Topic 4: Australia and World War II stage: 5

Class discussion on whiteboard and notes covering:

• 
  Invasion of Poland
  
• 
  Britain declares war on Germany
  

Students complete ‘Who’s Who in WWII’ for Adolf Hitler and Robert Menzies. Students complete ‘My WWII Glossary’ for ‘appeasement’.

Students listen to Menzies’ declaration of war (0:00-2:11, 3:35-4:47, 13:00-17:49) and analyse for reasons Australia joined WWII.

Discussion and notes covering:

• 
  Immediate public reactions to the declaration of war.
  
• 
  Raising an army
  

If there is time remaining, students may begin work on ‘The Early War’, a series of short answer questions requiring individual research.

If not completed in class, students perform their own individual research to complete ‘The Early War’.

In pairs, students research a given battle or event, and summarise important details. Students then locate and analyse a source relating to that battle. Responses are collected and compiled into a class wiki detailing the various locations of Australian service.

• 
  The causes of Japan’s involvement in the war.
  
• 
  What this means for Australia/Australia’s response.
  

Students listen to an extract from Curtin’s speech (1:00-8:00) announcing Japan’s involvement in the war. As they listen, students use a series of focus questions to make notes.

Using the speech extract and their notes as stimulus, students, through discussion on whiteboard, contrast allied and Japanese understandings of Japan’s actions and motivations.
Literacy focus

After some brief instructions from the teacher, students complete self-directed research on the course and possible consequences of the fall of Singapore. Using this research, students write a short (300-400 words) newspaper article on the fall of Singapore and its importance to Australia.

If not completed in class time, students complete their articles for homework.

• 
  Asking Britain/ Britain’s response
  
• 
  Asking US for help
  

Students read through a passage as a class. The following short answer questions and source analysis are also completed through group discussion.

Students complete a cloze passage on conscription in Australia.

Students take the role of a government minister and write a brief speech. Using ideas from brainstorming session as a basis, half the class argue for conscription, half the class argue against conscription.

• 
  Conscription
  

5.6 explains different contexts, perspectives and interpretations of the past.

Students first complete a map activity, plotting the Kokoda track and important sites in the Kokoda campaign.

• 
  Reasons for the Kokoda campaign
  
• 
  Who went
  
• 
  Early losses
  

• 
  Kokoda or another New Guinea campaign
  

Students examine the stimulus material provided, then create a mind map as a class on the conditions on the Kokoda track.

• 
  Kokoda or another New Guinea campaign
  

Discussion on whiteboard covering:

• 
  Pushing the Japanese back
  
• 
  Reasons for turn-around
  
• 
  Importance of victory
  

Students then complete a find-a-word activity reviewing some of the terms and concepts relating to Australia’s involvement in WWII covered so far.

• 
  Kokoda or another New Guinea campaign
  

Using computers, students complete an activity matching an image with the corresponding text. Each student should complete their own copy of the task, but students may work in pairs.

If not completed in class, ‘Life on the Home Front’ should be completed for homework.

Students complete a short quiz to introduce the topic.

Notes and discussion covering:

• 
  Manpower controls
  
• 
  Censorship
  
• 
  Blackouts
  

• 
  Manpower controls
  
• 
  Censorship
  

Notes and discussion covering:

• 
  Rationing
  
• 
  Internment
  

Students watch excerpts from an episode of ‘Field of Fire’ and try to spot as many examples of government controls as they can.

• 
  Rationing
  

18:30-24:00

27:30-30:50

56:30-57:17

‘Spot the Controls’ (4.22)

Notes covering

• 
  Newcastle shelling
  
• 
  Darwin bombings
  
• 
  Apollo Bay, Vic
  
• 
  Cape Londonderry, WA
  
• 
  Broome, WA
  

Students complete a brief empathy task describing what an Australian in 1942 might be feeling following the first bombing of Darwin.

Students complete ‘Attack on Sydney Harbour’, putting events in order to create a detailed account of the midget submarine attack on Sydney. Using the information from the passage, students complete a diagram of common precautions used on Sydney beaches during WWII.

• 
  The Japanese submarine attack on Sydney
  

Discussion and notes on women’s changing roles during the war. Discussion is broken into three sections:

• 
  1939-1942
  
• 
  1942-1945
  
• 
  After the war
  

Students complete a think, pair, share activity on why women were increasingly encouraged to join the workforce from 1942.

After brief discussion on whiteboard of what women’[s auxiliaries were, what roles they served etc, students perform their own research to complete a table of auxiliary statistics and information.

If not completed in class time, table to be completed for homework.

• 
  At least four primary sources.
  
• 
  Two sources must be original (i.e. found by the student). Two may be taken from class work.
  
• 
  Must include at least one written source and one image.
  
• 
  Two sources must relate to Australian military service during WWII, and two must relate to the Australian home front.