History / Year 10 / Historical Knowledge and Understanding

Curriculum content descriptions

Overview of the causes and course of World War II (ACDSEH024)

Elaborations
  • outlining the contributing factors of World War II (for example, the outcomes of the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations; the rise of Hitler and Japan’s imperial ambitions)
  • identifying key events in the European theatre of war (for example, Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939; the Holocaust 1942–1945; the Russians reaching Berlin in 1945)
  • identifying key events in the Asia-Pacific theatre of war (for example, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941; the fall of Singapore in 1942; the American victory at the Battle of Midway in 1942)
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Invasion,  Military campaigns,  World War II,  International relations

Interactive

Discovering democracy: a democracy destroyed

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore, through the demise of democracy in Germany in 1933, how the justice system can be used for undemocratic purposes. Complete a related task.

Video

Four Corners: Not a place for the 'gentler sex'

Why weren't women allowed to drink in the public bars of Queensland hotels in the 1960s? What social beliefs and attitudes would justify such a prohibition? This clip presents responses from a bar attendant and two politicians to a famous protest against the ban in 1965. The clip is third in a series of three.

Video

This Day Tonight: Lake Pedder's future, 1972

How do you measure the worth of a beautiful natural site - in terms of the hydro-electric power it can produce or the beauty, stillness and grandeur that it affords people who visit? This 1972 clip from 'This Day Tonight' focuses on the physical and aesthetic attributes of Tasmania's Lake Pedder. Reporter Peter Ross stands ...

Video

Four Corners: Industrialisation versus conservation

The conflict between industry and conservation is not a new one. This clip, taken from a 1973 Four Corners program, highlights the conflict between those wishing to preserve Australia's natural environment and those representing industrial interests. Industry is shown to be spending millions of dollars to prevent pollution. ...

Video

The Australian Dream: Cultural identity

Cultural identity gives us a sense of connection and belonging and an understanding of who we are and where we come from. There is a direct connection between people's sense of cultural identity and their health and wellbeing. This clip explores some of our nation’s history, including how Australia Day is seen by both Indigenous ...

Video

Designing the Sydney Opera House

What does it take to create a building that is famous the world over? In 1956, NSW Premier Joseph Cahill announced a competition for the design of an opera house for Sydney. The winner was architect Jorn Utzon with 'design 218'. In this 1950s clip, learn about Utzon's aims in designing the building, the challenges in realising ...

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 ...

Video

Weekend Magazine: The Stomp, a 1960s dance craze

Imagine a dance so simple it could be learnt in minutes and so popular it became a craze. This clip from a Weekend Magazine program screened in 1963 looks at such a dance. It was called the Stomp and it was pounded out in surf clubs and council halls around Australia's coast. Watch and listen as teenagers express their ...

Video

ABC 7.30: Survivors of the sinking of HMAS Perth, 1942

This resource explores what happened to the sailors aboard the Royal Australian Navy's light cruiser HMAS Perth when it was torpedoed during a battle in the Sunda Strait on 28 February 1942 and sank shortly after midnight on 1 March. Students listen to three Perth survivors recall their wartime experiences. The resource ...

Video

Journey into Japan: tragic consequences of Japan's modernisation

Japan went through a remarkable transformation between 1868 and the death of the Emperor Meiji in 1912. But Japan's modernisation was accompanied by its rise as an imperialist power, with tragic results. Watch this clip to learn about the consequences of Japan's dream of empire. This clip is last in a series of six.

Video

Threshold 8: The modern revolution

This short video presents an overview of the era culminating in the present time, whereby the earth is dominated by a single species - humans. It discusses how humans became so powerful through the creation of huge global exchange networks which shared ideas, technologies, goods and belief systems; through the discovery ...

Downloadable

The Invisible War: A tale on two scales

The Invisible War is a graphic novel set on the Western Front in 1916. The novel is an interdisciplinary text that includes a large science-history reference section (hyper-linked within the novel). Told from two points of view – human and microbial – the story describes a deadly infection by dysentery-causing Shigella ...

Video

Four Corners: Konfrontasi: Indonesia's undeclared war, 1966

How do you distract your citizens from the hardships they face? You give them a common enemy. This clip from 1966 reveals the way in which President Sukarno rallied Indonesians behind an undeclared war against Malaysia, which he painted as a puppet of the United Kingdom.

Video

Four Corners: Aquarius counterculture descends upon Nimbin, 1973

What would you do to save your home town? By the early 1970s, the northern NSW town of Nimbin was in serious decline. Somewhat hesitantly, local residents agreed to allow the huge Aquarius Festival to come to town, bringing alternative music, lifestyles and values. And money. And people who stayed. Discover how Nimbin locals ...

Video

Thinkabout, talkabout: getting around town during the war years

During a fuel crisis, how do most people get around? In Australia during World War II, fuel was rationed (restricted so that people could buy only limited amounts), as it was in very short supply. Car parts were also in limited supply, so they were hard to replace. Hear some accounts of that time and watch footage from ...

Video

Four Corners: Home sweet home: the 'Australian Dream', 1968

Would you rather live in a freestanding house on a large block in an outer suburb or in an apartment with the convenience of being closer to the city centre? This clip from a 1968 Four Corners program explores the 'Australian Dream' of home ownership and attempts to discover why it became so important to the post-World ...

Video

Counted: Australian culture in the 1960s

What was Australia like in the 1960s? Why does reporter Stan Grant say that "change is coming" at this time, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people? Choose one of the people mentioned in this video and do some research into their sporting, artistic or political achievements.

Video

Magna Carta legacies

Have you heard of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? What about the American Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights? Watch this video from the British Library to find out how Magna Carta influenced these two very important documents.

Video

Four Corners: The cycle of urban poverty in Harlem, 1968

What is the cycle of poverty and squalor? Walk with ABC TV's 'Four Corners' program film crew on the streets of Harlem in 1968 as they are taken on a tour of the predominantly African American neighbourhood. Understand the level of poverty and urban squalor that faced African Americans living in Harlem at this time.

Video

George Negus Tonight: Impact of the contraceptive pill on Australia

If you had to name the most significant inventions of the 20th century, would you think of the contraceptive pill? Very few inventions have had such an impact upon Australian society or been as controversial. In this clip, discover how life changed for many Australian women with the arrival of 'the pill'. See how attitudes ...