A yearbook curriculum you'll love teaching

New for the 2025-2026 school year, Treering’s free yearbook curriculum has expanded. From a new adviser handbook to 40 standalone lessons, you can take a recess from yearbook planning stress and put effort into yearbook production.

What’s new?

Teachers updated Treering’s previous curriculum. Another group of teachers tested it. We can confidently say it is teacher-authored and teacher-approved.

Each of the eight student-facing modules has a pacing guide and instructional slides. The pacing guides give you an overview of each module’s five grab-and-go lessons, including teaching resources, should you choose to expand instructional time. If it’s your first time teaching yearbook, the pacing guide also breaks down terminology used and shows connections between lessons.

Each lesson also includes Google Slides with

• Learning target
• Bell ringer
• Interactive lesson with guided student practice
• Exit ticket

You do enough. However, Treering knows no two schools/classes/clubs are alike, so we made our free curriculum 100% editable. 

‍Curriculum FAQs

‍What’s free?

Everything. Charging extra for resources and support isn’t our thing. 

‍How can I use the curriculum if I only have a club?

The first lesson in each module is a standalone one designed to give you the foundation for teambuilding, theme, design, writing, photography, marketing, and proofing. We recommend club groups do these eight lessons throughout the year.

‍Is Treering’s curriculum only for new yearbook students? 

No, it is for yearbook creators of all backgrounds.

If you have mixed abilities in your class, we suggest:

• Using leaders to teach the first lesson in each module
• Flipping instruction: ask students to go through the slides on their own and be prepared to do the practice session in class
• Use mentor pairs for hands-on activities

‍Do I have to use Treering to use your yearbook curriculum?

Some theme, design, marketing, and editing lessons involve Treering tools. 

‍Get Treering’s free yearbook curriculum

‍Module 0: Adviser Handbook

This handbook also contains all your yearbook prep templates: a student application, syllabus, grading rubrics, and staff manuals. It’s formatted vertically for printing.

Access the Adviser Handbook

Module 1: Yearbook 101

Building a yearbook culture on campus starts with your club or class. Each lesson in Module 1 focuses on team building, establishing clear expectations, and how students can use their individual strengths to build a unified product. This module builds a foundation for the following seven.

Module 1 learning targets:

• Understand the yearbook advisor’s expectations and the class structure
• Locate key information in the syllabus related to grading, expectations, deadlines, and responsibilities.
• Reflect on their personal strengths and interests related to team roles
• Identify and define core yearbook design terms by analyzing real spreads.
• Write specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for the school year.

Access the Module 1 slides / Module 1 pacing guide

Module 2: Kicking off the Year(book)

Because yearbooks are part history book and part narrative, Module 2 helps students understand how and why the book they will create will stand the test of time. They will spend time creating a structure for their book and sharing their own stories through an “About Me” yearbook spread.

Module 2 learning targets

•  Explain how yearbooks act as historical documents and cultural artifacts.
•  Collaborate with peers to build a cohesive and well-organized ladder.
•  Understand where and how to store content throughout the school year.
•  Use yearbook vocabulary in context while giving and receiving peer feedback.
•  Determine the central theme or message being communicated through advertisements.

Access the Module 2 slides / Module 2 pacing guide

Module 3: Theme

Theme is more than just a visual concept, and Module 3 will help you and your yearbook team create one that looks, sounds, and feels like the story of their year.

Module 3 learning targets

•  Understand the purpose and components of a yearbook theme.
•  Collaboratively brainstorm relevant and original theme ideas.
•  Connect theme ideas to the student body and school year.
•  Explore the tone, personality, and voice of themes in a creative way.
•  Create a plan to apply the theme across content areas.

Access the Module 3 slides / Module 3 pacing guide

Module 4: Design

Building upon the theme developed in Module 3, Module 4 is all about bringing that theme to life and learning how to design yearbook pages that guide the reader on a visual journey. Intentional design is the core of this module.

Module 4 learning targets

• Identify the building blocks of design.
• Use Treering’s design tools to create a yearbook spread.
• Create a color palette to express the yearbook theme’s tone and personality.
• Explain the impact of font family, size, weight, and contrast in yearbook design.
• Create text styles to support the visual theme.
• Identify and apply principles of design hierarchy by organizing visual elements (text, images, and white space) on a yearbook spread to guide the reader’s attention effectively and create visual flow.

Access the Module 4 slides / Module 4 pacing guide

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Coming September 2025

Trust us when we quote a cliché: good things come to those who wait.

‍Module 5: Writing

Learning targets:

• Identify the different forms of captions: ident, summary, and expanded.
• Examine photographs to identify key information to craft summary and expanded captions.
• Define the five common topics. 
• Structure an interview.
• Synthesize and interview by writing body copy and captions.

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Module 6: Photography

Learning targets:

• Identify the composition elements of a photo and evaluate.
• Photograph a subject using six angles.
• Compose an image using natural and artificial light sources.
• Recall the three parts of the exposure triangle and how they work together. 
• Use Treering tools to present a photograph to its advantage in a layout.

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Module 7: Marketing

Learning targets:

• Identify the components of a marketing campaign.
• Identify, classify, and rank yearbook value props.
• Differentiate marketing messaging based on audience.
• Initiate community participation in yearbook creation.
• Plan milestone celebrations for reaching yearbook creation goals.

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Module 8: Proofing

Learning targets:

• Discuss and develop a consistent framework for all copy elements and community-submitted content.
• Review editing guidelines to help catch errors and maintain consistency by reviewing content early and often.
• Identify tools and methods to carefully proof both visual and written elements for accuracy and clarity.
• Use checklists and tools to ensure every page aligns with your yearbook’s design standards.
• Learn to use Treering’s editing tools to establish and maintain clean lines and a polished, professional look.

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