Students need to leave our schools able to understand the nature of science – what it means to make a scientific claim, what evidence is relevant to supporting such a claim and how to critically evaluate that evidence – and the relationships between science, technology and society. The Curricular Emphases model of science education facilitates this kind of planning and teaching. It can be applied to all year levels and may be especially helpful for beginning teachers and those with fairly limited science backgrounds. It offers a way to make science relevant and engaging for all students, without 'dumbing down' the subject, and delivers a full science curriculum.