, including songs inspired by Japanese and Norwegian folktales to explore how composers and musicians use the elements of music to communicate ideas and meaning. They use the elements of music to compose and perform music that tells a story. Together, these experiences enable students to connect movement and sound as forms of storytelling, while also engaging with diverse cultural traditions.

Looking at music, students learn that sound can tell a story. They listen to examples such as ‘Issun Boshi’ from Japan and ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ from Norway, exploring how cultural traditions influence musical choices. They experiment with vocal ostinatos, body percussion and instrumental sounds to reflect the characters and moods of different stories.

They also develop soundscapes to accompany picture books, learning how to select and organise sounds with intent. Through these activities, students see how music can create images, mood, and narratives, while also building their vocabulary to describe duration, pitch, timbre and structure.

In Dance, students explore Bollywood as a vibrant dance form that blends storytelling, emotion and culture. They discover how movement, gesture, and expression through ‘mudras’, so hand gestures, facial expression and dynamic group formation brings stories to life. As a part of the unit’s development, consultation occurred with members of the Hindi community through the department’s community engagement officer. This consultation helped shape this unit ensuring cultural authenticity, sensitivity, and respect.

Students learn and practice mudras, such as the lotus for beauty, the peacock for elegance, and namaste as a gesture of respect. They experiment with linking these gestures to movements using the elements of dance, space, time and dynamics to communicate ideas and emotions.

The unit cumulates in students composing and performing a Bollywood inspired group dance that celebrates creative expression and cultural storytelling through movement and music.

To wrap up, let’s finish with a quick Bollywood inspired movement. So on the slide, you’ll see three hand gestures used in Bollywood storytelling. Each is matched with an emoji, so the lotus, representing beauty or celebration, the peacock is representing elegance or nature, and then you have namaste, representing respect or greeting. I want you to pause the video and if you’re working with a group, pick one that best matches your mood or your energy and have a discussion. Do not overthink it, just go with your first instinct. Pause the video now.

[Graphic on screen:

Hand positions for Lotus – pinky fingers together and thumbs together with other fingers splayed out. Peacock – ring finger touching thumb. Namaste – palms together.]

This simple activity shows how students can connect movement and meaning even without dancing to bring stories to life.

We will now invite you to pause and reflect on what you have learned, take some notes, and begin considering how these ideas might translate into your own school environment. Return to your participant workbook in the reflection section for Creative Arts. Pause the video to give yourself some time to reflect or have a discussion if working with colleagues.

Thank you for your engagement.

We will now continue looking at the units from PDHPE.

Jessica Townsing

Thank you. We’ll now shift our focus to the key learning area of Personal Development, Health and Physical Education.

This slide answers frequently asked questions the PDHPE team receives regarding time allocation. PDH and PE lessons are designed to balance both subject areas equally, following NESA’s recommendation of about 8% of lesson time or roughly 2 hours per week.

Each unit is planned over a 10-week term with eight 60-minute PDH lessons and eight 60-minute PE lessons. This enables one PDH and one PE lesson weekly, keeping timings balanced. There are also 4 optional lessons for reviewing key concepts or skills. This time allocation is consistent across all PDH sample units.

The graphic on screen illustrates how schools can meet the departments’ sport and physical activity requirements. The red circle shows NESA’s syllabus and the blue circle represents the department’s procedures, highlighting the sources contributing to the 150 minutes of physical activity weekly. PE lessons directly contribute to the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity each week. PDH lessons only count towards this total when they include physical activity. School sport is a mandatory component of the weekly schedule and contributes to the 150 minutes of physical activity.

For students in year 3 to 6, schools are required to provide at least 60 minutes of sport each week. While there is no specific time requirement for sport in kindergarten to year two, these students still need opportunities to participate. Many schools offer weekly sport sessions to ensure younger students are active as well.

In Unit 1, students are developing the knowledge, skills and understanding to support both their health and their physical development. The personal development and health components focus on students learning how to be safe road users, how to respond to emergencies, and practice hygiene routines that support wellbeing. They also begin exploring personal identity by noticing the physical and social changes that shape who they are. In physical education, the focus is on balance, running and catching skills. Students practice these in structured games and activities, where they also apply principles of safety, enjoyment and fair play.

Another important thread in this unit is self-management. Students build skills to recognise their own emotions and understand how feelings, words, and body language connect. This sets the foundation for respectful relationships and effective communication.

These are the syllabus outcomes covered in Unit 1. I’ll give you a moment to review them.

[Text on screen:

PH1-MSP-01 demonstrate fundamental movement skills and fair play in physical activities.
PH1-RRS-01 describe and demonstrate actions that support respectful relationships and safety offline and online.
PH1-IHW-01 describe factors that contribute to identify health and wellbeing.
PH1-SMI-01 describe and demonstrate self-management and interpersonal skills in a range of contexts.]

All 4 PDH focus areas are covered in Unit 1.

In movement skill and physical activity, students are working on demonstrating fundamental movement skills and learning about fair play in physical activities.

In Respectful Relationships and Safety, students are encouraged to describe and demonstrate actions that keep themselves and others safe, both offline and online.

In identity, health and wellbeing, the focus is on recognising the factors that shape who we are and how choices can contribute to health and safety.

In self-management and interpersonal skills, students practice managing their emotions and build the skills needed to interact positively with others.

PDH lessons provide the foundation for developing class and school routines that help students engage safely, respectfully, and responsibly. PE lessons focus on developing movement competence, confidence, and positive attitudes to being active.

In Unit 1, the very first lesson focuses on hygiene, an important foundation for the start of the school year when students are settling back into routines. From there, the lesson gradually builds into broader personal and social skills. Students practice making responsible choices and explore what it means to be a good friend. This includes recognising and managing emotions and learning calm strategies, such as taking a deep breath, talking to a teacher, counting to five or walking away from a problem. They also engage in role play, working through, ‘What would you do if’ scenarios.

Students learn how to identify hazards when walking to and from school. A walking excursion provides a hands-on opportunity to explore the local environment where students observe and discuss potential risks, such as car parks, driveways, and busy traffic areas. Students revise what safe behaviour looks like as a passenger and then demonstrate it in small groups. They explain and act out safe behaviours in cars and buses.

If you have ever found it challenging to assess PE, the units are designed to make it easier for you. Where relevant, you will find a feature box that highlights the key skill component.

Here it is running and sprinting. As mentioned earlier in today’s presentation, the unit also offers support for differentiation, assessment guidance, and optional assessment tasks. These tools help you track student progress and skill mastery.

By focusing on essential actions using brief assessments and adjusting challenges, you can effectively gather clear evidence of learning and support every student’s improvement.

Now, I will introduce Unit 5, another unit that could be used in term one. In Unit 5, the focus is on supporting students to make positive and healthy choices in their everyday lives. Through the personal development and health lessons, students learn strategies for building and maintaining friendships, managing their emotions, and staying safe.

Nutrition is also a key focus with students learning about the benefits of healthy eating, including the role of bush foods in supporting wellbeing.

They explore how respectful relationships can change over time and how to respond thoughtfully to those changes. Road safety continues to be reinforced as an essential life skill.

In physical education, students further develop their balance, running, sprinting, and catching skills. These are applied in a range of games that encourage participation, enjoyment, safety, and inclusion. A strong emphasis is also placed on self-management. Students practice goal setting, using self-regulation strategies, and reflecting on how to respond constructively in different situations.

Unit 1 content is deliberately revisited in Unit 5. This repetition guided by NESA’s whole school plan and research on learning helps students deepen their understanding and apply what they’ve learned in new ways.

Along with reviewing earlier topics, Unit 5 also introduces new ideas, like how relationships change over time and how students’ actions can build respectful relationships.

Students explore how healthy eating and drinking benefit their wellbeing, making clear connections to their choices.

A focus on bush foods introduces their nutritional value and cultural significance, broadening students’ understanding of healthy eating.

As I mentioned, with content being deliberately repeated, skill development is also revisited from Unit 1 into Unit 5. I’ll give you a moment to review the skill development.

[Text on screen:

PDH content supports the development of class and school routines and expectations:

• road safety
• hygiene
• self-care
• respectful relationships
• nutrition
• self-management and interpersonal skills.

PE structure and content: fast starts

• spatial awareness, following rules and fundamental movement skills
• fundamental movement skills
• self-management and interpersonal skills, including goal setting.]

Unit 5 features the book, ‘The Toast Tree’ by Corina Martin, exploring bush foods and learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. Since bush foods are closely connected to Country and culture, teachers are encouraged to consult local elders or community groups to ensure learning is contextually relevant and respectful. The unit is designed as a starting point for conversations with local communities.

Games are built into the beginning, core, and concluding part of the sample units where relevant to the learning sequence. Students engage in a fast start warmup activity, which provides an opportunity to engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity, providing huff and puff with minimal rules within two minutes of a PE lesson, explore and practice movement skills, and reinforce an inclusive learning environment that supports positive interactions and ongoing collaboration.

This is one example of an energising PE lesson where students get to put both their static and dynamic balance to the test in the most fun and interactive way. The game ‘Stone, Bridge and Tree’ adapted from ‘Playing for Life’ is a fantastic way to boost balance, coordination and teamwork all at once. I’ve absolutely loved sharing this game with my students. It was always a highlight of their day.

Now is another opportunity to pause the recording and capture your initial thoughts and think about how this could take shape in the unique context of your school.

You could return to your participant workbook reflection section.

This session is designed to give you an overview of the content changes across the new CHPS syllabuses.

Also, to introduce the gap analysis tool, which supports schools in identifying differences in content, timing, and potential gaps in student knowledge.

By the end, you’ll see how this tool can guide future planning and discussion in your teams.

The CHPS syllabuses have been updated to better reflect current knowledge, skills, and priorities. These changes are designed to create a more streamlined, relevant, and future-focused curriculum.

By understanding and engaging with these updates, we can adapt and refine teaching programmes to reflect current priorities, plan strategically for resourcing across the school, engage in targeted professional learning to build teacher confidence, and provide consistent and equitable support for students, ensuring every learner can thrive.

To identify gaps students will have, when you implement the new syllabuses, you can compare the content with what students were expected to learn with the previous syllabus.

Think about your school curriculum, your stage, the scope and sequences, and class programmes.

Then, cross-check whether students have these understandings through assessments, class discussion, and observation of their learning.

To support you to identify new syllabus content, you have access to information in the New South Wales Department of Education intranet page through the Curriculum tab. On this screen, you can see the pathway to find the HSIE ‘What has changed’ overview.

[Text on screen:

Home > Teaching and Learning > Curriculum > HSIE K–12 > Leading HSIE K–6 > Human society and its environment K–6 Syllabus (2024) – information for school leaders].

The links to all the CHPS key learning areas overview can be found in your participant workbook.

In HSIE, Aboriginal Cultures and History outcomes and content are strengthened from Early Stage 1 to Stage 3.

This requires teachers to embed Aboriginal perspectives consistently and authentically, not just in isolated units. This will require consultation with local Aboriginal communities to ensure respectful, authentic learning.

Students will now begin exploring ancient cultures and histories earlier in their schooling, from Stage 1 and 2. This shift introduces historical inquiry skills at a younger age, allowing students to engage with the diversity of human experience and compare past and present societies in more meaningful ways.

There is an increased focus on students using maps and other geographical tools to build spatial awareness and interpret information. Teachers will need to strengthen their own knowledge and confidence with geographical skills, and schools may need to invest in updated resources such as atlases, digital mapping tools, and classroom globes.

Previously taught as separate syllabuses, History and Geography are now combined into one HSIE key learning area. This integration encourages teachers to plan more connected units that draw on both historical and geographical perspectives. Supporting students to see the links between people, place, and time. It also reduces duplication and provides more flexibility in program design.

In Science and Technology, human body content is a new focus across K–6, with students learning about key systems and structures such as the ears, eyes, digestive system, muscles, and skeleton.

This development provides a strong foundation for understanding how the body functions, promoting health awareness and scientific literacy from an early age.

Integrating this content across all year levels ensures students build progressively deeper knowledge and connect connections between body systems, health, and everyday experiences.

Electricity syllabus content requires additional practical investigation, demonstration, and hands-on learning. This may require additional resources to provide appropriate materials and equipment. Teacher guidance is essential to ensure students can explore concepts safely, engage with experiments, and develop a deep understanding of electrical circuits and energy transfer.

Working scientifically skills are now embedded across all year levels rather than treated as a separate component. Students consistently develop skills such as questioning, predicting, planning, conducting investigations, collecting and interpreting data, and evaluating results.

Embedding these skills throughout the curriculum ensures they are applied in context, strengthening students’ problem-solving, critical thinking, and scientific reasoning capabilities from K–6.

In Creative Arts, Dance and Music elements have been updated from the previous syllabus, providing students with more contemporary, engaging, and developmentally appropriate learning experiences.

These updates support skill progression, creativity, and expression, while ensuring alignment with current educational standards.

There is a strength and focus on historical and cultural arts practices from around the world, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions. This approach enables students to appreciate the diversity of artistic expression, understand cultural contexts, and develop respect for both local and global creative practices.

Through creating written text, there is now greater emphasis on vocabulary development, critical and creative writing. Students are encouraged to articulate ideas effectively, analyse artistic works critically, and engage in imaginative and reflective thinking, which strengthens both literacy and cognitive skills in meaningful arts contexts.

Digital technologies and digital safety are explicitly referenced in the essential content, ensuring students understand how to use digital tools responsibly, ethically, and safely within arts learning. This inclusion reflects the growing role of technology in creative practice and prepares students to confidently navigate digital spaces.

In PDHPE, financial well-being is now an explicit focus from Stage 1 to Stage 3. Students are supported to develop foundational skills in managing money, such as understanding needs versus wants, making responsible spending and saving choices, and recognising the value of financial planning. Integrating financial literacy from an early age equips students with practical life skills, helping them to make informed decisions and build long-term economic resilience.

Media literacy is explicitly embedded from Stage 1 to Stage 3, recognising the increasingly complex media environment students navigate. Students learn to critically analyse and interpret information, identify bias or misinformation, and respond thoughtfully to media messages across multiple platforms. Early and consistent teaching of media literacy supports informed citizenship and encourages safe, responsible engagement with digital media.

Physical education now places a stronger emphasis on small-sided games, which promote higher levels of participation, teamwork, spatial awareness, and decision-making compared with traditional, large group formats. Implementing small-sided games requires new teaching approaches, modified resources, and adaptable game structures to ensure all students are actively engaged and developing their skills. This approach also supports differentiation, allowing students of varying abilities to participate meaningfully.

PE for K–2 now includes the explicit teaching of all fundamental movement skills, with the goal that students achieve proficiency by the end of Stage 1. This ensures that students have a strong foundation in core movement patterns like running, jumping, catching, throwing, balancing, and dodging. Achieving this goal may require targeted professional learning for teachers, additional resources, and structured practice opportunities to provide consistent and effective skill development for all students.

The gap analysis tool helps you identify differences in content and timing between old and new syllabuses.

To use it, identify new content by comparing the updated syllabus with the previous one, review prior stage learning to spot what students may have missed, note possible gaps and to assess them, and plan actions to address these gaps through teaching.

After completing the analysis, regularly review and update it during and after instruction to support student progress.

Now, let’s look at a Stage 2 example you can apply to other stages relevant to your work.

The image on the screen shows all content covered in Stage 2, Unit 5 for each of the CHPS syllabuses. A copy of content for Unit 1 and Unit 5 has been included in the participant workbook. Considering PDHPE as the example, highlighted is one area of new content.

This can now be reviewed using the gap analysis tool.

Think of this example from the perspective of a Stage 2 classroom teacher planning to implement the PDHPE syllabus. The new content comes from the focus area, identity, health, and well-being.

The content group is decisions and actions promote health and well-being, with a content point that requires students to describe the benefits of responsible saving and spending of money for well-being.

In Stage 1, students learn the basics, recognising that money can be saved or spent on needs and wants. In Stage 2, students build on this foundation by exploring the benefits of responsible saving and spending, with clearer connections made to well-being.

A Stage 2 teacher needs to consider the gaps in student knowledge, as they may not have previously experienced this content, now included in the syllabus. For example, students may struggle to consistently differentiate between needs and wants or may not understand how money behaviours relate to well-being yet.

To identify these gaps, the teacher can use pre-assessments, observations, and regular check-ins. For instance, the teacher might ask students to draw or write how they would spend or save an imaginary $20 or present a similar contextually relevant scenario.

Questions like, ‘If you save money every week, what could that help you do?’ can encourage students to think about the link between money and well-being.

Once gaps are identified, the teacher can take deliberate actions. These might include creating a financial vocabulary word wall to help students understand and use key terms, modelling goal-setting together, establishing a class savings goal, and reflecting on how achieving that goal felt. Then link these activities directly to well-being, making it clear that informed financial decisions can help people feel safe, proud, and happy.

This approach supports not only money management skills but also embeds financial literacy within the broader context of health and well-being, helping students see the real-life benefits of their choices.

As you can see, this process assists both leaders and teachers in identifying content gaps and adjusting their practice accordingly.

Now you have time to start your own gap analysis based on a key learning area you are currently using or planning to use at your school.

Please map the key content changes we have identified during this professional learning session and consider the implications for your planning and assessment. Examples can be found in your participant workbook alongside this activity.

First, choose a key learning area relevant to your work, open this corresponding digital syllabus, and identify the new content.

Next, review prior stage learning and consider what students should already know from earlier stages.

Then decide on strategies you could use to pinpoint gaps in students’ learning and record how you will address any identified through your teaching.

You can pause the video now and take the time needed to start a gap analysis.

Alongside the CHPS sample units of work are carefully curated resources and vocabulary lists.

To support your preparation for implementing the new CHPS sample units, a suggested resource list and key vocabulary for sample Unit 1 and Unit 5 is provided in this microlearning module 4 suite of resources. Recognising that many schools may not have access to all material, the units also include freely available and digital alternatives.

For example, in HSIE, when a globe is needed for an activity, a link to a digital version is provided along with similar alternatives for maps and other resources.

Vocabulary lists are included in each sample unit to give teachers a clear reference, supporting consistent teaching and learning of subject-specific terms. They also assist EAL/D students by providing focused language to improve comprehension and communication.

Overall, these resources are designed to make your planning and delivery as efficient as possible, allowing you to focus on engaging your students effectively.

‘See, think, wonder’ is a great routine to make connections between new learning and prior knowledge.

Take a moment to reflect on what we have learned by previewing the sample units for the CHPS key learning areas.

You can pause the recording and take time to reflect.

To conclude this professional learning, take a moment to reflect on the key takeaways that you see on the screen.

[Text on screen:

• CHPS sample units have a common lesson structure across all four key learning areas
• Key sample unit features support explicit teaching, assessment and differentiation
• Support materials will be available for teaching and learning in term 1 2026 including resource lists
• Vocabulary lists will be available to support EAL/D students and strengthen whole class planning.

Consider: How will you identify next steps for 2026 at year and stage levels including actions for leaders and teachers?]

The common lesson structure across CHPS sample units provides a consistent framework that supports explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

The upcoming support materials, including resource and vocabulary lists, will enhance planning and effectively assist EAL/D learners.

Moving forward, it will be important to identify next steps for 2026 at year and stage levels by collaborating with leaders and teachers to implement targeted actions that build on these resources.

We have unpacked the structure and shared a preview of the first units being released, which will support your next steps in implementation in your school.

We would like you to complete a short survey to provide feedback on today’s professional learning. Please use your phone to access the QR code or use the link on the screen [this QR code and link may no longer be current].

If you have any questions or would like to reach out to the Primary Curriculum team, please contact us via this email address

[email address on screen]

[primarycurriculum@det.nsw.edu.au or through the statewide staffroom https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=muagBYpBwUecJZOHJhv5kUwsTv61JFtLox4KgWmDAmxUNU45WDlDVEUxUEE3WVpEU0o5ME5KM0w0VyQlQCN0PWcu] .

This QR code takes you to the enrolment page to join the Primary Curriculum statewide staffroom [this QR code may no longer be current].

Thank you for accessing the professional learning recording. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

[End of transcript]

Sarah Young

Welcome to our Term 4 Professional Learning on CHPS Sample Units: From Planning to Practice. My name is Sarah Young, and I'm a curriculum adviser K–6. I'm joined today by colleagues from Primary Curriculum, Kate Slack-Smith, David Opie, and Jessica Townsing who will be presenting alongside me today. There is a participant workbook for you to download to support you throughout this professional learning.

I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the many lands we are joining from across New South Wales. I'm presenting from Awabakal Country, and I pay my respects to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues with us today.

As we engage in this professional learning, focused on curriculum and teaching practice, we are reminded that the New South Wales syllabuses strengthen the inclusion of Aboriginal histories, cultures, and perspectives. This is not only an educational requirement, it is a responsibility. It invites us to teach in ways that honour truth, embed cultural integrity, and recognise the diversity of Aboriginal nations across New South Wales.

Today is also a reminder that deepening our understanding of Aboriginal content is not a single lesson or unit; it is a commitment to practice. It requires ongoing learning, respectful collaboration with local communities, and ensuring that Aboriginal perspectives are embedded meaningfully, not just as a token, but as a thread woven throughout learning. May we continue to walk together, listen deeply, and create classrooms where every student sees themselves and their culture respected and valued.

On the slide, you'll see the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers that today's professional learning will be addressing. We'll give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

6.2 – Engage in professional learning and improve practice.

6.2.2 – Participate in learning to update knowledge and practice, targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities.

6.3 – Engage with colleagues and improve practice

6.3.2 – Contribute to collegial discussions and apply constructive feedback from colleagues to improve professional knowledge and practice.]

On screen are the purpose and outcomes of today's professional learning. I will give you a moment to review these.

[Text on screen:

The purpose of this session is to understand the common lesson structure of CHPS sample units and plan effectively for next steps in 2026.

• preview the sample units prior to release

• develop a clear understanding of what is required for 2026 readiness at year and stage level

• deepen their understanding of unit and lesson structures

• identify practical next steps for successful syllabus implementation at their school.]

Today's professional learning previews sample units across the 4 key learning areas with a focus on the common lesson structure designed to support effective teaching and learning. The professional learning will unpack how key unit features guide our planning for assessment and differentiation, ensuring all students' needs are met.

There will also be a focus on classroom readiness for Term 1, 2026. This includes access to resource lists, as well as key vocabulary lists to support EAL/D students and enhance whole-class planning. The professional learning will conclude by identifying next steps for 2026 readiness at both year and stage levels, outlining clear actions for leaders and classroom teachers to ensure a smooth and successful start.

For multi-age schools, you may want to consider deferring implementation of the new syllabuses until they are mandatory in 2027. Early adoption is possible, though supporting resources may be limited. Primary Curriculum acknowledges the unique challenges of multi-age settings and will provide ongoing communication and support to assist with planning in integration.

The extended familiarisation period offers time to adapt units thoughtfully to the diverse classrooms and context that you are working with while preparing for mandatory implementation.

On this slide, you'll see today's agenda. I will give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

• Introduction and Acknowledgement of Country, Common lesson structures across the 4 key learning areas
• Human Society and its Environment unit spotlight, Science and Technology unit spotlight
• Break (10 minutes)
• Creative Arts unit spotlight, Personal Development, Health and Physical education unit spotlight, Reflection activity
• Gap analysis
• Resources, Conclusion, survey and close.]

I'd now like you to pause the video to take a moment to reflect or discuss the questions you see on the slide. Please pause the video.

[Text on screen:

1. Have you reviewed any of the sample English and Mathematics units released?
2. Are you currently implementing any aspects of the new CHPS syllabuses, or do you plan to do so soon?
3. Have you ever thought about how the department develops these sample units?]

Thank you for engaging in that task.

This section will explore common lesson structures across the 4 key learning areas to show you their consistent look and feel and explain how the key sample unit features support explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

When the Primary Curriculum team talk about the design of CHPS sample units, it's important to understand that everything created is grounded in 3 key pillars: evidence-based principles, purposeful design, and practical classroom support. These pillars guide the work from initial concept through to final delivery, ensuring high-quality, impactful, and genuinely useful resources for teachers and students.

Evidence-based principles ensures every resource is informed by current research, best practice, and data on what works in improving student learning. Developers engage in educational research and curriculum policy, so the work aligns with system priorities and supports consistent, high-quality teaching.

Purposeful design refers to intentionally designing resources with a clear purpose, logical structure, and a strong alignment to syllabus outcomes and learning progressions. The focus is on clarity, accessibility, and coherence so that teachers can easily see how each part connects to the bigger picture.

Practical classroom support: Teachers need resources that they are confident to pick up and use. The materials are created to be adaptable and supportive of diverse learners. Built in are clear instructions, scaffolds, differentiation suggestions, and assessment checkpoints so teachers can focus on teaching rather than creating resources from scratch.

Why consistency matters. The sample units play a central role in supporting schools as they move towards the 2027 mandatory implementation of the new syllabuses. They have been designed to reflect the new syllabuses and provide leaders and teachers with practical, high-quality resources that they can confidently use in classrooms.

The CHPS sample units are directly aligned with department scope and sequences and NESA whole-school plan. This alignment provides clarity, prevents duplication, and helps reduce workload.

The CHPS sample units are designed to engage students, support teachers, and promote consistent, high-quality learning experiences that support explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

This slide highlights where you can access the department scope and sequence. We have used a Creative Arts example on screen, and you can follow the breadcrumbs to be able to access them.

[Text on screen:

Home > Teaching and Learning > Curriculum > Creative Arts K–12 > Planning, programming and assessing Creative Arts K–6 (2024)].

If you would like to explore scope and sequences further, the Term 3 micro-learning professional learning has a focus on scope and sequences and can be accessed on demand with the resources.

The CHPS sample units are designed as a flexible framework. This is just one example of how programming might look. Schools are encouraged to adapt them to suit their own context and student needs.

Each unit uses the same template, giving a consistent look and feel across all 4 key learning areas. On page one, you'll see the identified syllabus, stage, unit number, and focus areas.

Every unit begins with a clear description that outlines the duration of the lesson, the focus of learning, and how students will build knowledge and skills. Related learning is highlighted to demonstrate possible connections to relevant prior learning.

Syllabus outcomes are clearly identified, ensuring every lesson is grounded in syllabus content.

Each unit also includes a resources overview, and lessons are structured as two 60-minute sessions per week, aligning with NESA's suggested time allocation for CHPS's key learning areas.

This design streamlines planning, keeps expectations clear, and ensures a consistent experience for teachers and students.

The resources overview makes preparation simple. Everything is listed in one place, from videos and audio tracks to physical materials like hoops, percussion instruments, or action cards. This not only supports smooth planning but also helps schools plan for and manage resourcing across each term.

Each lesson in the CHPS sample units follows the same structure, ensuring consistency across all 4 key learning areas.

We begin with an overview that provides a short description of the learning and identifies the prior learning the lesson builds on. This prior learning isn't necessarily a content point but is aligned to the syllabus content.

The overview also lists the key vocabulary to be taught and highlights any preparation required.

Each lesson is 60 minutes in duration. The beginning of each lesson is usually 10 minutes in duration.

You will notice explicit teaching strategies embedded in the units. The learning intention and success criteria are so the students know exactly what they're working towards and how they know when they've achieved it. Making this visible is part of explicit teaching. It removes the guesswork and gives learning a clear purpose. This also includes activating prior knowledge. Here, the focus is on students retrieving what they already know, not on reteaching content.

This approach hooks into their existing schema to prepare them for new learning in the core lesson.

Right from the start, explicit teaching is modelled, being clear about the destination and deliberately connecting the learning to what students bring with them.

The core lesson is planned for around 40 minutes. You will notice more explicit teaching strategies embedded here.

Teachers begin by explaining and modelling the new knowledge or skill. Then students move into guided practice before working more independently. This is the gradual release of responsibility in action.

The activities are tightly aligned to the learning intention. They are sequenced from simple to complex. Scaffolds are gradually removed, and extension opportunities are built in, so every student is challenged at the right level.

Throughout the core lesson, teachers use ‘check for understanding,’ such as questioning, response systems, or observations, to monitor learning progress.

These checks for understanding drive timely feedback, helping teachers adjust pace, identify areas that require reteaching, and are connected to the success criteria.

While explicit teaching strategies are central, they are balanced with a variety of other high-quality practices of collaborative learning, use of real-world context, inclusion of diverse backgrounds and abilities, and multimodal resources.

Each lesson includes a differentiation table to help teachers plan for the full range of learners in their classrooms. It provides practical examples of additional scaffolds for students who need more support, as well as extension strategies for those ready to be challenged.

All adjustments are anchored to the same learning intention and success criteria. This means students may take different pathways, but everybody is working towards the same goal.

The table helps teachers anticipate need in advance, promotes inclusive practice, and ensures high expectations are maintained for every student.

Assessment is also embedded in every lesson, always tied directly to the learning intention, success criteria, and syllabus outcome.

The ‘What to look for’ section gives teachers clear guidance on the observable evidence that shows whether the students are meeting the learning intention.

For example, in this lesson, teachers are looking at whether students can refine and apply skills and strategies to participate effectively in territory games and demonstrate respectful and effective communication to promote leadership, inclusion, and collaboration.

By aligning assessment with the success criteria, we take the guesswork out of checking progress. Teachers know exactly what evidence to gather, and students understand what success looks like. Importantly, this doesn't add extra workload. Assessment is built into the flow of the lesson and doubles as a check for understanding to guide next steps.

The conclusion of each lesson is approximately 10 minutes and provides an intentional wrap-up of the learning.

This phase is about revisiting the learning intention and success criteria, so students are reminded of the purpose of the lesson and what they have achieved.

It allows them to reflect on how the activities connected to the learning and to make sense of the knowledge and skills they've developed.

There is no new content introduced here, and no formal check for understanding. It's simply about clarifying, reinforcing, and closing the loop so students leave the lesson with a clear picture of their progress.

Each lesson contains optional assessments. They are designed to be a flexible, optional resource available for use when and where they are needed and are a tool to support your teaching.

Benefits of these assessments is that they can help you identify the gaps in students' learning and misconceptions that can occur during a lesson.

This is valuable, ensuring that all students grasp essential concepts before new learning is introduced.

They guide teaching decisions. By using these assessments, teachers can gain real-time insights into students' understanding and use that information to adjust instruction, provide targeted support, or extend learning.

The optional assessment serves as a practical way to check comprehension at the lesson level and plan for the next steps in teaching.

Optional assessments offer a range of approaches from informal methods like planned observations and targeted questioning to identifying misconceptions to more formal tasks, such as evaluating student work samples using predetermined criteria.

NESA's diagram provides an overview of the organisation of content for creating written text, which is included in all CHPS syllabuses.

In Early Stage 1 and Stage 1, the focus in PDHPE and Creative Arts is on developing students’ subject-specific vocabulary to support communicating.

In HSIE and Science and Technology, there are individual content groups.

In Stage 2 for PDHPE, and Creative Arts opportunities are embedded within the content for students to create written text.

In HSIE and Science and Technology, there is an individual content group.

In Stage 3, there is a dedicated creating written text outcome for all CHPS key learning areas with subject-specific content.

NESA highlights that various methods of transcription may be employed, and a student's preferred communication form should be considered when teaching writing.

NESA states, ‘Creating written text is a way of organising thoughts, explaining thinking, and making connections within and across learning areas. The learning areas provide meaningful content for writing beyond the subject of English.’

Please take a moment to review the PDHPE example on the screen.

[Text on screen:

PH3-CWT-01 creating written texts supports understanding of health, safety and wellbeing.
PH3-IHW-01 changes and factors can promote a positive identity.

Activity: Create a mind map to determine who or what was an influence on their personal wellbeing and how it impacted them. Reflect on individual mind map. Use a combination of simple, compound and complex sentences to record reflections.]

This example demonstrates how creating written text is effectively integrated into the PDHPE curriculum to enhance students' understanding of health, safety, and well-being.

By engaging in the activity of creating a mind map, students reflect on influences affecting their personal well-being, promoting self-awareness and positive identity development.

This task encourages the use of varied sentence structures, supporting literacy skills alongside personal development.

This integrated approach helps students articulate their thoughts clearly while connecting literacy with key health concepts.

It exemplifies how writing activities can deepen learning across key learning areas by combining content knowledge with essential communication skills.

With students at the centre of all decisions, planning started with the NESA syllabus and teaching advice, ensuring fidelity to the syllabus rationale, intent, and extensive evidence base to shape decisions.

Teachers with deep content knowledge can explain concepts clearly, learning effectively, differentiate with purpose, and respond confidently to key teaching moments.

The sample units build this expertise by highlighting misconceptions, identifying essential vocabulary, practical tools, and expert advice.

Engagement is a non-negotiable. The design is for students to be ‘in task’ more than just ‘on task,’ thinking deeply, doing the work, and feeling positive about their learning.

The pedagogy and practices within the sample units are anchored in the ‘Explicit teaching in New South Wales public schools’ statement and research-informed practices tailored to each key learning area.

The sample units have been a collaborative build and in consultation with stakeholders to ensure understanding and inclusive approaches. These partnerships ensure that the sample units are comprehensive, culturally responsive, and aligned with best practices to support diverse student needs and enhance learning outcomes.

This slide outlines the 13-week roadmap for every CHPS unit with quality assurance built in at every stage.

It begins at the design stage, where subject matter specialists map syllabus expectations from the sample scope and sequence.

Next is the consult stage, where we test the draft with key stakeholder groups, including Aboriginal Education, Respectful Relationships, Effective Teaching Practices, and others, to ensure intent and inclusivity.

In the develop stage, writing pods build the full sequence, embedding explicit teaching, high-quality resources, and assessment in every lesson.

In the review stage, Key Learning Advisers provide detailed feedback, followed by Coordinator and Leader endorsement, and close the consultation loop on the final lessons.

Finally, in the digital stage, editorial and website checks are completed, and units are published.

Through this process, Primary Curriculum will deliver 114 units, over 2,200 lessons ready to support mandatory CHPS implementation in 2027.

Now you have viewed the features of the sample units for CHPS, I will ask you in a moment to pause the video and discuss the questions you see on the slide. Pause the video now.

[Text on screen:

1. What similarities to the way you plan now can you see in the sample units?
2. What differences to the way you plan now can you see in the sample units?]

Thank you for your engagement. I hope you feel reassured that the way you are currently programming aligns with the sample units and that some of the differences you identify will further support student learning.

Kate Slack-Smith

Let's start by having a look at Stage 2, unit 1.

In unit 1, students learn about climate zones around the world in relation to the equator and poles. Students compare climate zones in Australia and analyse seasonal rainfall patterns, representing data in column graphs. Students also locate and compare key geographical features in Australia and the world using grid and relief maps, along with compass directions.

The focus area for unit 1 is geographical information is used to understand the world. The outcome is displayed on screen, which I will let you read.

[Text on screen:

Focus Area: Geographical information is used to understand the world.

HS2-GEO-01 explains how people care for Australia’s environments and participate in Australian society, using geographical information.]

The content group, people use geographical information to understand climates and environments, is the focus for this unit. I will pause now to let you read the 4 content points the unit covers.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: People use geographical information to understand climates and environments.

• Identify polar, continental, temperate, tropical and dry climate zones in the world in relation to the equator and poles
• Identify and compare climate zones in Australia using choropleth maps showing temperature, humidity and vegetation
• Compare seasonal rainfall in places in Australia and display data in column graphs
• Locate and compare deserts, forests, mountain ranges, rivers, ocean trenches and volcanoes of Australia and the world using grid and relief maps and compass directions north, south, east and west.]

Thank you.

We will now look at skill development. Throughout the unit, students are provided with opportunities to learn and apply geographical skills whilst learning about the content.

In Stage 2, unit 1, students identify climate zones across the world and within Australia, learn about a variety of different types of maps, including relief maps, grid maps, and choropleth maps. Use maps to identify patterns, make inferences, and draw conclusions about climate, use table and column graphs to represent and interpret data.

A new and interesting element of this unit is the opportunity to learn about a variety of different maps, including the choropleth map. A choropleth map uses colours to show information on a map. Students are introduced to the Koppen climate classification system, which classifies the world's climates into 5 main categories, tropical, desert, temperate, continental, and polar. Using this type of map, students develop skills in identifying climate zones around the world and their relationship to the equator and poles.

Another interesting element to this unit is the connection to mathematics. Students will engage with a variety of data, including rainfall and vegetation distribution, using choropleth maps. They will then learn how to use tables and column graphs to represent this data. Using column graphs, they will interpret data to draw conclusions and connect ideas.

Students will need to use a variety of maps and data during the unit. I will pause now to let you read the activity on the screen.

[Text on screen:

Unit spotlight: Using maps and data.

Students use a variety of maps and data to plan a holiday for a group of friends.

Kev the kangaroo plans a holiday!

Kev is planning summer holidays for his friends. He wants to send them all to Alice Springs, but that’s probably not the best place for all of his friends to take a holiday.

Use these clues, together with the maps and graphs you have been given to plan a holiday for one of his friends. Explain to Kev why the location you have chosen is a better fit than Alice Springs.

(table with images and text)

Kashmi koala:

• Nice and hot
• I don’t mind the rain because I would like to visit a rainforest.

Polly platypus:

• I don’t mind some rain
• I don’t like it too hot
• I enjoy a temperate climate.

Bob the bearded dragon:

• I don’t like the rain
• I like it hot
• I enjoy a sub-tropical climate.]

Learning to be a geographer requires the ability to connect the skills we have learned to solve problems. Using the choropleth map and column graphs we saw in previous slides, students are provided with a fun scenario that enables them to connect their learning.

By using the information provided to Kev the kangaroo from his mates, students are required to find the best holiday location for each friend and explain to Kev why his idea of them all going to Alice Springs is probably not the best idea. What a fun and engaging way to assess student understanding.

We will now look at the second unit being released for Stage 2, which is unit 5.

In unit 5, students explore how places are organised for different purposes and compare conservation and sustainability goals. Students learn about the management of reserved lands in New South Wales, identify waste minimisation strategies, and investigate sustainable food practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Unit 5 covers the focus area geographical information is used to understand the world. There are 2 outcomes covered. As in unit 1, the same geography outcome is addressed. This is because there is only one geography outcome per stage. This unit also addresses the Aboriginal cultures and histories outcome displayed on the screen.

I will pause now to let you read the 2 outcomes.

[Text on screen:

Focus Area: Geographical information is used to understand the world.

HS2-ACH-01 describes Aboriginal Peoples’ obligations to Country, Culture and Community.
HS2-GEO-01 explains how people care for Australia’s environments and participate in Australian society, using geographical information.]

There are 2 content groups covered in unit 5. The first is Aboriginal peoples use and care for the environment sustainably. There are 2 content points addressed in unit 5, which are identify and use appropriate terminology when sharing knowledges about Country, and describe how Aboriginal people sustainably use the resources of Country. The second content group covered in unit 5 are people have a responsibility to care for Australia's environments.

I'll give you a moment to read through the 5 content points on your screen.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: People have responsibility to care for Australia's environments.

• Observe and describe ways people organise places into spaces for different purposes
• Compare the objectives of managing places for conservation and managing places for sustainability
• Describe how reserved lands are managed in New South Wales at Mungo National Park, Kosciuszko National Park, Wollemi National Park and Barrington Tops National Park
• Identify strategies that minimise waste and make the most of resources to sustain environments
• Investigate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander food practices that are sustainable.]

Thank you.

We'll now have a closer look at the Aboriginal cultures and histories content. All HSIE units which cover Aboriginal cultures and histories content are written in consultation with the Department of Education Aboriginal Education Advisers. When planning and programming content relating to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, teachers are encouraged to involve local Aboriginal communities and/or the appropriate Knowledge Holders in determining suitable resources.

Use Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander-authored or endorsed publications, read the principles and protocols relating to teaching and learning about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures and the involvement of local Aboriginal communities.

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources has been developed to assist teachers in selecting appropriate resources for teaching about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and languages respectfully and effectively.

Throughout this unit, students are provided with opportunities to learn and apply geographical skills whilst learning about the content. Unit 5 has students observe and describe places and spaces through a geographical lens, identify sustainable food practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, identify sustainable practices, such as waste management, make comparisons between conservation and sustainability, making connections to learn about land management, and investigate and describe the management of reserved areas, such as national parks.

As part of this unit, students learn how Aboriginal peoples have sustainably used the resources of Country for thousands of years. They investigate examples of Aboriginal food practices that are sustainable. Students explore how these practices are connected to seasons and Country, and how they ensure resources are cared for. Students connect principles of Aboriginal sustainable use of Country with modern strategies that minimise waste and make the most of resources.

Students will learn that Aboriginal fire management is a key feature of sustainable agriculture. Selective and controlled burning of land promotes natural growth of native plants. Students will investigate how sustainable fire management practices used by Aboriginal peoples also supports the hunting of animal species by attracting animals to new plant growth.

To further develop their skills as geographers, students will apply their knowledge of sustainability, conservation, and land management to develop their own pledge to protect the environment.

In doing so, students are connecting their learning through the development of a set of promises that reflect their knowledge and understanding, whilst embedding their clear acknowledgement of their responsibility to care for places. The development of the Eco-Warrior Pledge helps assess the depth of understanding students have regarding their obligation to care for Country.

Now, there is an opportunity for you to pause the recording to reflect on what you have seen, make some notes, and start to think about what this could look like in your school context.

In your participant workbook, you will find the reflection section and a heading for each key learning area. Capture your initial thoughts and think about how this could take shape in the unique context of your school.

David Opie

Let's shift our focus now to Science and Technology and a preview of unit 1.

This unit marks the start of a student's Science and Technology journey in Stage 2.

The unit provides opportunities for students to understand how living things depend on the Earth systems, energy, and each other to survive.

Students learn about and model the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. They investigate the relationship between habitats, ecosystems, and environments. Students explore how food change can represent the energy flow in systems. Students begin to conduct fair tests in ways that build on questioning, observation skills, and an understanding of cause and effect learned in Early Stage 1 and Stage 1. Students continue to create written texts that support their science learning and use digital tools to represent data and to collaborate. During the unit, students visit a local habitat. This could be somewhere on the school grounds or close by. One of the environmental and zoo education centres could be an option as well. EZECs are New South Wales public schools staffed by trained teachers. Search for EZECs to find the list of the centres. The unit also presents opportunities to connect and consolidate HSIE content about Aboriginal cultural burning practices.

The science focus area for the whole of Stage 2 is physical and living systems depend on energy. It is important to keep the wording of each focus area front of mind as we unpack the content of the Stage 2 sample units. The outcomes are multifaceted, so we have underlined the aspects covered in this unit.

The Stage 2 technologies focus area is design processes and digital systems are used to create solutions.

Pause the recording to read through the outcomes covered in this unit which appear on the screen.

[Text on screen:

Focus area: Physical and living systems depend on energy.

ST2-SCI-01 uses information to investigate the solar system and the effects of energy on living, physical and geological systems.
ST2-PQU-01 poses questions to create fair tests that investigate the effects of energy on living things and physical systems.
ST2-DAT-01 uses and interprets data to describe patterns and relationships. Focus area: Design processes and digital systems are used to create solutions.
ST2-DDT-02 designs and uses algorithms, represents data and uses digital systems for a purpose.]

As it is still early in the students' Stage 2 learning journey, students may only demonstrate achievement of relevant parts of an outcome. We have bolded the content point, beginning with posed questions to conduct fair tests, as we will elaborate on the content and related outcome shortly.

Pause the recording now to read the onscreen content.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: Living things depend on energy and materials to survive.

• Identify the systems of Earth that make up environments: air – atmosphere, land – lithosphere, water – hydrosphere, living things – biosphere
• Describe how the needs of living things are provided by the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere
• Describe the relationship between habitat, ecosystem and environment
• Observe and describe living and non-living things in a habitat
• Pose questions to conduct fair tests to determine the effects of soil, water and light energy on plants
• Describe how Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ practices support habitats to survive
• Describe the transfer of energy between plants and animals using food chains, Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary
• Describe ways in which plants and animals depend on each other for survival.]

The technology content points for this unit have been set out. This unit includes digital content, but there is no design content. Digital tools are integrated to support student observations and representation of data. Just a reminder that in Science and Technology, there is no requirement for an equal allocation of time between science and technology. These content points are interwoven into the unit with the science content. They do not stand alone. Again, you'll notice that there is no design content for this sample unit.

New to the 2024 Science and Technology syllabus for each stage are posing questions outcomes.

For Stage 2, the outcome is, poses questions to create fair tests that investigate the effect of energy on living things and physical systems. Right from the beginning of Early Stage 1, students are developing their questioning, observation, and data analysis skills in a sequential way.

This learning supports the introduction of working scientifically outcomes in Stage 4.

To supplement the syllabus teaching advice, the department has created an information document for posing questions. The advice has one page per stage, providing background information, examples, and teaching tips relevant for each stage of learning.

For Stage 2, unit 1, students are posing questions to create fair tests that investigate the effect of energy on living things.

Unit 1 includes the explicit modelling of fair testing principles, including the introduction of the idea that fair tests change one factor, measure the effect of the change, and keep all the other factors the same.

And the use of cows moo softly as a mnemonic to support recall of change, measure, and same. The unit also includes the modelling of 2 fair tests, changing the shape of a boat made from the same-sized piece of aluminium foil and measuring how many items it can hold, and the second fair test model is how to investigate the effect of changing the amount of light energy received by a plant.

The unit continues to support students' learning with guided instruction for 2 further tests. In the first guided fair tests, students observe the effect on plant growth of varying the amount of water a plant receives. In the second guided fair tests, students are supported to change the soil or substrate a seed grows in and measure the effects.

For the plant-growing investigations, learning is supported with modelled and guided observations, data analysis, and representation. Opportunities for independent conducting of fair tests is scoped for later units.

Teachers should note that Stage 2 students are not expected to use the vocabulary of independent, dependent, and controlled variables. This vocabulary is introduced in Stage 3.

The second activity we would like to highlight is the construction of a mini terrarium. This activity comes directly after explicitly teaching each of the Earth's systems. The lithosphere is represented in rocks and soil. The biosphere is represented in the plants. The atmosphere is contained within the sealed jar. And by adding water and sealing the container, students generate a hydrosphere.

This kind of hands-on activity provides an opportunity for students to represent the Earth systems, use learned T3 vocabulary, and to observe changes, such as condensation of water vapour and plant growth.

As with many areas of science education, part of the teacher's role is to understand and to address student misconceptions using evidence-based approaches. Being aware of common misconceptions is the first step in addressing them. The sample units include note boxes to alert teachers to possible student misconceptions.

The lesson content uses evidence-based approaches to surface misconceptions and to address them. This unit seeks to address students' misconceptions, such as students may think that the Earth systems operate independently, when, in fact, they are interconnected.

Students may use habitat, ecosystem, and environment as synonyms, when, in science, they have specific meanings. Students' understanding of the characteristics of living and non-living things. And finally, in a food chain, the arrow indicates the direction of energy flow, not what eats what.

We will now move on to the next sample unit, which is unit 5.

The content of unit 5 aligns with term 5 of the Department's scope and sequence. Supported by using digital tools and creating written texts, students learn that the Sun is the centre of our solar system and provides our world with energy.

Students learn about the Earth's revolution around the Sun, how solar energy is used, using multimodal representations of features of the solar system, introductory aspects of gravity, and cultural references to the solar system.

Again, the outcomes covered in this unit are multifaceted, so we have underlined the aspects covered in this unit.

For the posing questions outcomes, there is no specific opportunity in this sample unit for students to conduct fair tests. Similar to unit one, this unit includes digital content, but also has no design content scoped. Please take a moment to read through the content.

[Text on screen:

Focus area: Physical and living systems depend on energy.

ST2-SCI-01 uses information to investigate the solar system and the effects of energy on living, physical and geological systems.
ST2-PQU-01 poses questions to create fair tests that investigate the effects of energy on living things and physical systems.
ST2-DAT-02 designs and uses algorithms, represents data and uses digital systems for a purpose. Focus area: Digital and design outcomes.
ST2-DDT-02 designs and uses algorithms, represents data and uses digital systems for a purpose.]

Throughout the unit, there are opportunities for students to develop their questioning skills and pose questions about the solar system and relating to a demonstration of gravity.

Please pause the video to read through the content points covered in unit 5.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: The Sun is the centre of our solar system and provides our world with energy.

• Model Earth’s revolution around the Sun and recognise that a complete revolution takes 365.25 days
• Research how energy from the Sun is used
• Describe features of our solar system using multimodal representations; Demonstrate that gravity is a force of attraction between objects and Earth
• Recognise that the force of gravity keeps Earth, moons and planets in their positions in the solar system
• Research cultural references to the solar system including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Knowledges of the night sky.]

As with our first unit, the technology's content points are interwoven with the science content. They do not stand alone. Please pause the recording to read through the content points.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: Digital systems can be created and controlled.

• Use core features of common digital tools to locate, select, store and retrieve relevant information
• Use core features of common digital tools to share content, plan tasks and collaborate safely following an agreed code of conduct
• Explore how data can be represented by letters, numbers, symbols, images and sounds depending on the purpose.]

One common misconception is that orbits of the planets are circular, when they are elliptical.

Misleading resources can reinforce this misconception, so carefully choosing images and other materials can help prevent it.

Consider the 2 representations on the slide. Which of these 2 is more likely to reinforce a misconception? Is an elliptical path clearly shown in either model? How could you represent it clearly to the students in your class?

It is almost impossible to accurately reflect the scale of the solar system and the relative sizes of the planets in a single model that will fit onto a screen or onto a page.

The careful constructions of models and use of representations will make a difference to the mental models that students build and avoid reinforcing misconceptions about the solar system.

Another misconception can arise from many representations of the solar system, with the planets aligned in order or an equal distance from each of the other planets. Building a scale model to show the respective distances from the Sun and the enormous differences in the distance between the planets can address this issue.

In the image on the screen, students are building a scale model using a roll of toilet paper to provide a scale.

One thing to consider here is that some aspects of the Stage 2 science content precede the explicit teaching of related mathematical content. For example, the vast distance in space are measured in millions of kilometres. Both millions and kilometres are introduced in Stage 3. The units have guidance on making appropriate connections with the mathematics and other syllabuses.

Returning now to misconceptions in this unit, other common misconceptions may include Earth's rotation and revolution being confused with each other, the Earth revolves around the Sun every day, the Sun orbits the Earth, the Earth is the centre of our solar system, heavier objects fall faster, and gravity only acts on things that are falling.

One series of lessons from this unit relate to common misconceptions about rotation and revolution. Each of these concepts are explicitly taught, with students first revising Stage 1 content about the Earth's rotation. Students then learn about the Earth's revolution or orbit around the Sun.

Students are provided with multiple opportunities to develop their understanding. They make models, write, and draw to represent and demonstrate their understanding of the 2 concepts. Following that, students are asked to role-play the Moon's orbit of the Earth and the Earth's rotation and its orbit of the Sun.

Rotating and revolving in the correct direction can be a powerful way for students to consolidate their learning and demonstrate their understanding. One of the unit's optional consolidation activities is to represent the movement of the Moon and the Earth using ScratchJr. Using multiple representations can enrich the learning experience, help to clarify complex concepts, and consolidate student learning.

Our second series of lessons recognises the significance of the solar system and the night sky across cultures and history. Students can research the Roman-Greek origin of the planet's name and at least one other culture, such as Hebrew, Chinese, Egyptian, or Norse mythology.

Students also explore how Aboriginal peoples have developed detailed knowledge about the solar system. These lessons have connections to learning in HSIE.

For this content group, take care to select resources that develop knowledge and understanding about the solar system, such as the Moon, the Sun, and the planets. Many cultural references include celestial objects outside our solar system, such as constellations like the Southern Cross or those from the zodiac. Emu in the Sky comes from the dark patches in the Milky Way, visible in part of the galaxy that extends far beyond our solar system. Be conscious that Stage 2 content is limited to our solar system.

Throughout the unit, you'll see explicit teaching strategies, such as connecting to prior learning, gradual release of responsibility, chunking, and checks for understanding.

The sample units also incorporate purposefully selected science-specific strategies, such as claim, evidence, reasoning, and predict, observe, explain.

For claim, evidence, reasoning, students first make a claim about a selected topic, they then use evidence from observations or research to support it, and finish by giving the reasoning that connects the evidence to the claim. For predict, observe, explain, students make a prediction, then observe carefully during the test, and finally explain why the outcome happened that way.

Combined with explicit teaching strategies, purposefully selected science-specific strategies can promote engagement, build critical thinking, and deepen conceptual understanding.

Editable templates for both strategies are available on the department's Digital Learning Selector.

Take a moment now to consider what you've observed, record any thoughts, and begin to imagine how this might be applied within your own school setting.

Please return to your participant workbook reflection section.

Sarah Young

Each Creative Arts unit provides students with opportunities to engage in syllabus content in meaningful and connected ways.

Students are supported to meet the aim of the syllabus by developing curiosity, creativity, imagination, self-expression, and collaboration as they develop knowledge, understanding, and skills in dance, drama, music, and visual arts.

Each semester, students will learn about 2 focus areas. In semester one, the sample scope and sequence identifies dance and music. While in semester 2, attention shifts to drama and visual arts.

Focus areas are repeated across 2 terms to support students in making connections and building schema by activating prior learning. This approach provides students with greater opportunities to consolidate learning and supports assessment and reporting practices on 2 focus areas each semester.

Across these areas, students apply knowledge, understanding, and skills. The content groups in Creative Arts are not isolated or linear and should not be taught in a sequential way. What is learned in one content group connects to the others and support students to understand, interpret, critique, and apply their learning in meaningful ways.

In dance, the interrelated practices are composing, performing, and appreciating. Students are not just learning dance steps. They are creating, expressing, analysing, interpreting, appreciating, reflecting, and applying their learning.

In music, the interrelated practices are performing, listening, and composing. Students experience music as performers and as creators, while also developing their ability to reflect and respond through listening to a range of music from cultures all around the world.

This structure allows students to experience the creative arts holistically. It provides multiple entry points for expression, while building students' confidence and deepening their understanding across all 4 focus areas.

Let's take a closer look at some of the key features of the Creative Arts sample units. Equal time allocation, each unit contains 10 dance lessons and 10 music lessons. Of these, 4 lessons are optional consolidation lessons, allowing for interruptions to regular timetables and supporting teachers to extend learning where needed.

The units make clear connections across the focus areas. Students aren't learning in silos. In semester one, they're seeing how movement and sound work together to communicate meaning. The dance and music components connect, but they do not rely on each other. If a school chooses to teach only the music component or only the dance component, the lessons still maintain a consistent flow and meet the syllabus requirements and intent.

The units are designed with context in mind, whether they're delivered by a classroom teacher, timetabled as RFF, or taught by a specialist teacher. The design allows schools to adapt while still staying true to the syllabus.

Resources, each unit contains direct links to songs and videos that will support learning, with opportunities for teachers to adapt and select alternatives if preferred. Lesson templates and posters are provided. The units are intentionally designed to support all school context. If percussion instruments aren't available, an alternative is provided. So students could use body percussion, digital applications, or their voice to achieve the same learning.

The outcomes for units 1 and 5 are on the screen. I'll give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

Focus Areas: Dance and Music.

CA2-DAN-01 composes and performs dance to communicate ideas to an audience and describes ways the elements of dance are used to convey ideas through movement.
CA2-MUS-01 performs, uses listening skills and composes to communicate musical ideas, and describes ways the elements of music are used to convey musical ideas.]

On the screen, you can see how content is organised through the interrelated practices. I will give you a moment to review these.

[Text on the screen:

Dance.

• Composing: Dance is composed using the elements of dance to communicate ideas.
• Performing: Dance is performed to communicate ideas to audiences.
• Appreciating: The elements of dance are used in various ways to convey ideas through movement.

Music.

• Performing: Music is performed to communicate musical ideas in various ways.
• Listening: Musical ideas are conveyed in various ways using the elements of music.
• Composing: Music is composed to communicate musical ideas in various ways.]

Unit 1 explores how dance and music reflect people, time, and place across different decades.

In Dance, the lessons investigate decade-defining styles and explore how choreographers use the elements of dance to communicate ideas. Students learn signature steps from these eras and use these movements to compose movement sequences.

In Music lessons, students listen to and compare tracks from different decades. To investigate how popular stars of music have involved, they will explore beat, rhythm, pitch, texture, and structure. Students use vocals, classroom instruments, and digital tools to compose music in a range of styles.

So in dance, students journey through 3 iconic styles, jive, disco, and hip-hop. Each style is connected to its time and place.

Students begin by investigating the cultural context, such as the links jive has to post-war rock and roll, disco reflecting the 1970s club scene, and hip-hop emerging as a cultural movement in the 1980s.

Students then learn and practice the basic steps and qualities of each style. Teacher resources include step-by-step notes for every move in the unit, with clear counts, cues, safety tips, and differentiation.

Students experiment with space, time, and dynamic to communicate ideas and use these elements to compose, rehearse, and refine their own short sequences in groups.

In music, students explore how each decade brought new sounds, influencers, and technologies. The unit explores rock and roll to identify performing media, hear the strong backbeat, and recognise key structural patterns. Students examine disco to understand the steady four-on-the-floor beat, baselines, and polished production. Students also investigate hip-hop to understand sampling, looping, hooks, and rhythmic spoken lyrics.

Across the unit, students build a musical timeline and use T2 and T3 vocabulary to describe music, justify opinions, and reflect on how people, time, and place shape these styles.

Lesson 1 teaches the basic jive step, the rock step, followed by the chasse. The focus is on moving lightly on the balls of your feet with balance and body control. The lesson ends with a short reflection on key features of jive and a cool-down revisiting safe dance practices through breath work and gentle stretching.

This lesson highlights how cultural context, technical skills, and creativity all come together.

Students don't just learn a dance step. They also explore how jive expresses the energy and optimism of its time.

The next unit in today's preview is unit 5.

Unit 5 explores how global culture and technology shape dance and music today, using K-pop as a contemporary lens.

In dance, students apply the interrelated practices of composing, performing, and appreciating, developing technical skills while also making cultural connections.

In music, students apply the interrelated practices of performing, listening, and composing to investigate K-pop features. They create compositions using elements, such as pitch rhythm, timbre, and structure. This unit explores the global phenomena of K-pop to build students' understanding of how dance and music is composed and performed to communicate ideas to audiences.

Students learn key movement features of K-pop style and apply the elements of dance, space, time, and dynamics to communicate intent. Each lesson introduces a short choreographic sequence that is revisited and built on throughout the unit. Each routine is broken into clear movement instructions with flow patterns, timing cues, and lyric prompts. This scaffolder design builds confidence and ensures the choreography is accessible for all teachers, including those new to teaching dance.

In music, students explore the cultural influences on K-pop music. This includes the importance of singing and dance in South Korean culture, and the influence of technology and streaming services in the globalisation of K-pop. They investigate features of K-pop music, such as repeated hooks, production techniques, and up-temp beats, and consider how these elements communicates ideas and makes songs catchy. Students will create their own compositions, rehearse, refine, and perform their songs as a group.

In lesson 5, students use lyrics from ‘What It Sounds Like’ by HUNTR/X as a stimulus to communicate intent through movement. The lesson zooms in on the element of space, focusing on level and direction as components of space.

Students explore how K-pop choreography uses the elements of space to add visual interest to a dance, and how movement, pathways, formations, and directional changes can shape meaning and audience. They are guided to experiment with level and direction as they compose a group-devised movement sequence to communicate ideas to an audience.

The learning is purposeful, engaging, and technically focused.

On the screen, you can see 4 questions that students will be asked at the beginning of lesson one. These questions will activate student prior knowledge of pop music, which has been taught previously and led into the core lesson, which focuses on the introduction of K-pop.

I want you to have a look at the questions and pause the video, and answer them yourself, or have a discussion with your colleagues.

[Text on screen:

Explain the learning intention and refer to it throughout the lesson, making connection to prior learning. Unpack the success criteria and ensure students understand the learning goals. The following steps activate prior knowledge of safe dance practices and ways students connect to dance and music.

Introduce the unit.

• Explain that students will explore key features of K-pop dance and ways dance practices are influenced by people, time and place.
• Assess students prior knowledge of pop music.

Ask.

• What is pop music?
• What are some examples of pop music you are familiar with?
• How might pop music be influenced by time and place?
• How has pop music changed over time?]

Thank you for your engagement in this task.

We will now invite you to pause and reflect on what you have learned, take some notes, and begin considering how these ideas might translate into your own school environment.

Return to your participant workbook in the reflection section for Creative Arts.

Pause the video to give yourself some time to reflect or have a discussion if working with colleagues. Thank you for your engagement. We will now continue looking at the units from PDHPE.

Jessica Townsing

We will now shift our focus to the key learning area of personal development, health, and physical education. This slide answers frequently asked questions the PDHPE team receives regarding time allocation.

PDH and PE lessons are designed to balance both subject areas equally, following NESA's recommendation of about 8% of lesson time, or roughly 2 hours per week. Each unit is planned over a 10-week term, with eight 60-minute PDH lessons and eight 60-minute PE lessons. This enables one PDH and one PE lesson weekly, keeping timings balanced. There are also 4 optional lessons for reviewing key concepts or skills. This time allocation is consistent across all PDH sample units.

The graphic on screen illustrates how schools can meet the department's sport and physical activity requirements. The red circle shows NESA's syllabus, and the blue circle represents the department's procedures, highlighting the sources contributing to the 150 minutes of physical activity weekly. PE lessons directly contribute to the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity each week. PDH lessons only count towards this total when they include physical activity.

School sport is a mandatory component of the weekly schedule and contributes to the 150 minutes of physical activity. For students in year 3 to 6, schools are required to provide at least 60 minutes of sport each week. While there is no specific time requirement for sport in kindergarten to year 2, these students still need opportunities to participate. Many schools offer weekly sport sessions to ensure younger students are active as well.

In unit 1, students explore safety strategies across various environments, including road safety, while also learning to identify trusted adults and reliable support sources as they navigate growing up.

The unit also focuses on developing inclusivity in physical activity, self-management through goal-setting, and reflection and interpersonal skills to support respectful, positive interactions during games and group activities.

These are the syllabus outcomes covered in unit 1. I'll give you a moment to review them.

[Text on screen

PH2-MSP-01 applies movement skills, strategies and teamwork in physical activities.
PH2-RRS-02 describes and applies skills and strategies to interact safely in offline and online contexts.
PH2-IHW-01 explains how related factors influence identity, health and wellbeing.
PH2-SMI-01 explains and applies self-management and interpersonal skills in a range of contexts.]

All the focus areas are covered in unit 1.

In movement, skill, and physical activity, students apply movement skills and strategies across a range of games and modified sports, while cooperating and communicating effectively in team settings.

In respectful relationships and safety, students are learning to describe and apply strategies to stay safe in various environments, including road and online contexts.

In identity, health, and well-being, students explore how physical, social, and emotional changes influence their identity and overall well-being. They identify trusted adults and reliable sources to support them through life's changes and challenges.

In self-management and interpersonal skills, students develop self-management by setting and monitoring goals, and build interpersonal skills to support respectful interactions and collaborations.

On screen, you can see the skill development this unit supports, including key personal development and health skills, like road safety awareness, building kindness and empathy, understanding changes through growing up, and strengthening well-being and relationships.

In PE, students develop fundamental movement skills, engage in energising warmups, practice game strategies, and build inclusive cooperation and goal-setting abilities.

Goal-setting is a key part of the PDHPE K–10 syllabus, developing from co-creating goals in early Stage 1 to creating and monitoring goals by Stage 2.

In this unit, students create and reflect on PE goals across lessons 9, 13, and 16, building on prior learning to support ongoing progress and goal achievement.

PE activities include resource lists, set up instructions and images, clear game steps, and built-in differentiation and variation options to meet diverse student needs. Variations and scaffolding, highlighted in blue text boxes or tables, offer ways to simplify or challenge activities, ensuring all students can participate and progress.

The next slides will unpack unit 5, a unit that can also be used in term one.

In this unit, students explore how stereotypes influence attitudes, and how connections with family, community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures support well-being and relationships. They develop road safety awareness, understand physical, social, and emotional changes, and identify personal strengths to manage challenges. Through PDH and PE, students practice goal-setting, respectful communication, and teamwork to build inclusion and cooperation.

The syllabus outcomes are also covered in unit 5, and I will pause for you to read them.

[Text on screen:

PH2-MSP-01 applies movement skills, strategies and teamwork in physical activities.
PH2-RRS-02 describes and applies skills and strategies to interact safely in offline and online contexts.
PH2-IHW-01 explains how related factors influence identity, health and wellbeing.
PH2-SMI-01 explains and applies self-management and interpersonal skills in a range of contexts.]

Students will revisit applying movement skills and strategies in games and team settings, while also reinforcing respectful relationships and safety practices in various environments, including the road and online context.

In unit 5, students will revisit exploring how physical, social, and emotional changes affect identity and well-being, while developing management and interpersonal skills for goal-setting, respectful communication, and collaboration.

In unit 5, students continue skill development. I'll give you a moment to review those again.

In this lesson, students learn about responsible saving and how it positively impacts well-being. This content is connected to goal-setting, focusing on how setting financial goals can improve saving habits. A highlight of this lesson is a hands-on budgeting activity, which helps students practice real-world decision-making by managing pretend money, prioritising needs over wants, and deciding how much to save. It encourages critical thinking, collaboration, and financial responsibility in a meaningful and engaging way.

In this PDH lesson, we used 3 simple but powerful activities.

First, story-based learning with books like ‘Family’ helps students connect with important cultural ideas and build their sense of identity. Next, mapping personal connections to family and community makes these relationships more real and supports well-being. Finally, the circles of connection activity encourages students to reflect on how their family, community, and Country all play a role in their sense of belonging and their health.

Together, these activities create meaningful, respectful learning that supports both cultural understanding and the syllabus outcomes.

Now is another opportunity to pause the recording and capture your initial thoughts, and think about how this could take shape in the unique context of your school.

You could return to your participant workbook reflection section.

This session is designed to give you an overview of the content changes across the new CHPS syllabuses.

Also, to introduce the gap analysis tool, which supports schools in identifying differences in content, timing, and potential gaps in student knowledge.

By the end, you'll see how this tool can guide future planning and discussion in your teams.

The CHPS syllabuses have been updated to better reflect current knowledge, skills, and priorities. These changes are designed to create a more streamlined, relevant, and future-focused curriculum.

By understanding and engaging with these updates, we can adapt and refine teaching programmes to reflect current priorities, plan strategically for resourcing across the school, engage in targeted professional learning to build teacher confidence, and provide consistent and equitable support for students, ensuring every learner can thrive.

To identify gaps students will have, when you implement the new syllabuses, you can compare the content with what students were expected to learn with the previous syllabus.

Think about your school curriculum, your stage, the scope and sequences, and class programmes.

Then, cross-check whether students have these understandings through assessments, class discussion, and observation of their learning.

To support you to identify new syllabus content, you have access to information in the New South Wales Department of Education intranet page through the curriculum tab. On this screen, you can see the pathway to find the HSIE ‘What has changed’ overview.

[Text on screen:

Home > Teaching and Learning > Curriculum > HSIE K–12 > Leading HSIE K–6 > Human society and its environment K–6 Syllabus (2024) – information for school leaders].

The links to all the CHPS key learning areas overview can be found in your participant workbook.

In HSIE, Aboriginal cultures and history outcomes and content are strengthened from Early Stage 1 to Stage 3.

This requires teachers to embed Aboriginal perspectives consistently and authentically, not just in isolated units. This will require consultation with local Aboriginal communities to ensure respectful, authentic learning.

Students will now begin exploring ancient cultures and histories earlier in their schooling, from Stage 1 and 2. This shift introduces historical inquiry skills at a younger age, allowing students to engage with the diversity of human experience and compare past and present societies in more meaningful ways.

There is an increased focus on students using maps and other geographical tools to build spatial awareness and interpret information. Teachers will need to strengthen their own knowledge and confidence with geographical skills, and schools may need to invest in updated resources such as atlases, digital mapping tools, and classroom globes.

Previously taught as separate syllabuses, History and Geography are now combined into one HSIE key learning area. This integration encourages teachers to plan more connected units that draw on both historical and geographical perspectives. Supporting students to see the links between people, place, and time. It also reduces duplication and provides more flexibility in program design.

In Science and Technology, human body content is a new focus across K–6, with students learning about key systems and structures such as the ears, eyes, digestive system, muscles, and skeleton.

This development provides a strong foundation for understanding how the body functions, promoting health awareness and scientific literacy from an early age.

Integrating this content across all year levels ensures students build progressively deeper knowledge and connect connections between body systems, health, and everyday experiences.

Electricity syllabus content requires additional practical investigation, demonstration, and hands-on learning. This may require additional resources to provide appropriate materials and equipment. Teacher guidance is essential to ensure students can explore concepts safely, engage with experiments, and develop a deep understanding of electrical circuits and energy transfer.

Working scientifically skills are now embedded across all year levels rather than treated as a separate component. Students consistently develop skills such as questioning, predicting, planning, conducting investigations, collecting and interpreting data, and evaluating results.

Embedding these skills throughout the curriculum ensures they are applied in context, strengthening students' problem-solving, critical thinking, and scientific reasoning capabilities from K–6.

In Creative Arts, dance and music elements have been updated from the previous syllabus, providing students with more contemporary, engaging, and developmentally appropriate learning experiences.

These updates support skill progression, creativity, and expression, while ensuring alignment with current educational standards.

There is a strength and focus on historical and cultural arts practices from around the world, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions. This approach enables students to appreciate the diversity of artistic expression, understand cultural contexts, and develop respect for both local and global creative practices.

Through creating written text, there is now greater emphasis on vocabulary development, critical and creative writing. Students are encouraged to articulate ideas effectively, analyse artistic works critically, and engage in imaginative and reflective thinking, which strengthens both literacy and cognitive skills in meaningful arts contexts.

Digital technologies and digital safety are explicitly referenced in the essential content, ensuring students understand how to use digital tools responsibly, ethically, and safely within arts learning. This inclusion reflects the growing role of technology in creative practice and prepares students to confidently navigate digital spaces.

In PDHPE, financial well-being is now an explicit focus from Stage 1 to Stage 3. Students are supported to develop foundational skills in managing money, such as understanding needs versus wants, making responsible spending and saving choices, and recognising the value of financial planning. Integrating financial literacy from an early age equips students with practical life skills, helping them to make informed decisions and build long-term economic resilience.

Media literacy is explicitly embedded from Stage 1 to Stage 3, recognising the increasingly complex media environment students navigate. Students learn to critically analyse and interpret information, identify bias or misinformation, and respond thoughtfully to media messages across multiple platforms. Early and consistent teaching of media literacy supports informed citizenship and encourages safe, responsible engagement with digital media.

Physical education now places a stronger emphasis on small-sided games, which promote higher levels of participation, teamwork, spatial awareness, and decision-making compared with traditional, large group formats. Implementing small-sided games requires new teaching approaches, modified resources, and adaptable game structures to ensure all students are actively engaged and developing their skills. This approach also supports differentiation, allowing students of varying abilities to participate meaningfully.

PE for K–2 now includes the explicit teaching of all fundamental movement skills, with the goal that students achieve proficiency by the end of Stage 1. This ensures that students have a strong foundation in core movement patterns like running, jumping, catching, throwing, balancing, and dodging. Achieving this goal may require targeted professional learning for teachers, additional resources, and structured practice opportunities to provide consistent and effective skill development for all students.

The gap analysis tool helps you identify differences in content and timing between old and new syllabuses.

To use it, identify new content by comparing the updated syllabus with the previous one, review prior stage learning to spot what students may have missed, note possible gaps and to assess them, and plan actions to address these gaps through teaching.

After completing the analysis, regularly review and update it during and after instruction to support student progress.

Now, let's look at a Stage 2 example you can apply to other stages relevant to your work.

The image on the screen shows all content covered in Stage 2, Unit 5 for each of the CHPS syllabuses. A copy of content for Unit 1 and Unit 5 has been included in the participant workbook. Considering PDHPE as the example, highlighted is one area of new content.

This can now be reviewed using the gap analysis tool.

Think of this example from the perspective of a Stage 2 classroom teacher planning to implement the PDHPE syllabus. The new content comes from the focus area, identity, health, and well-being.

The content group is decisions and actions promote health and well-being, with a content point that requires students to describe the benefits of responsible saving and spending of money for well-being.

In Stage 1, students learn the basics, recognising that money can be saved or spent on needs and wants. In Stage 2, students build on this foundation by exploring the benefits of responsible saving and spending, with clearer connections made to well-being.

A Stage 2 teacher needs to consider the gaps in student knowledge, as they may not have previously experienced this content, now included in the syllabus. For example, students may struggle to consistently differentiate between needs and wants or may not understand how money behaviours relate to well-being yet.

To identify these gaps, the teacher can use pre-assessments, observations, and regular check-ins. For instance, the teacher might ask students to draw or write how they would spend or save an imaginary $20 or present a similar contextually relevant scenario.

Questions like, ‘If you save money every week, what could that help you do?’ can encourage students to think about the link between money and well-being.

Once gaps are identified, the teacher can take deliberate actions. These might include creating a financial vocabulary word wall to help students understand and use key terms, modelling goal-setting together, establishing a class savings goal, and reflecting on how achieving that goal felt. Then link these activities directly to well-being, making it clear that informed financial decisions can help people feel safe, proud, and happy.

This approach supports not only money management skills but also embeds financial literacy within the broader context of health and well-being, helping students see the real-life benefits of their choices.

As you can see, this process assists both leaders and teachers in identifying content gaps and adjusting their practice accordingly.

Now you have time to start your own gap analysis based on a key learning area you are currently using or planning to use at your school.

Please map the key content changes we have identified during this professional learning session and consider the implications for your planning and assessment. Examples can be found in your participant workbook alongside this activity.

First, choose a key learning area relevant to your work, open this corresponding digital syllabus, and identify the new content.

Next, review prior stage learning and consider what students should already know from earlier stages.

Then decide on strategies you could use to pinpoint gaps in students' learning and record how you will address any identified through your teaching.

You can pause the video now and take the time needed to start a gap analysis.

Alongside the CHPS sample units of work are carefully curated resources and vocabulary lists.

To support your preparation for implementing the new CHPS sample units, a suggested resource list and key vocabulary for sample Unit 1 and Unit 5 is provided in this microlearning Module 4 suite of resources. Recognising that many schools may not have access to all material, the units also include freely available and digital alternatives.

For example, in HSIE, when a globe is needed for an activity, a link to a digital version is provided along with similar alternatives for maps and other resources.

Vocabulary lists are included in each sample unit to give teachers a clear reference, supporting consistent teaching and learning of subject-specific terms. They also assist EAL/D students by providing focused language to improve comprehension and communication.

Overall, these resources are designed to make your planning and delivery as efficient as possible, allowing you to focus on engaging your students effectively.

‘See, think, wonder’ is a great routine to make connections between new learning and prior knowledge.

Take a moment to reflect on what we have learned by previewing the sample units for the CHPS key learning areas.

You can pause the recording and take time to reflect.

To conclude this professional learning, take a moment to reflect on the key takeaways that you see on the screen.

[Text on screen:

• CHPS sample units have a common lesson structure across all 4 key learning areas
• Key sample unit features support explicit teaching, assessment and differentiation
• Support materials will be available for teaching and learning in term 1 2026 including resource lists
• Vocabulary lists will be available to support EAL/D students and strengthen whole class planning.

Consider: How will you identify next steps for 2026 at year and stage levels including actions for leaders and teachers?]

The common lesson structure across CHPS sample units provides a consistent framework that supports explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

The upcoming support materials, including resource and vocabulary lists, will enhance planning and effectively assist EAL/D learners.

Moving forward, it will be important to identify next steps for 2026 at year and stage levels by collaborating with leaders and teachers to implement targeted actions that build on these resources.

We have unpacked the structure and shared a preview of the first units being released, which will support your next steps in implementation in your school.

We would like you to complete a short survey to provide feedback on today's professional learning. Please use your phone to access the QR code or use the link on the screen [this QR code and link may no longer be current].

If you have any questions or would like to reach out to the Primary Curriculum team, please contact us via this email address

[email address on screen]

[primarycurriculum@det.nsw.edu.au or through the statewide staffroom https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=muagBYpBwUecJZOHJhv5kUwsTv61JFtLox4KgWmDAmxUNU45WDlDVEUxUEE3WVpEU0o5ME5KM0w0VyQlQCN0PWcu].

This QR code takes you to the enrolment page to join the Primary Curriculum statewide staffroom [this QR code may no longer be current].

Thank you for accessing the professional learning recording. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

[End of transcript]

Sarah Young

Welcome to our Term 4 Professional Learning on CHPS Sample Units From Planning to Practice. My name is Sarah Young, and I'm a curriculum adviser K–6. I'm joined today by colleagues from Primary Curriculum, Kate Slack Smith, David Opie, and Jessica Townsing who will be presenting alongside me today. There is a participant workbook for you to download to support you throughout this professional learning.

I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the many lands we are joining from across New South Wales. I'm presenting from Awabakal Country and I pay my respects to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues with us today.

As we engage in this professional learning, focused on curriculum and teaching practice, we are reminded that the New South Wales syllabuses strengthen the inclusion of Aboriginal histories, cultures, and perspectives. This is not only an educational requirement, it is a responsibility. It invites us to teach in ways that honour truth, embed cultural integrity, and recognise the diversity of Aboriginal nations across New South Wales.

Today is also a reminder that deepening our understanding of Aboriginal content is not a single lesson or unit, it is a commitment to practice. It requires ongoing learning, respectful collaboration with local communities, and ensuring that Aboriginal perspectives are embedded meaningfully, not just as a token, but as a thread woven throughout learning. May we continue to walk together, listen deeply, and create classrooms where every student sees themselves and their culture respected and valued.

On the slide, you'll see the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers that today's professional learning will be addressing. We'll give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

6.2 – Engage in professional learning and improve practice.

6.2.2 – Participate in learning to update knowledge and practice, targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities.

6.3 – Engage with colleagues and improve practice.

6.3.2 – Contribute to collegial discussions and apply constructive feedback from colleagues to improve professional knowledge and practice.]

On screen are the purpose and outcomes of today's professional learning. I will give you a moment to review these.

[Text on screen:

The purpose of this session is to understand the common lesson structure of CHPS sample units and plan effectively for next steps in 2026.

• preview the sample units prior to release
• develop a clear understanding of what is required for 2026 readiness at year and stage level
• deepen their understanding of unit and lesson structures
• identify practical next steps for successful syllabus implementation at their school.]

Today's professional learning previews sample units across the four key learning areas with a focus on the common lesson structure designed to support effective teaching and learning. The professional learning will unpack how key unit features guide our planning for assessment and differentiation, ensuring all students' needs are met.

There will also be a focus on classroom readiness for Term 1, 2026. This includes access to resource lists, as well as key vocabulary lists to support EAL/D students and enhance whole-class planning. The professional learning will conclude by identifying next steps for 2026 readiness at both year and stage levels, outlining clear actions for leaders and classroom teachers to ensure a smooth and successful start.

For multi-age schools, you may want to consider deferring implementation of the new syllabuses until they are mandatory in 2027. Early adoption is possible, though supporting resources may be limited. Primary curriculum acknowledges the unique challenges of multi-age settings and will provide ongoing communication and support to assist with planning in integration.

The extended familiarisation period offers time to adapt units thoughtfully to the diverse classrooms and context that you are working with while preparing for mandatory implementation.

On this slide, you'll see today's agenda. I will give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

• Introduction and Acknowledgement of Country, Common lesson structures across the four key learning areas
• Human Society and its Environment unit spotlight, Science and Technology unit spotlight
• Break (10 minutes)
• Creative Arts unit spotlight, Personal Development, Health and Physical education unit spotlight, Reflection activity
• Gap analysis
• Resources, Conclusion , survey and close.]

I'd now like you to pause the video to take a moment to reflect or discuss the questions you see on the slide. Please pause the video.

[Text on screen:

1. Have you reviewed any of the sample English and mathematics units released?
2. Are you currently implementing any aspects of the new CHPS syllabuses, or do you plan to do so soon?
3. Have you ever thought about how the department develops these sample units? ]

Thank you for engaging in that task.

This section will explore common lesson structures across the four key learning areas to show you their consistent look and feel and explain how the key sample unit features support explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

When the Primary Curriculum team talk about the design of CHPS sample units, it's important to understand that everything created is grounded in three key pillars: evidence-based principles, purposeful design, and practical classroom support. These pillars guide the work from initial concept through to final delivery, ensuring high-quality, impactful, and genuinely useful resources for teachers and students.

Evidence-based principles ensures every resource is informed by current research, best practice, and data on what works in improving student learning. Developers engage in educational research and curriculum policy, so the work aligns with system priorities and supports consistent, high-quality teaching.

Purposeful design refers to intentionally designing resources with a clear purpose, logical structure, and a strong alignment to syllabus outcomes and learning progressions. The focus is on clarity, accessibility, and coherence so that teachers can easily see how each part connects to the bigger picture.

Practical classroom support: Teachers need resources that they are confident to pick up and use. The materials are created to be adaptable and supportive of diverse learners. Built in are clear instructions, scaffolds, differentiation suggestions, and assessment checkpoints so teachers can focus on teaching rather than creating resources from scratch.

Why consistency matters. The sample units play a central role in supporting schools as they move towards the 2027 mandatory implementation of the new syllabuses. They have been designed to reflect the new syllabuses and provide leaders and teachers with practical, high-quality resources that they can confidently use in classrooms.

The CHPS sample units are directly aligned with department scope and sequences and NESA whole-school plan. This alignment provides clarity, prevents duplication, and helps reduce workload.

The CHPS sample units are designed to engage students, support teachers, and promote consistent, high-quality learning experiences that support explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

This slide highlights where you can access the department scope and sequence. We have used a Creative Arts example on screen, and you can follow the breadcrumbs to be able to access them.

[Text on screen:

Home > Teaching and Learning > Curriculum > Creative Arts K–12 > Planning, programming and assessing Creative Arts K–6 (2024)]

If you would like to explore scope and sequences further, the Term 3 micro-learning professional learning has a focus on scope and sequences and can be accessed on demand with the resources.

The CHPS sample units are designed as a flexible framework. This is just one example of how programming might look. Schools are encouraged to adapt them to suit their own context and student needs.

Each unit uses the same template, giving a consistent look and feel across all four key learning areas. On page one, you'll see the identified syllabus, stage, unit number, and focus areas.

Every unit begins with a clear description that outlines the duration of the lesson, the focus of learning, and how students will build knowledge and skills. Related learning is highlighted to demonstrate possible connections to relevant prior learning.

Syllabus outcomes are clearly identified, ensuring every lesson is grounded in syllabus content.

Each unit also includes a resources overview, and lessons are structured as two 60-minute sessions per week, aligning with NESA's suggested time allocation for CHPS's key learning areas.

This design streamlines planning, keeps expectations clear, and ensures a consistent experience for teachers and students.

The resources overview makes preparation simple. Everything is listed in one place, from videos and audio tracks to physical materials like hoops, percussion instruments, or action cards. This not only supports smooth planning but also helps schools plan for and manage resourcing across each term.

Each lesson in the CHPS sample units follows the same structure, ensuring consistency across all four key learning areas.

We begin with an overview that provides a short description of the learning and identifies the prior learning the lesson builds on. This prior learning isn't necessarily a content point but is aligned to the syllabus content.

The overview also lists the key vocabulary to be taught and highlights any preparation required.

Each lesson is 60 minutes in duration. The beginning of each lesson is usually 10 minutes in duration.

You will notice explicit teaching strategies embedded in the units. The learning intention and success criteria are so the students know exactly what they're working towards and how they know when they've achieved it. Making this visible is part of explicit teaching. It removes the guesswork and gives learning a clear purpose. This also includes activating prior knowledge. Here, the focus is on students retrieving what they already know, not on reteaching content.

This approach hooks into their existing schema to prepare them for new learning in the core lesson.

Right from the start, explicit teaching is modelled, being clear about the destination and deliberately connecting the learning to what students bring with them.

The core lesson is planned for around 40 minutes. You will notice more explicit teaching strategies embedded here.

Teachers begin by explaining and modelling the new knowledge or skill. Then students move into guided practice before working more independently. This is the gradual release of responsibility in action.

The activities are tightly aligned to the learning intention. They are sequenced from simple to complex. Scaffolds are gradually removed, and extension opportunities are built in, so every student is challenged at the right level.

Throughout the core lesson, teachers use ‘check for understanding,’ such as questioning, response systems, or observations, to monitor learning progress.

These checks for understanding drive timely feedback, helping teachers adjust pace, identify areas that require reteaching, and are connected to the success criteria.

While explicit teaching strategies are central, they are balanced with a variety of other high-quality practices of collaborative learning, use of real-world context, inclusion of diverse backgrounds and abilities, and multimodal resources.

Each lesson includes a differentiation table to help teachers plan for the full range of learners in their classrooms. It provides practical examples of additional scaffolds for students who need more support, as well as extension strategies for those ready to be challenged.

All adjustments are anchored to the same learning intention and success criteria. This means students may take different pathways, but everybody is working towards the same goal.

The table helps teachers anticipate need in advance, promotes inclusive practice, and ensures high expectations are maintained for every student.

Assessment is also embedded in every lesson, always tied directly to the learning intention, success criteria, and syllabus outcome.

The ‘What to look for’ section gives teachers clear guidance on the observable evidence that shows whether the students are meeting the learning intention.

For example, in this lesson, teachers are looking at whether students can refine and apply skills and strategies to participate effectively in territory games and demonstrate respectful and effective communication to promote leadership, inclusion, and collaboration.

By aligning assessment with the success criteria, we take the guesswork out of checking progress. Teachers know exactly what evidence to gather, and students understand what success looks like. Importantly, this doesn't add extra workload. Assessment is built into the flow of the lesson and doubles as a check for understanding to guide next steps.

The conclusion of each lesson is approximately 10 minutes and provides an intentional wrap-up of the learning.

This phase is about revisiting the learning intention and success criteria, so students are reminded of the purpose of the lesson and what they have achieved.

It allows them to reflect on how the activities connected to the learning and to make sense of the knowledge and skills they've developed.

There is no new content introduced here, and no formal check for understanding. It's simply about clarifying, reinforcing, and closing the loop so students leave the lesson with a clear picture of their progress.

Each lesson contains optional assessments. They are designed to be a flexible, optional resource available for use when and where they are needed and are a tool to support your teaching.

Benefits of these assessments is that they can help you identify the gaps in students' learning and misconceptions that can occur during a lesson.

This is valuable, ensuring that all students grasp essential concepts before new learning is introduced.

They guide teaching decisions. By using these assessments, teachers can gain real-time insights into students' understanding and use that information to adjust instruction, provide targeted support, or extend learning.

The optional assessment serves as a practical way to check comprehension at the lesson level and plan for the next steps in teaching.

Optional assessments offer a range of approaches from informal methods like planned observations and targeted questioning to identifying misconceptions to more formal tasks, such as evaluating student work samples using predetermined criteria.

NESA's diagram provides an overview of the organisation of content for creating written text, which is included in all CHPS syllabuses.

In Early Stage 1 and Stage 1, the focus in PDHPE and Creative Arts is on developing students' subject-specific vocabulary to support communicating.

In HSIE and Science and Technology, there are individual content groups.

In Stage 2 for PDHPE, and Creative Arts opportunities are embedded within the content for students to create written text.

In HSIE and Science and Technology, there is an individual content group.

In Stage 3, there is a dedicated creating written text outcome for all CHPS key learning areas with subject-specific content.

NESA highlights that various methods of transcription may be employed, and a student's preferred communication form should be considered when teaching writing.

NESA states, ‘Creating written text is a way of organising thoughts, explaining thinking, and making connections within and across learning areas. The learning areas provide meaningful content for writing beyond the subject of English.’

Please take a moment to review the PDHPE example on the screen.

[Text on screen:

PH3-CWT-01 creating written texts supports understanding of health, safety and wellbeing.
PH3-IHW-01 changes and factors can promote a positive identity.

Activity: Create a mind map to determine who or what was an influence on their personal wellbeing and how it impacted them.

Reflect on individual mind map. Use a combination of simple, compound and complex sentences to record reflections.]

This example demonstrates how creating written text is effectively integrated into the PDHPE curriculum to enhance students' understanding of health, safety, and well-being.

By engaging in the activity of creating a mind map, students reflect on influences affecting their personal well-being, promoting self-awareness and positive identity development.

This task encourages the use of varied sentence structures, supporting literacy skills alongside personal development.

This integrated approach helps students articulate their thoughts clearly while connecting literacy with key health concepts.

It exemplifies how writing activities can deepen learning across key learning areas by combining content knowledge with essential communication skills.

With students at the centre of all decisions, planning started with the NESA syllabus and teaching advice, ensuring fidelity to the syllabus rationale, intent, and extensive evidence base to shape decisions.

Teachers with deep content knowledge can explain concepts clearly, learning effectively, differentiate with purpose, and respond confidently to key teaching moments.

The sample units build this expertise by highlighting misconceptions, identifying essential vocabulary, practical tools, and expert advice.

Engagement is a non-negotiable. The design is for students to be ‘in task’ more than just ‘on task,’ thinking deeply, doing the work, and feeling positive about their learning.

The pedagogy and practices within the sample units are anchored in the ‘Explicit teaching in New South Wales public schools’ statement and research-informed practices tailored to each key learning area.

The sample units have been a collaborative build and in consultation with stakeholders to ensure understanding and inclusive approaches. These partnerships ensure that the sample units are comprehensive, culturally responsive, and aligned with best practices to support diverse student needs and enhance learning outcomes.

This slide outlines the 13-week roadmap for every CHPS unit with quality assurance built in at every stage.

It begins at the design stage, where subject matter specialists map syllabus expectations from the sample scope and sequence.

Next is the consult stage, where we test the draft with key stakeholder groups, including Aboriginal Education, Respectful Relationships, Effective Teaching Practices, and others, to ensure intent and inclusivity.

In the develop stage, writing pods build the full sequence, embedding explicit teaching, high-quality resources, and assessment in every lesson.

In the review stage, Key Learning Advisers provide detailed feedback, followed by Coordinator and Leader endorsement, and close the consultation loop on the final lessons.

Finally, in the digital stage, editorial and website checks are completed, and units are published.

Through this process, Primary Curriculum will deliver 114 units, over 2,200 lessons ready to support mandatory CHPS implementation in 2027.

Now you have viewed the features of the sample units for CHPS, I will ask you in a moment to pause the video and discuss the questions you see on the slide. Pause the video now.

[Text on screen:

1. What similarities to the way you plan now can you see in the sample units?
2. What differences to the way you plan now can you see in the sample units?]

Thank you for your engagement. I hope you feel reassured that the way you are currently programming aligns with the sample units and that some of the differences you identify will further support student learning.

Kate Slack-Smith

Let's start by having a look at Stage 3, Unit 1.

In Stage 3, Unit 1, students explore Aboriginal cultural obligations to Country and examine how Aboriginal cultural works reflect oral traditions and landscape mapping. They observe and record geographical information, propose strategies for managing local environmental events, and understand the role of seasonal calendars in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The focus area for Unit 1 is geographical information is used to plan for sustainable futures.

The two outcomes for the unit are displayed on the screen, which I will let you read.

[Text on screen:

Focus Area: Geographical information is used to plan for sustainable futures.

HS3-ACH-01 describes Aboriginal Knowledges and Practices that care for Country and the importance of Aboriginal Languages revival.
HS3-GEO-01 examines global citizenship and how people organise, protect and sustainably use the environment, using geographical information.]

There are two content groups covered in the unit. The first is Aboriginal Cultural Knowledges and Practices that care for Country. There are three content points addressed in Unit 5, which are explain the importance of undertaking Cultural obligations to Country as part of the continuation of Aboriginal Cultures, examine Aboriginal Cultural works as evidence of Oral Traditions and mapping of landscapes, and explain how Aboriginal Peoples' Cultural Knowledges of fire are used to organise, manage, and interact with Country.

The second content group covered in Unit 1 is People organise and manage places using geographical information. I'll give you a moment now to read through the seven content points on your screen.

[Text on screen:

Content group: People organise and manage places using geographical information.

• Locate and represent cities, towns and communities in relation to other places in Australia, using road maps
• Explain how urban, rural and remote places in Australia are connected, using satellite images and freight maps
• Describe ways in which cities and towns in Australia are organised, using oblique and vertical aerial images
• Observe, measure, collect and record geographical information to explain how places are organised
• Research and explain how people and agencies manage places where environmental events occur
• Propose strategies to manage a local place where environmental events occur
• Explain how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities use seasonal calendars to organise and manage Country and Place.]

Thank you. We'll now have a closer look at the Aboriginal Cultures and Histories content.

All HSIE units which cover Aboriginal Cultures and History content are written in consultation with the Department of Education Aboriginal Education Advisers.

When planning and programming content relating to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and Cultures, teachers are encouraged to involve local Aboriginal Communities and/or appropriate Knowledge Holders in determining suitable resources, use Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander authored or endorsed publications, read the principles and protocols relating to teaching and learning about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander histories and Cultures, and the involvement of local Aboriginal Communities.

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies guide to evaluating and selecting educational resources, has been developed to assist teachers in selecting appropriate resources for teaching about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, Cultures, and languages respectfully and effectively.

Throughout this unit, students are provided with opportunities to learn and apply geographical skills, whilst learning about the content.

In Unit 1, students develop mapping skills and learn to use images to examine places through a geographical lens, collect and record data by observing and measuring geographical information, research and propose strategies to manage places where environmental events occur, and research how agencies support communities after natural disasters.

A fascinating element of this unit is the opportunity to learn about Songlines and Dreaming Tracks and connect these to the modern road networks we use today.

Learning will be supported by high-quality videos and information sources in consultation with our Aboriginal education advisers. Let's take a look at one of these videos now.

Narrator

Songlines can be very complicated. The word Songlines comes from the English translation. Obviously it's in English, Songlines.

In our culture, we understood the whole area where we lived, but also the structure of trade and ceremony, so you'd move from one piece of where you belong to to another plant group, and so you'd have to move through the land. So Songlines are actually maps of the land.

To give you an idea, you got a group of, say, a hundred people, men, women, and children. They're living in an area, they're camping there. They go out hunting. The men go out looking for the emu, the wallaby, the kangaroo, and the fish, and so forth.

The women go out looking for the seeds and the wild fruits and things that they will use for cooking, and so what happens as you're going out to hunt over a period of time, you have to go a little bit further. The animals get a little bit scarcer.

Our culture, you do not destroy, so what would happen then? The warriors would report back, the women would report back, it was getting scarcer and further to go to hunt and to gather their food source. The elders would come together, they'd have a meeting, and then they would decide it's now time to leave that area. You don't destroy it, because it has to regenerate and regrow again, so we move on before we destroy it, and so they'll sing of the land they're moving into.

They'll sing of the rivers, the bend in the river, the rock formation, the trees, the food source that's found there, and the people knowing the land intimately, they know exactly where they're going, and as they're going along these tracks or Songlines or maps of the land, they'd be singing of the earth 'cause sacred areas, sacred places, things that have happened in the past, so they're singing and chanting all the way along and giving thanks to the earth, to the mother. The English see that and they seen our people and they call them Songlines cause we moved around the land to protect it. We were natural greenies and ecologists.

Kate Slack-Smith

Students also explore the ways Australian cities and towns have been organised. They explore Walter Burley Griffin's designs for places including Canberra, Leeton, Griffith, and Castlecrag.

Environmental events are also explored in this unit. Case studies enable students to identify ways people and agencies, such as the Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service, manage places where environmental events occur.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander seasonal calendars are also explored in this unit. Students learn how cultural burning is used to organise, manage, and interact with Country and the time of year this is appropriate. Students engage in a research task to learn more about one seasonal calendar, identifying the names of the seasons, time of year for each, characteristic of each season, and how the calendar is used to manage and organise Country and Place.

Let's now have a look at our second Term 1 unit for Stage 3, which is Unit 5.

In Unit 5, students explore cultural obligations to Country in the continuation of Aboriginal Cultures and how local knowledges influence the management of environments and World Heritage areas. They research and present strategies for sustainably managing and protecting global environments for future generations.

The focus area for Unit 5 is geographical information is used to plan for sustainable futures. Unit 5 covers the same outcomes as Unit 1, as each stage has only one outcome for geography and Aboriginal Cultures and Histories each year.

There are two content groups covered in Unit 5. The first is Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Practices that care for Country. The two content points addressed in Unit 5 are explain the importance of undertaking cultural obligations to Country as part of the continuation of Aboriginal Cultures, which was included in Unit 1 and also in this unit. Describe how local Knowledges of Country influence Aboriginal Peoples' management of environments and World Heritage areas.

The second content group covered in Unit 5 is People can protect global environments and use sustainable practices for the future. I'll give you a moment to read through the three content points on your screen.

[Text on screen:

Content group: People can protect global environments and use sustainable practices for the future.

• Explain how World Heritage contributes to the identification, protection and preservation of natural and cultural sites of significance for the world, using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary
• Compare sustainable practices used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and international Indigenous Peoples
• Research and present practices people can engage with to sustainably manage or protect global environments into the future.].

Thank you. We will now have a closer look at the skill development in the unit.

Throughout this unit, students are provided with opportunities to learn and apply geographical skills whilst learning about the content.

In Unit 5, students research and explain how World Heritage sites are identified, protected, and preserved, compare Indigenous sustainable practices from around the world, and research and present sustainability practices by undertaking a case study about an issue important to them.

In this unit, students research Australian and international UNESCO World Heritage sites. They learn how these sites are identified, protected, and preserved, and identify sites listed on the danger list. Students explore what practices are being put in place to protect and preserve these sites. Lessons also examine how local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and practices impact the management of Australian World Heritage sites.

Students compare sustainable practices used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and international Indigenous Peoples. Students engage in case studies exploring the Brewarrina Fish Traps and North American Indigenous fish traps and weirs, as well as Indigenous agricultural practices.

Towards the end of the unit, students explore modelled case studies, which identify ways small actions can be implemented to support global sustainability. Students have the opportunity to identify an environmental issue and design an action plan that they can put in place to manage or protect the environment.

Now, there is an opportunity for you to pause the recording to reflect on what you have seen, make some notes, and start to think about what this could look like in your school context.

In your participant workbook, you'll find the reflection section and a heading for each key learning area. Capture your initial thoughts and think about how this could take shape in the unique context of your school.

David Opie

We'll now explore two of our Stage 3 units, Unit 1 and Unit 5.

Unit 1 allows students to explore technologies for collecting weather data, distinguish between climate and weather, and investigate how natural events or human activities influence the atmosphere.

The focus area for Unit 1 is Knowledge of our world and beyond inspire sustainable solutions. Within this focus area, students use evidence to explain how scientific knowledge can be used to develop sustainable practices, pose questions to gather data, and interpret that data to support explanations and arguments.

Further to this are two additional focus areas which are addressed in this unit, Design and digital technologies engineer sustainable solutions and creating written texts in Science and Technology.

Within the Science focus area sits the content group, Earth's climate is affected by natural and human activities. Pause the recording to read the on-screen content.

[Text on screen:

Content Group: Earth's climate is affected by natural and human activities.

• Identify the technologies used to collect weather data and describe how they are used
• Describe the differences between climate and weather
• Research the effects of natural events on the atmosphere
• Explain the effects of natural events and human activities on climate.].

Within the design and digital focus area, students explore how radio waves transformed the way weather data was collected and shared, and the unit also provides opportunities for students to use online platforms to share files and collaborate on their work.

The creating written text outcome focuses on nominalization, which allows students to convey clear and succinct meaning when writing about scientific concepts. It also supports students to use compound and complex sentences and label diagrams to explain a process, scientific concept, or investigation.

As you can see on the screen, Unit 1 has very strong links to HSIE and mathematics. Pause the recording to read the opportunities to connect.

[Text on screen:

• HSIE Stage 2 Geography: how climate influences settlement patterns in Australia; climate zones and choropleth maps showing temperature and humidity; compare seasonal rainfall in places in Australia.
• Stage 3 Geography: use satellite images to observe connections across urban, rural and remote places; examine places in the world where human activity has changed the environment by comparing maps and satellite images.
• Mathematics Data B: Interpret data presented in digital media and elsewhere.]

New to the 2024 Science and Technology syllabus for each stage are posing questions outcomes. For Stage 3, the outcome poses questions to identify variables and conduct fair tests to gather data.

Right from the beginning of early Stage 1, students are developing the questioning, observation, and data analysis skills in a sequential way. This learning supports the introduction of working scientifically outcomes in Stage 4.

To supplement the syllabus teaching advice, the department has created an information document for posing questions. This will be published on the department's website. The advice has one page per stage, providing background information, examples, and teaching tips relevant for each stage of learning.

A common misconception addressed in this unit is that the term climate and weather are interchangeable, whereas weather is the state of the atmosphere at a particular place in time, and climate is the average types of weather including seasonal variations experienced by a place of region over a long period of time.

The second misconception addressed is that local weather events are indicative of climate change, whereas information about these events contributes to the combined results collected over a long period, allowing us to see averages and patterns.

The unit is designed to unpack these misconceptions and focus on the nuances in the relationship between climate and weather. This leads us to the first activity we would like to highlight.

To explore the differences between climate and weather, students collect weather data at their school and compare this long-term climate data from the Bureau of Meteorology. This data is collected daily, collated, and grafted. Students are able to analyse and compare their information with official data to gauge accuracy, support understanding of regional differences, and relate this to climate information.

Students also use a range of interactive maps from the Bureau of Meteorology to explore and discuss weather and climate data from all over Australia and compare their local region to another region in New South Wales that is very different, for example, comparison of weather between Ballina and Broken Hill.

Weather data is collected using a rain gauge and a temperature gauge. However, if the school has access to a barometer to measure air pressure, an anemometer to measure wind speed, or a hydrometer to measure humidity, these devices could also be used. Data collection and analysis through posing questions supports students to develop scientific and technological skills, practices, and dispositions.

Also, within Unit 1, students explain the effect of natural events on the atmosphere. This includes a look at how volcanic eruptions and bushfires result in gases released into the atmosphere that cause potential short-term effects such as static lightning, acid rain, and temperature drops.

Students also research potential long-term impact on our atmosphere and what this might mean for climate variations.

These natural weather events are then animated using the coding platform Scratch. Students use block coding to programme each element of their animation. Students create instructions for the movement of each part and can also change the background. Play the video to look at an example of how a student might use Scratch to animate a weather event that you have explored.

Play the video to look at the final animation. The volcano spews lava and smoke into the atmosphere, causing the sky to darken with carbon and other materials, creating a desolate, barren environment similar to what is found on the moon.

We'll now move to Unit 5.

In Unit 5, students explore the focus area of living things may change over millions of years in response to their environment.

Students explore how adaptations support survival, interpret food webs to understand energy flow, examine evidence of environmental change over time, consider the impacts of species loss and the introduction of new species, and investigate how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' sustainable practices protect ecosystems.

Students learn about seed dispersal methods by building paper helicopter seeds and pose questions to identify variables and conduct fair tests to test which seed traits disperse the furthest. This is an amazing process in nature. Watch the video of a slow-motion dandelion seed dispersal.

There are two focus areas for Unit 5, Knowledge of our world and beyond inspire sustainable solutions and Design and digital technologies engineer sustainable solutions. Pause the recording to read the outcomes covered in Unit 5.

[Text on screen:

Focus area: Knowledge of our world and beyond inspires sustainable solutions.

ST3-SCI-01 uses evidence to explain how scientific knowledge can be used to develop sustainable practices
ST3-PQU-01 poses questions to identify variables and conducts fair tests to gather data
ST3-DAT-01 interprets data to support explanations and arguments.

Focus area: Design and digital technologies engineer sustainable solutions.

ST3-DDT-02 creates, evaluates and modifies algorithms to code or control digital devices and systems and processes.]

Here is the content covered in Unit 5. I'll give you a moment to read the content points.

[Text on screen:

Content group: Living things may change over millions of years, in response to their environments.

• Observe behavioural and structural adaptations of plants and animals, and suggest how these may help them survive in their environments
• Examine and explain how the characteristics of flowers, fruit and seeds are adaptations for reproduction in plants
• Interpret a food web that describes the flow of matter and energy between plants and animals in an ecosystem
• Identify and describe how the loss or introduction of plants or animals affects an Australian ecosystem
• Examine evidence that environments have changed over time and continue to change
• Describe how Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ sustainable practices continue to protect the environment.

Content group: The future can be shaped by building and connecting digital systems.

• Select and use appropriate digital tools to share files online following an agreed code of conduct.]

This unit is a perfect example of combining the science and digital outcomes to make an engaging, hands-on unit where students explore behavioural and structural adaptations of plants and animals and share their work and contribute collaboratively online. In this unit, there is no scope to creating written text content.

As with Unit 1, this unit has a very strong link to HSIE and mathematics. Pause the recording to read the opportunities to connect.

[Text on screen:

• HSIE Stage 2 Geography. People use geographical information to understand climates and environments.
• Stage 3 Geography. Use satellite images to observe connections across urban, rural and remote places; examine places in the world where human activity has changed the environment by comparing maps and satellite images.
• Mathematics Data A. Chooses and uses appropriate graphs. Data B. Interpret data presented in digital media and elsewhere.]

A number of misconceptions are addressed in this unit, including that organisms adapt to suit their environment and animal structures are chosen by animals. In fact, this is a reversal. Species adapt to their environment over time. Adaptations is a non-conscious process where beneficial, heritable traits become more common in a population over generations due to increased reproductive success in specific environments.

That pollination is the same as seed dispersal and that seeds are non-living. In fact, seeds are alive and contain all the necessary genetic material and cellular structures to grow into a new plant under the right condition. As a seed, they are in a sleeping state, waiting for the right condition to trigger their growth.

That arrows in a food chain show who eats what. However, the arrows show the direction that energy flows up the chain, from producer to consumer.

And invasive species are always non-native. An example of a problematic native species is the redclaw crayfish from the Northern Territory, which was introduced in the Western Australia and has negatively impacted the native species in that area.

One of the activities we would like to highlight from this unit is an investigation of how the adaptations in humans of the opposable thumb has supported survival.

In terms of human development, opposable thumbs provide the manual dexterity for tool use, which was crucial for survival and shaped human culture and intelligence through a feedback loop of fine motor skills, complex behaviours, and brain development.

Students collect data on how long everyday tasks take to complete with and without the use of their opposable thumbs. They compare graph and analyse the data. This activity supports the use of questioning, investigating, testing, problem-solving, analysing, and communicating, which are critical components of understanding complex issues such as adaptation.

Right, now it's your turn. I would like everyone to try to write your name using a pen or pencil. Pick up your coffee mug, computer mouse, book, or other objects without using your thumb.

You'll have 20 seconds to attempt this task. You can try as many times as you wish with as many different objects as you like. Start the timer and see how you go.

Adaptation is further explored in this activity where students work together to find and photograph animals and/or plants in different biomes in a ‘Minecraft’ world.

‘Minecraft Education’ is freely available to all New South Wales Department of Education schools. All students have access via their @education email stem, and there is a lot of support to explore ‘Minecraft’ in classrooms through the technology how-to guides, which can be accessed through the IT support essentials tab.

In this game, students locate animals in different environments, photograph using a camera in their inventory, then journal their findings and document adaptations observed in their online ‘Minecraft’ journal. This activity allows students to be explorers of different environments, documenting their animals and plants they have found. Watch a quick video to see what it looks like in gameplay.

[Graphic on screen:

Minecraft interface, user selecting image with flowers on grass which is displayed in a picture book on the left page. On the right page user types ‘Flowers. A plant adaptation to support survival is flowers. Flowers are colourful and sweet smelling to attract bees and other pollinators].

To consolidate students' understanding of how adaptations support animals and plants to survive in a particular environment, students explore polar, desert, and cave environments, discussing their unique conditions and the animal adaptations needed for survival, such as insulation, camouflage, and specialised body features.

Students then create and label drawings of an extreme environment of their choice, including temperature, plant, and animal life. Finally, students share their environments and explain the adaptations that animals would require to survival.

An AI tool such as New South Wales EduChat is an option to support this activity. When students are happy with their extreme environment and animal adaptations, they use Canva Magic Media or Adobe Express to create an AI-generated image of an animal that has these characteristics.

On the screen, you can see what Canva Magic Media created when the description of the extreme environment and the animal adaptations to survive there were entered. Schools may use Adobe Express if preferred. All New South Wales Education student and teachers have free access to both. Schools can adjust the activity to suit the digital platforms they are most familiar with.

Again, take a moment now to consider what you've observed, record any thoughts, and begin to imagine how this might be applied within your own school setting.

Return to your participant workbook reflection section and record your thoughts.

Sarah Young

Each Creative Arts unit provides students with opportunities to engage in syllabus content in meaningful and connected ways.

Students are supported to meet the aim of the syllabus by developing curiosity, creativity, imagination, self-expression, and collaboration as they develop knowledge, understanding, and skills in Dance, Drama, Music, and Visual Arts.

Each semester, students will learn about two focus areas. In semester one, the sample scope and sequence identifies Dance and Music, while in semester two, attention shifts to Drama and Visual Arts.

Focus areas are repeated across two terms to support students in making connections and building schema by activating prior learning. This approach provides students with greater opportunities to consolidate learning and supports assessment and reporting practices on two focus areas each semester. Across these areas, students apply knowledge, understanding, and skills.

The content groups in Creative Arts are not isolated or linear and should not be taught in a sequential way. What is learned in one content group connects to the others and supports students to understand, interpret, critique, and apply their learning in meaningful ways.

In Dance, the interrelated practices are composing, performing, and appreciating. Students are not just learning dance steps. They are creating, expressing, analysing, interpreting, appreciating, reflecting, and applying their learning.

In Music, the interrelated practices are performing, listening, and composing. Students experience music as performers and as creators, while also developing their ability to reflect and respond through listening to a range of music from cultures all around the world.

This structure allows students to experience the creative arts holistically. It provides multiple entry points for expression while building students' confidence and deepening their understanding across all four focus areas.

Let's take a closer look at some of the key features of the Creative Arts sample units.

Equal time allocation. Each unit contains 10 dance lessons and 10 music lessons. Of these, four lessons are optional consolidation lessons, allowing for interruptions to regular timetables and supporting teachers to extend learning where needed.

The units make clear connections across the focus areas. Students aren't learning in silos.

In semester one, they're seeing how movement and sound work together to communicate meaning. The dance and music components connect, but they do not rely on each other. If a school chooses to teach only the music component or only the dance component, the lessons still maintain a consistent flow and meet the syllabus requirements and intent.

The units are designed with context in mind. Whether they're delivered by a classroom teacher, timetabled as RFF, or taught by a specialist teacher, the design allows schools to adapt while still staying true to the syllabus.

Resources. Each unit contains direct links to songs and videos that will support learning, with opportunities for teachers to adapt and select alternatives if preferred. Lesson templates and posters are provided. The units are intentionally designed to support all school contexts. If percussion instruments aren't available, an alternative is provided, so students could use body percussion, digital applications, or their voice to achieve the same learning.

The outcomes for Units 1 and 5 are on the screen. I'll give you a moment to review.

[Text on screen:

Focus Areas: Dance and Music.

CA3-DAN-01 composes and performs dance to communicate ideas and intent using the elements of dance, and explains how ideas are conveyed to audiences and ways contexts influence dance.
CA3-MUS-01 performs, uses listening skills and composes to communicate musical ideas using the elements of music, and explains how musical ideas are conveyed and ways contexts influence music.
CA3-CWT-01 creates written texts to communicate ideas and understanding in Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts.]

On the screen, you can see how content is organised through the interrelated practices. I will give you a moment to review these.

[Text on screen:

Dance.

• Composing: Dance is composed using the elements of dance to generate movements that communicate ideas and intent.
• Performing: Dance is performed using the elements of dance to communicate ideas and intent.
• Appreciating: Dance is influenced by the context it is composed and performed in and is understood by audiences in various ways.

Music.

• Performing: Music is performed using the elements of music to communicate musical ideas.
• Composing: Music is composed using the elements of music to communicate musical ideas.
• Listening: Music is influenced by the context in which it is performed and composed.]

Writing and content knowledge are intimately related. Creating written texts has been embedded meaningfully in the learning to support students to become fluent creators of text and deepen their understanding of dance and music.

Some examples from these units are, students experiment with language, word order, and repetition as they compose their own music pieces as featured in Unit 1, students use notes and annotated images to create a multimodal text, documenting ideas for group-devised dance sequences as seen in Unit 5, and students acknowledge artists, titles, origins of dance and music, and sources of information to add authority to written texts, which is within both Unit 1 and 5.

Our first sample unit is Unit 1.

Unit 1 focuses on how students use movement and music to express emotion and tell stories.

In Dance, students explore different ways of showing emotion through movement, drawing inspiration from Japanese Butoh, West African, and Aboriginal dance forms. They experiment with the elements of a dance to adapt movement for storytelling.

In Music, students listen to works from West African and Aboriginal Australian artists to explore how emotion is conveyed through sound. They learn about blues music and then create their own short improvisations and compositions using the elements of music to express feeling and intent.

Looking more closely at dance, students explore how movement communicates emotion. They view and analyse dance practices from around the world to understand how choreographers express emotion through movement. Students ask, ‘What emotions are dancers conveying? How have the elements of dance, space, time, and dynamics been used to create that feeling?’

They experiment with contrasting movement qualities, such as Butoh's intensity and West African grounded energy to build expressive range of awareness of how movement choices communicate intent.

Students also view totems developed by the arts unit in collaboration with Bangarra Dance Theatre to explore how Aboriginal dance conveys pride, belonging, and connection to Country.

Through this learning, students compose and refine short, story-based dances that express emotion and meaning.

In Music, students explore how composers use the elements of music to express meaning and emotion. They study Aboriginal musicians, such as Yothu Yindi and Archie Roach, learning how music communicates cultural identity and belonging.

Students also explore West African drumming, practising bass rhythms, solos, and polyrhythms to experience how rhythm and texture can convey joy and connection. Using digital tools, such as the Chrome Music Lab Voice Spinner and an online xylophone, students manipulate pitch and tempo, improvise melodic phrases, and perform short blues compositions that communicate emotional intent.

So let's try a quick inspired blues writing activity. This is the same one that students experience in lesson 10.

The blues often start with one of two lines, ‘I woke up this morning,’ or, ‘I've got the blues.’. When writing blues lyrics, the first line repeats twice to build a rhythm and the third line offers a little twist or resolution. Here is an example that has come directly from the unit.

‘I woke up this morning, couldn't find my shoes. I woke up this morning, couldn't find my shoes. Guess I'll walk barefoot and sing away my blues.’. Blues lyrics are simple, rhythmic, and often exaggerate everyday frustration.

So now, I would like you to have a go. Using one of the two opening lines, create the rest of your own three-line blues verse. Keep it light and fun. Pause the video so you can engage in this activity.

This short activity gives students a voice and a structure for emotional expression, while linking musical form to literacy.

Our next sample unit is Unit 5.

Unit 5 explores how cultural identity can be expressed through both traditional and contemporary forms of art. Students begin by exploring how contemporary Aboriginal artists express identity and belonging through dance and music. They examine how Aboriginal choreographers use dance to share cultural stories and community connections and how Aboriginal musicians use modern styles to maintain and celebrate cultural identity.

Students then explore amapiano, a global music and dance movement from South Africa with roots in Zulu traditions. They investigate how this popular style blends cultural heritage with modern rhythms and movement.

Using the elements of dance, students collaborate to create and perform a group dance. In Music, they experiment with the elements of music to compose their own amio-style pieces, re-imaging familiar rhymes or picture books through this upbeat genre.

Together, these experiences connect students to the idea that identity can be expressed in many ways, through culture, creativity, and popular trends.

Building on from the overview, the dance component gives students a hands-on way to explore how movement communicates cultural identity.

They analyse works by Bangarra Dance Theatre to identify how connection to Country, heritage, and storytelling are expressed through choreography. Students then transfer this understanding as they explore amapiano. Using the elements of dance space, time, and dynamics, students collaborate to compose and perform an amapiano-inspired sequence that communicates intent.

The elements of dance posters supports teachers in understanding the components within space, time, and dynamics that are addressed in the unit. The dance component highlights how students can celebrate cultural identity while blending traditional influences with contemporary global styles.

In music, students explore how contemporary musicians and composers communicate cultural identity and belonging in new and popular ways. They analyse how artists, like Baker Boy, fuse traditional language with popular music practices to represent culture in fresh and meaningful ways. Students discuss how artists use the elements of music, rhythm, pitch, texture, and structure, to connect audiences to stories of identity and belonging.

Using amapiano as a stimulus, students layer rhythms, improvise bass grooves, and create hooks using voices and environmental sounds. Through listening, composing, and performing, they discover how contemporary music can honour tradition while embracing new influences.

We invite you now to pause and reflect on what you've learned.

Take some notes and begin considering how these ideas might translate into your own school environment.

Return to your participant workbook reflection section.

Pause the video to give yourself time to complete the reflection or have discussion if you're working with colleagues.

Thank you, everyone. We will now continue and look at the units from PDHPE.

Jessica Townsing

We will now shift our focus to the key learning area of Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education. This slide answers frequently asked questions the PDHPE team receives regarding time allocation.

PDH and PE lessons are designed to balance both subject areas equally, following NESA's recommendation of about 8% of lesson time or roughly two hours per week. Each unit is planned over a 10-week term with eight 60-minute PDH lessons and eight 60-minute PE lessons. This enables one PDH and one PE lesson weekly, keeping timings balanced. There are also four optional lessons for reviewing key concepts or skills. This time allocation is consistent across all PDH sample units.

The graphic on screen illustrates how schools can meet the department's sport and physical activity requirements. The red circle shows NESA's syllabus and the blue circle represents the department's procedures, highlighting the sources contributing to the 150 minutes of physical activity weekly. PE lessons directly contribute to the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity each week. PDH lessons only count towards this total when they include physical activity.

School sport is a mandatory component of the weekly schedule and contributes to the 150 minutes of physical activity. For students in years three to six, schools are required to provide at least 60 minutes of sport each week. While there is no specific time requirement for sport in kindergarten to year two, these students still need opportunities to participate. Many schools offer weekly sport sessions to ensure younger students are active as well.

Unit 1 gives students the opportunities to learn how to manage and balance life skills with respect, while developing important skills to actively participate in physical activities.

PDH lessons explore how to manage life and physical changes, while practising safe behaviour in different environments.

PE lessons develop and refine their movement skills through a variety of sport.

Throughout the unit, students apply their interpersonal skills, evaluate strategies for setting and achieving goals, and showcase their understanding of health and wellbeing through a combination of simple, compound, and complex sentences in written work.

These are the syllabus outcomes covered in Unit 1. I will give you a moment to review them.

[Text on screen:

PH1-MSP-01 demonstrate fundamental movement skills and fair play in physical activities. PH1-RRS-01 describe and demonstrate actions that support respectful relationships and safety offline and online.
PH3-RRS-02 explains and applies skills and strategies to interact safely in offline and online contexts.
PH1-IHW-01 describe factors that contribute to identify health and wellbeing.
PH1-SMI-01 describe and demonstrate self-management and interpersonal skills in a range of contexts.
PH3-CWT-01 creates written texts to communicate understanding of health, safety and wellbeing.]

All four PDHPE focus areas are covered in Unit 1.

In movement, skill, and physical activity, students are working to create, communicate, and collaborate in physical activities, while refining fundamental movement skills.

In respectful relationships and safety, students are encouraged to manage respectful relationships and make informed decisions to apply safety strategies.

In identity, health, and wellbeing, the focus is on recognising the factors that shape a positive identity.

In self-management and interpersonal skills, students practice ways to make informed decisions and develop interpersonal skills for positive interactions and effective communication.

Additionally in Stage 3 is the inclusion of creating written texts as an outcome.

Skill development in PDH includes road safety, helping students understand and manage changes they may experience, encouraging good personal hygiene habits, and the ability to manage themselves and interact positively with others.

PE includes activities that quickly engage students and get them moving at the beginning of lessons, combining physical skills such as running, jumping, throwing, and catching in games and sport, a variety of games, including traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games, goal setting, and teamwork to enhance personal growth and cooperation.

Unit 1 is full of highlights.

In the PDH lessons, students are introduced to SMART goals, supporting them to make goals for their own personal hygiene, as you can imagine, an important skill in summer in a Stage 3 classroom.

Thinking of our modern world and the use of e-bikes, the unit explores important safety skills we did not have to consider as children, and define and identify examples and impacts of cultural safety.

In PE lessons, SMART goal skills transfer from the PDH to support students to set goals to improve their skills. Students participate in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games and identify the cultural connections. They develop their skills by participating in a range of games and sport.

On screen is an example of a game called Bombard from Playing for Life by the Australian Sports Commission. Bombard is a target game supporting the practice of overarm and underarm throwing. Target games develop the physical skills as well as strategic thinking and teamwork in a fun and inclusive way.

Now, let's preview Unit 5.

In PDH lessons, students delve into how relationships, identity, and wellbeing are influenced by personal strengths, cultural backgrounds, and respectful behaviours.

They examine stereotypes, practice effective communication and decision-making skills, and learn to apply road safety strategies in real-life situations.

In the PE lessons, students enhance their movement skills, take on various team roles, and embrace inclusive practices in games and sport.

Unit 1 content is deliberately revisited in Unit 5. This repetition, guided by NESA's whole school plan and research on learning, helps students deepen their understanding and apply what they've learned in new ways. Along with reviewing earlier topics, Unit 5 also introduces new content in the focus area respectful relationships and safety. I'll give you a moment to read these content groups and content points.

[Text on screen:

Focus Area: respectful Relationships.

Manage respectful relationships to support health and wellbeing:

• Explain how stereotypes can influence relationships and the wellbeing of individuals and groups
• Investigate the importance of how celebrating and commemorating Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Cultures supports health and wellbeing.

Informed decisions and strategies enhance safety:

• Apply road, fire and sun safety behaviours and identify influences that can impact decisions.]

Further content in Unit 5 is the focus area identity, health, and wellbeing.

I'll give you another moment to read the content group and content points.

[Text on screen:

Focus Area: Identity health and wellbeing

Changes and factors can promote a positive identity:

• Investigate how family, culture, peers, media, education and place can impact actions, influencing identity, health and wellbeing
• Explain strategies that enhance a positive sense of identity and support health and wellbeing
• Explain how personal strengths can support the management of challenges.]

As I mentioned with content being deliberately repeated, skill development is also revisited from Unit 1 into Unit 5. I'll give you a moment to review those again.

[Text on screen:

In this unit, students learn:

PDH content supports the development of routines and expectations:

• identity and personal strengths
• managing relationships
• life changes
• road safety.

PE structure and content:

• fast starts
• fundamental movement combinations
• skills and strategies in different types of games, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander games
• self-management and interpersonal skills, including goal setting.]

Unit 5 has a focus on students as individuals.

In the PDH lessons, students identify their personal strengths and identity and consider who and what influences them and understand cultural identity and the importance of celebrating and commemorating culture. These lessons help students preparing to transition to secondary school, develop self-awareness, resilience, respect for diversity, and foster positive relationships.

In PE lessons, students continue focusing on SMART goals while refining skills in various target, net and court, striking and fielding, and territory games, demonstrating effective communication to promote inclusion and respectfully winning and losing. Consider your favourite game either as a student yourself or a favourite game you like to teach your students.

For example, my favourite net and court game is volleyball.

Now is another opportunity to pause the recording and capture your initial thoughts and think about how this could take shape in the unique context of your school.

You could return to your participant workbook reflection section.

This session is designed to give you an overview of the content changes across the new CHPS syllabuses.

Also, to introduce the gap analysis tool, which supports schools in identifying differences in content, timing, and potential gaps in student knowledge.

By the end, you'll see how this tool can guide future planning and discussion in your teams.

The CHPS syllabuses have been updated to better reflect current knowledge, skills, and priorities. These changes are designed to create a more streamlined, relevant, and future-focused curriculum.

By understanding and engaging with these updates, we can adapt and refine teaching programmes to reflect current priorities, plan strategically for resourcing across the school, engage in targeted professional learning to build teacher confidence, and provide consistent and equitable support for students, ensuring every learner can thrive.

To identify gaps students will have, when you implement the new syllabuses, you can compare the content with what students were expected to learn with the previous syllabus.

Think about your school curriculum, your stage, the scope and sequences, and class programmes.

Then, cross-check whether students have these understandings through assessments, class discussion, and observation of their learning.

To support you to identify new syllabus content, you have access to information in the New South Wales Department of Education intranet page through the curriculum tab. On this screen, you can see the pathway to find the HSIE ‘What has changed’ overview.

[Text on screen:

Home > Teaching and Learning > Curriculum > HSIE K–12 > Leading HSIE K–6 > Human society and its environment K–6 Syllabus (2024) – information for school leaders].

The links to all the CHPS key learning areas overview can be found in your participant workbook.

In HSIE, Aboriginal cultures and history outcomes and content are strengthened from Early Stage 1 to Stage 3.

This requires teachers to embed Aboriginal perspectives consistently and authentically, not just in isolated units. This will require consultation with local Aboriginal communities to ensure respectful, authentic learning.

Students will now begin exploring ancient cultures and histories earlier in their schooling, from Stage 1 and 2. This shift introduces historical inquiry skills at a younger age, allowing students to engage with the diversity of human experience and compare past and present societies in more meaningful ways.

There is an increased focus on students using maps and other geographical tools to build spatial awareness and interpret information. Teachers will need to strengthen their own knowledge and confidence with geographical skills, and schools may need to invest in updated resources such as atlases, digital mapping tools, and classroom globes.

Previously taught as separate syllabuses, History and Geography are now combined into one HSIE key learning area. This integration encourages teachers to plan more connected units that draw on both historical and geographical perspectives. Supporting students to see the links between people, place, and time. It also reduces duplication and provides more flexibility in program design.

In Science and Technology, human body content is a new focus across K–6, with students learning about key systems and structures such as the ears, eyes, digestive system, muscles, and skeleton.

This development provides a strong foundation for understanding how the body functions, promoting health awareness and scientific literacy from an early age.

Integrating this content across all year levels ensures students build progressively deeper knowledge and connect connections between body systems, health, and everyday experiences.

Electricity syllabus content requires additional practical investigation, demonstration, and hands-on learning. This may require additional resources to provide appropriate materials and equipment. Teacher guidance is essential to ensure students can explore concepts safely, engage with experiments, and develop a deep understanding of electrical circuits and energy transfer.

Working scientifically skills are now embedded across all year levels rather than treated as a separate component. Students consistently develop skills such as questioning, predicting, planning, conducting investigations, collecting and interpreting data, and evaluating results.

Embedding these skills throughout the curriculum ensures they are applied in context, strengthening students' problem-solving, critical thinking, and scientific reasoning capabilities from K–6.

In Creative Arts, Dance and Music elements have been updated from the previous syllabus, providing students with more contemporary, engaging, and developmentally appropriate learning experiences.

These updates support skill progression, creativity, and expression, while ensuring alignment with current educational standards.

There is a strength and focus on historical and cultural arts practices from around the world, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions. This approach enables students to appreciate the diversity of artistic expression, understand cultural contexts, and develop respect for both local and global creative practices.

Through creating written text, there is now greater emphasis on vocabulary development, critical and creative writing. Students are encouraged to articulate ideas effectively, analyse artistic works critically, and engage in imaginative and reflective thinking, which strengthens both literacy and cognitive skills in meaningful arts contexts.

Digital technologies and digital safety are explicitly referenced in the essential content, ensuring students understand how to use digital tools responsibly, ethically, and safely within arts learning. This inclusion reflects the growing role of technology in creative practice and prepares students to confidently navigate digital spaces.

In PDHPE, financial well-being is now an explicit focus from Stage 1 to Stage 3. Students are supported to develop foundational skills in managing money, such as understanding needs versus wants, making responsible spending and saving choices, and recognising the value of financial planning. Integrating financial literacy from an early age equips students with practical life skills, helping them to make informed decisions and build long-term economic resilience.

Media literacy is explicitly embedded from Stage 1 to Stage 3, recognising the increasingly complex media environment students navigate. Students learn to critically analyse and interpret information, identify bias or misinformation, and respond thoughtfully to media messages across multiple platforms. Early and consistent teaching of media literacy supports informed citizenship and encourages safe, responsible engagement with digital media.

Physical education now places a stronger emphasis on small-sided games, which promote higher levels of participation, teamwork, spatial awareness, and decision-making compared with traditional, large group formats. Implementing small-sided games requires new teaching approaches, modified resources, and adaptable game structures to ensure all students are actively engaged and developing their skills. This approach also supports differentiation, allowing students of varying abilities to participate meaningfully.

PE for K–2 now includes the explicit teaching of all fundamental movement skills, with the goal that students achieve proficiency by the end of Stage 1. This ensures that students have a strong foundation in core movement patterns like running, jumping, catching, throwing, balancing, and dodging. Achieving this goal may require targeted professional learning for teachers, additional resources, and structured practice opportunities to provide consistent and effective skill development for all students.

The gap analysis tool helps you identify differences in content and timing between old and new syllabuses.

To use it, identify new content by comparing the updated syllabus with the previous one, review prior stage learning to spot what students may have missed, note possible gaps and to assess them, and plan actions to address these gaps through teaching.

After completing the analysis, regularly review and update it during and after instruction to support student progress.

Now, let's look at a Stage 2 example you can apply to other stages relevant to your work.

The image on the screen shows all content covered in Stage 2, Unit 5 for each of the CHPS syllabuses. A copy of content for Unit 1 and Unit 5 has been included in the participant workbook. Considering PDHPE as the example, highlighted is one area of new content.

This can now be reviewed using the gap analysis tool.

Think of this example from the perspective of a Stage 2 classroom teacher planning to implement the PDHPE syllabus. The new content comes from the focus area, identity, health, and well-being.

The content group is decisions and actions promote health and well-being, with a content point that requires students to describe the benefits of responsible saving and spending of money for well-being.

In Stage 1, students learn the basics, recognising that money can be saved or spent on needs and wants. In Stage 2, students build on this foundation by exploring the benefits of responsible saving and spending, with clearer connections made to well-being.

A Stage 2 teacher needs to consider the gaps in student knowledge, as they may not have previously experienced this content, now included in the syllabus. For example, students may struggle to consistently differentiate between needs and wants or may not understand how money behaviours relate to well-being yet.

To identify these gaps, the teacher can use pre-assessments, observations, and regular check-ins. For instance, the teacher might ask students to draw or write how they would spend or save an imaginary $20 or present a similar contextually relevant scenario.

Questions like, ‘If you save money every week, what could that help you do?’ can encourage students to think about the link between money and well-being.

Once gaps are identified, the teacher can take deliberate actions. These might include creating a financial vocabulary word wall to help students understand and use key terms, modelling goal-setting together, establishing a class savings goal, and reflecting on how achieving that goal felt. Then link these activities directly to well-being, making it clear that informed financial decisions can help people feel safe, proud, and happy.

This approach supports not only money management skills but also embeds financial literacy within the broader context of health and well-being, helping students see the real-life benefits of their choices.

As you can see, this process assists both leaders and teachers in identifying content gaps and adjusting their practice accordingly.

Now you have time to start your own gap analysis based on a key learning area you are currently using or planning to use at your school.

Please map the key content changes we have identified during this professional learning session and consider the implications for your planning and assessment. Examples can be found in your participant workbook alongside this activity.

First, choose a key learning area relevant to your work, open this corresponding digital syllabus, and identify the new content.

Next, review prior stage learning and consider what students should already know from earlier stages.

Then decide on strategies you could use to pinpoint gaps in students' learning and record how you will address any identified through your teaching.

You can pause the video now and take the time needed to start a gap analysis.

Alongside the CHPS sample units of work are carefully curated resources and vocabulary lists.

To support your preparation for implementing the new CHPS sample units, a suggested resource list and key vocabulary for sample Unit 1 and Unit 5 is provided in this microlearning Module 4 suite of resources. Recognising that many schools may not have access to all material, the units also include freely available and digital alternatives.

For example, in HSIE, when a globe is needed for an activity, a link to a digital version is provided along with similar alternatives for maps and other resources.

Vocabulary lists are included in each sample unit to give teachers a clear reference, supporting consistent teaching and learning of subject-specific terms. They also assist EAL/D students by providing focused language to improve comprehension and communication.

Overall, these resources are designed to make your planning and delivery as efficient as possible, allowing you to focus on engaging your students effectively.

‘See, think, wonder’ is a great routine to make connections between new learning and prior knowledge.

Take a moment to reflect on what we have learned by previewing the sample units for the CHPS key learning areas. You can pause the recording and take time to reflect.

To conclude this professional learning, take a moment to reflect on the key takeaways that you see on the screen.

[Text on screen:

• CHPS sample units have a common lesson structure across all four key learning areas
• Key sample unit features support explicit teaching, assessment and differentiation
• Support materials will be available for teaching and learning in term 1 2026 including resource lists
• Vocabulary lists will be available to support EAL/D students and strengthen whole class planning.

Consider: How will you identify next steps for 2026 at year and stage levels including actions for leaders and teachers?]

The common lesson structure across CHPS sample units provides a consistent framework that supports explicit teaching, assessment, and differentiation.

The upcoming support materials, including resource and vocabulary lists, will enhance planning and effectively assist EAL/D learners.

Moving forward, it will be important to identify next steps for 2026 at year and stage levels by collaborating with leaders and teachers to implement targeted actions that build on these resources.

We have unpacked the structure and shared a preview of the first units being released, which will support your next steps in implementation in your school.

We would like you to complete a short survey to provide feedback on today's professional learning. Please use your phone to access the QR code or use the link on the screen.

We would like you to complete a short survey to provide feedback on today's professional learning. Please use your phone to access the QR code or use the link on the screen [this QR code and link may no longer be current].

If you have any questions or would like to reach out to the Primary Curriculum team, please contact us via this email address

[email address on screen]

[primarycurriculum@det.nsw.edu.au or through the statewide staffroom https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=muagBYpBwUecJZOHJhv5kUwsTv61JFtLox4KgWmDAmxUNU45WDlDVEUxUEE3WVpEU0o5ME5KM0w0VyQlQCN0PWcu] .

This QR code takes you to the enrolment page to join the Primary Curriculum statewide staffroom [this QR code may no longer be current].

Thank you for accessing the professional learning recording. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

[End of transcript]