It's hoped the lessons will help children understand the "big ideas" of New Zealand's histories; to know the national, regional and local contexts; and then to think critically about the past and how to interpret stories.
Concerns have already emerged from drafts of the new curriculum. Some fear too much focus is on the Māori experience; particularly pre-European. The fact is, New Zealand schools were supposed to be teaching Māori history since 2014, but most haven't.
Generations of New Zealanders have been raised on the "grand Colonial narrative" where uncivilised savages welcomed the arrival of British advancements. But, over past years, many have delved to find a heritage; rich in tales of love, betrayal and tragedy, amazing human exploits and profound knowledge of the natural world.
Perhaps the best illustration is one of New Zealand's best-known historical paintings. Louis J Steele and Charles Goldie's "The arrival of the Maoris in New Zealand". It depicts starving and desperate Polynesians scanning the horizon with gaunt eyes, looking for the hope of landfall.
Now we know Māori intentionally traversed the largest ocean in the world by drawing on past experiences, observing their course by stars and steering into currents. Māori accounts of arrival are tales of courage, adventure and pride.
None of this detracts from the Pākehā contribution to the overall story of Aotearoa New Zealand. But this curriculum is intended to put the ensuing settlement story into context.
This time next year, it is to be hoped we will be setting the first generation free of the woeful and, at times, wilful neglect of the past.
