History / Year 10 / Historical Knowledge and Understanding

Curriculum content descriptions

Experiences of Australians during World War II (such as Prisoners of War (POWs), the Battle of Britain, Kokoda, the Fall of Singapore) (ACDSEH108)

Elaborations
  • explaining the significance of Kokoda as the battle that halted the Japanese advance on Port Moresby and helped foster the Anzac legend
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • Personal and social capability Personal and social capability
Cross-curriculum priorities
ScOT terms

Military campaigns,  World War II,  Prisoners of war

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Broome during World War II

This web site focusses on the events in Broome during World War II, in particular the air raids in 1942 and the aftermath. The site includes a virtual museum that includes photographs, newspaper articles, film clips and interviews for students to engage with historical information from a range of sources. The education ...

Interactive

WeCommemorate

WeCommemorate is a series of challenges for teachers to use with students to commemorate Australia's involvement in the First World War. These project-based challenges have been designed to engage students from Early Stage 1 to Stage 5 in the production of creative multimedia works and to develop 21st century learning skills. ...

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Weather Quarters: Weather and war: the Kokoda Trail, 1942

The Kokoda Campaign was tough. The terrain was steep, the vegetation dense and the enemy close at hand and unseen. And then there was the weather! In this clip from the Weather Quarter, find out how the weather in the winter of 1942 influenced the outcome of one of Australia's most challenging military operations.

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

Discover 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. This program was broadcast on Anzac Day 2013. Watch and listen as three Perth survivors recall their ...

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The Fall of Singapore: The fall of Singapore, February 1942

Experience the shock and despair of Australian soldiers on the island of Singapore in February 1942, as Japanese forces invade what was held to be Britain's 'island fortress'. This video follows events from 8 February, when many thousands of Japanese launched attacks from the tip of Malaya, up to 15 February when the British ...

Interactive

Laptop wrap: Gallipoli - baptism of fire

This resource is a page that focuses on the Gallipoli landing that includes supporting activities and links to resources.

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Sites2See: Indigenous Veterans

This resource is a page about the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans of the Australian armed forces, with case studies, activities and discussion points. The resource is relevant to selected outcomes of at least two topics in Stage 5 History including Australia's commemoration of World War I.

Interactive

Sites2See: Gallipoli

This resource features the ABC resource 'Gallipoli: The First Day' which uses diaries, photos and interview clips, 3D graphics and videos to bring a new perspective to the first hours of the campaign. Includes additional activities and resources for study.

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The Fall of Singapore: The road to the fall of Singapore, 1939-42

Imagine a situation in which your country's safety was based on a myth. From September 1939, Britain and Australia were at war with Nazi Germany. Meanwhile, Japan had been invading China since 1932. Discover why Australians believed that, if Japan threatened Australia, our country could not be invaded because Singapore ...

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The Fall of Singapore: Australians defend Singapore, January 1942

Discover the experiences of Australians who fought a desperate campaign in Malaya at the beginning of 1942, trying to hold back the Japanese army as it advanced toward 'fortress Singapore'. Watch as this video uses original film footage and interviews with veterans to explore the successes and failures of the Malayan campaign ...

Audio

Allies capture Tobruk: Chester Wilmot reports

The siege of Tobruk took place in North Africa during World War II. Before the siege, Australian forces led the capture of the crucial Mediterranean port from Italian forces. This is an archival clip from a radio broadcast delivered by war correspondent Chester Wilmot. Listen to discover one of the most remarkable accomplishments ...

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Townsville air raid, 1942

Australia has never been invaded. Nevertheless, isolated attacks on Australian soil have killed and injured hundreds of people, destroyed property, and made many people fearful of a large-scale invasion. In July 1942, Japanese aircraft attacked Townsville, Queensland, bombing the wharf and the surrounding area. This audio ...

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From the Front Lines: The Battle for Tobruk

The North African port of Tobruk was the site of ferocious fighting during World War II. Here, Australian and other Allied soldiers repelled Italian and German attacks and even drove the enemy backwards. At the time, this was not only a strategic victory, but a psychological victory, proving that the Allies were capable ...

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Becoming Kirrali Lewis: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support the novel Becoming Kirrali Lewis. The novel follows the journey of a young Aboriginal teenager as she leaves her home town in rural Victoria to go to university. It explores the themes of Aboriginal history and culture, acceptance, adoption, belonging, coming of age, government ...

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Understanding the Frontier Wars

This teacher resource explores themes and ideas raised in the SBS documentary series 'The Australian Wars' and considers how important it is that we understand knowing Australia’s true history. This resource will explore the Frontier Wars and enable students to reflect on and challenge their own thinking about Australian ...

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Depth study 3 – Australians at war (part 2) World War II (1939-1945)

This is a student-led history learning sequence, where students review the causes of the World War II, why men enlisted and where Australians fought. Students create a series of pages (digital or paper) to explain the chronology of events or problems from the end of World War I in 1918 to the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

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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.

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Thinkabout, Talkabout: Rations and coupon shopping

Discover what it was like to go shopping in Australia during World War II. See how people in the 1940s had to live with restrictions on how much they could buy (rationing). Find out how rationing was an attempt to make the distribution of necessary goods, such as food and clothing, equal for everybody.

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Site study – Ypres Salient

This resource is a digital site study of the Ypres Salient, using videos made with modern footage of Ypres and contemporary footage and images from the First World War. Each video has before, after and extension activities designed to meet the Stage 5 History: Core Study – Depth Study 3 outcomes around the scope and nature ...

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Vindolanda

This resource is about the Roman garrison established at Vindolanda. It includes extracts from the Vindolanda tablets dating from the period AD 97-103, which documented details of everyday life for a Roman soldier on the north-west frontier of Roman Britain. The resource describes the discovery of the tablets and their ...