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Online

Chinese Anzacs

This is a website about the experiences of Chinese-Australian soldiers in World War I. It includes: historical facts; a collection of 12 story objects that tell the stories of individuals, events and artefacts; and a Chinese Anzacs Education kit. The kit is comprehensive. The learning activities are presented in five parts, ...

Interactive

Wonderful words, creative stories: pets

Add descriptive words to two simple sentences about a cat and a fish to make the sentences more interesting. Substitute different descriptive words in each sentence. Notice how your choice of words affects the animations for the sentences. Use your two lively sentences as the start and ending of an imaginative story. Check ...

Text

Talking Time: an exploration of time - how we change over time

This integrated lesson sequence that explores the concept and language of time and then moves to using sources and artefacts to show their own personal history. Students will share personal artefacts and those shared from their families to explore concepts of time, history and change.

Online

Persuasive Language

This PDF provides a valuable reference guide and teaching and learning resource for students and teachers on the purpose, features and influence of written and visual persuasive texts. The text provides the reader with information on the techniques employed in creating persuasive texts including appealing to emotions through ...

Video

The Navigators: Baudin arrives in New Holland

Imagine the excitement of Nicolas Baudin and his scientists when they reach 'New Holland'. After seven months at sea they can finally explore this strange new land. This clip describes the thrill and the tragedy of Baudin's first days in 'New Holland'.

Video

Can We Help?: 'Bought' or 'brought' and radio code

Changes in the use, pronunciation, and meaning of common everyday English words happen all the time. Professor Kate Burridge explains that we can see this in the way people increasingly switch the past tense of the verbs 'buy' and 'bring'. She also answers a viewer's question about why 'Roger' is used on two-way and CB radios.

Video

Voice of the People: The Aussie Accent: Whaddya reckon, mate?

Imagine a world where everybody sounded exactly the same when they spoke. What might that be like? Are there 'good' and 'bad' ways to speak? In this clip, listen to the opinions of many people about whether Australians have a bad accent.

Video

ABC Open: Learn some Warrgamay words

Uncle Bill welcomes us to Warrgamay Country. He shows us the animals that live in and around a natural waterhole he calls the 'swimming hole', and tells us the animal's Warrgamay names. Let's find out why Uncle Bill and his family feel happy in this place.

Video

ABC Open: The changing roles of women on Anzac Day

How have the stories and observances of Anzac Day changed to include women alongside men? During World War I and the years that followed, women had little involvement in Anzac Day events. In some instances, they were deliberately excluded! This has changed dramatically in recent decades. In this clip, women and men from ...

Audio

Heywire: Autobiography of a flood survivor

Imagine if the town or suburb you live in came under threat due to a natural disaster. How would you react? Shelby Garlick from Kerang, Victoria, was a finalist of the 2012 Heywire storytelling competition for young people. Listen to her inspiring story and explore the lessons she learnt as a result of working with her ...

Video

Journey into Japan: Japan's shoguns keep everyone in their places

What was the status of each social class in shogunate Japan? During the period from around 1600 to 1868, Japan was a feudal society. As in medieval Europe, each group had its place in a strict social order. Watch this clip to discover the roles of each group during the age when the Tokugawa shoguns ruled the country. This ...

Video

Four Corners: Surfies, clubbies and a changing way of life

What effect did the rise of surfboard riding and its accompanying surf culture have on surf lifesaving? In the early 1960s, surf lifesaving was regarded as a model of the values that underpin the Australian way of life. This clip from 1964 explores the collision between the new surf culture and the traditions of the surf ...

Video

Can We Help?: Borrowed words: the processes of language change

Do you know any words from another language? Chances are, you know more than you think you do! English is a polyglot language; one that borrows words from other languages. In this Professor Kate Burridge discusses the origins of the phrases 'short-shrift' and 'lily-livered'.

Video

Foreign Correspondent: Uncovering a chapter of the Holocaust

What happened to the Jewish population of Vienna, Austria's capital, during World War II? Its members were among the estimated six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. In this clip from 2007, find out about the prolonged campaign of historian Tina Walzer to reclaim Vienna's Jewish heritage. The clip is the first of two.

Video

Foreign Correspondent: Dirty tricks in 1066

How was William of Normandy able to defeat the Saxon army of Harold Godwinson in 1066 and become the king of England? The Norman's victory at Hastings marked the beginning of their complete conquest of England over the following few years. Discover the tactics of both sides in the Battle of Hastings. This clip is the second ...

Video

Feathers, Fur and Fins: A song about kangaroos

This is a song about an Australian animal, the kangaroo. Don Spencer sings lyrics about how people from all over the world come to see the kangaroo. Listen to the rhythm. It is like the hopping of a kangaroo.

Video

Can We Help?: Golly gosh, what do those sayings mean?

Have you ever wondered where sayings like 'golly gosh', 'by gum' or 'drat' come from? In this video, Professor Kate Burridge explains the origins and meaning of these and other sayings. She also explains the history of the pronoun 'you'.

Video

Journey into Japan: Shoguns rule Japan with iron fists

Who were the shoguns and how did they rule Japan? In Japanese history, the time from about 1600 to 1868 is called the Edo period. In 1600, after centuries of wars, Japan came under the control of shoguns from the Tokugawa clan. They continued to rule until 1868, when they were overthrown. View this clip to discover how ...

Video

Sydney Opera House: Construction launch

In what ways can a building reflect the aspirations of the society around it? The design and construction of the Sydney Opera House took place between 1957 and 1973. This short, silent clip shows part of the ceremony marking the commencement of the building's construction. This was a period of political and economic transition, ...

Video

Can We Help?: Plum puddings, yelks to yolks and elfs to elves

Why are Christmas puddings called 'plum puddings' when they have no plums in them? How did the egg yolk get its name and why are the plurals for 'hoof' and 'roof' are spelt differently? Find out how Professor Kate Burridge answers these questions that the audience of 'Wise Words' send in for her.