The New South Wales curriculum has had its biggest shakeup in five decades with better connections between subjects, more detailed concepts and skills, and a move away from the student-led approach to learning towards “explicit instruction”.
On Wednesday, new K-6 syllabuses for health, creative arts, human society and its environment, and science were released to teachers, with updated maths and English syllabuses in classrooms from this year.
The NSW education minister, Prue Car, said the curriculum reform would “reshape education” for decades to come.
“For the first time, primary school teachers have a set of syllabuses that make sense together and will ensure students have a strong foundation upon which to build their knowledge,” she said.
Human society and its environment will replace the separate subjects of history and geography, including compulsory content on democracy and citizenship and ancient civilisations, while new health content will include the healthy use of digital devices and age-appropriate consent from kindergarten.
In science, students will study the human body for the first time, as well as the earth and solar systems, climate, energy, food chains and electricity.