# NAIDOC Week Classroom Resources for Primary Teachers

> Comprehensive NAIDOC Week classroom resources for primary teachers - printable lesson plans, posters, reading texts and Acknowledgement of Country activities.

## NAIDOC Week Classroom Resources for Primary Teachers

NAIDOC Week is one of the most important weeks in the Australian school calendar — a national celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It runs every year in the first full week of July, which means in most jurisdictions it falls during the school holidays. That is exactly why preparation in Term 2, with a full-week or two-week unit running into the holidays, has become standard practice in primary classrooms across the country.

This guide focuses specifically on classroom resources — printable lesson plans, posters, reading texts, Acknowledgement of Country templates and assessment-aligned activities. If you are looking for shorter session-by-session craft and engagement ideas, our [NAIDOC Week activities](/teacher-guides/naidoc-week-activities) guide is a better starting point. Both pages pull from the same marketplace inventory, but this page is built for teachers planning a substantive unit of work rather than a single afternoon.

**Planning a NAIDOC unit that goes beyond surface culture.** The single biggest critique of school NAIDOC programs from First Nations educators is that they default to surface engagement — colouring in dot paintings, eating bush tucker biscuits, watching one short documentary — without doing the harder work of teaching the histories, sovereignties and contemporary lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A strong primary unit balances three threads: cultural knowledge taught with appropriate protocols, historical understanding including truth-telling, and contemporary celebration of First Nations achievement.

Practically, that means your unit needs more than one resource. A typical Stage 2 or Stage 3 NAIDOC unit might include a printable lesson plan sequence, a class set of differentiated reading texts, a poster set for the classroom walls, an Acknowledgement of Country template the students adapt for their own context, a research task focused on a contemporary First Nations leader (athlete, artist, scientist, parliamentarian), and an art response that uses a non-appropriative technique such as collage, weaving or natural-materials sculpture.

For Foundation and Year 1, the unit looks different — more storytelling, more song, more attention to local Country, fewer abstract concepts. A picture-book read-aloud with discussion, a Welcome song from a local Elder if your school has that connection, and a class art piece responding to a Dreaming story (always using stories that have been shared with permission for educational use) is a solid week.

**Protocols and what to be careful with.** A few non-negotiables that experienced teachers wish someone had told them earlier:

Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country are different. Welcome can only be performed by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person from the local Country. Acknowledgement can be performed by anyone, and your students should be taught how to write and deliver one for the Country your school sits on.

Symbols matter. Avoid resources that ask non-Indigenous students to copy symbols, animal totems or dot-painting techniques without permission. There are plenty of artists who have created classroom-licensed pattern packs that are explicitly cleared for educational use — those are safe. Generic dot painting how-to sheets often are not.

Language matters too. The terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, or First Nations, or Indigenous, are all used in different contexts. The local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group in your area can advise on what is preferred locally. When in doubt, ask the Aboriginal Education Officer at your school or your network.

**Connecting NAIDOC to the curriculum across the year.** NAIDOC Week is most effective when it is not the only week First Nations content appears in your program. A planned cross-curriculum priority approach weaves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures into HSIE, English, Science and the Arts across all four terms, with NAIDOC Week as a celebratory peak rather than a one-off insertion. The marketplace listings below include resources you can use across the year, not just in July.

**Browse the marketplace.** The carousels below feature NAIDOC Week resources from teachers across Australia, including First Nations creators where they have made their work available. Look for resources tagged with year-level matches and consider running a two-week unit that builds knowledge before the celebration peaks. For related pages, see [Reconciliation Week activities](/teacher-guides/reconciliation-week-activities), [Harmony Week activities](/teacher-guides/harmony-week-activities), and [Anzac Day teaching resources](/teacher-guides/anzac-day-teaching-resources) — all share themes of national identity and shared history that strengthen each other when taught across the year.

## NAIDOC Week Lesson Plans & Resources

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## NAIDOC & First Nations Resources for Upper Primary

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## Frequently Asked Questions

### When is NAIDOC Week 2026 and how do schools handle the holiday overlap?

NAIDOC Week 2026 runs from Sunday 5 July to Sunday 12 July, the first full week of July. In NSW and most other states this falls during the second week of the Term 2 holidays. Schools typically run their NAIDOC unit during the final fortnight of Term 2, with the celebration peaking in the last week before holidays.

### What is the difference between Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country?

Welcome to Country can only be performed by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person who has authority for the local Country your school sits on. Acknowledgement of Country can be performed by anyone, including non-Indigenous students and staff. Teaching primary students to write and deliver an Acknowledgement is a meaningful curriculum outcome and a protocol your whole school community can practice together.

### How do I avoid cultural appropriation when teaching NAIDOC art and craft?

Use resources created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists who have explicitly licensed their work for classroom use. Avoid generic dot-painting how-to sheets that ask non-Indigenous students to copy traditional symbols without permission. Better art responses include collage, weaving with natural materials, charcoal sketching and sculpture inspired by Country, where the student creates their own work rather than copying a cultural form.

### What should a Stage 2 or Stage 3 NAIDOC unit include?

A strong upper-primary unit blends three threads — cultural knowledge taught with proper protocols, historical understanding including truth-telling, and contemporary celebration of First Nations achievement. Plan for a printable lesson sequence, differentiated reading texts, a poster set, an Acknowledgement of Country writing task, a research project on a living First Nations leader, and an art response using a non-appropriative technique such as collage or weaving.

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Source: https://teachbuysell.com.au/teacher-guides/naidoc-week-classroom-resources
Marketplace: https://teachbuysell.com.au