Year Ten History

Semester One 2007

Multimedia Presentation – Australia and the Cold War

 Introduction

•  The Cold War is the term used to describe the power struggle between the United States and Soviet Union along with other communist countries which was a powder keg waiting to explode following the end of World War Two. Both countries teetered on the edge of a war that could turn “hot” at any moment. From 1945-1991, these two superpowers fought an economic, social, and philosophical war that could have erupted into a nuclear war resulting in world wide destruction.

•  How important was the Cold War in our daily lives? To what extent did it invade our national psyche?

•  How did the Cold War affect Australia – U.S. relations?

Class Introductory Task

Investigate the fifties and sixties using the following resources:

• Encyclopedia Britannica On-line
• Reference section of the library
• Other print sources
• Cold War Resource guide

Use Inspiration to produce a mind map of at least eight significant worldwide events of the fifties and sixties. Hand the mind map in with the following two summaries.

Task One - Individual Task

Individually choose two events and write approx. 200 words on each event

• Give the background/causes to the event
• Key players/countries/personalities involved
• Consequences of the event
• Effect on Australian foreign policy

Submit your summary of your two events to your teacher for assessment.

These will be assessed according to the following criteria.

• Identification and analysis of events and ideas (History 5.25)
• Analysis of key participants and their roles. (History 5.25)
• Understanding of cause and effect on Australian foreign policy. (History 6.5)
• Correctly formatted bibliography (History 5.25)
• Fluent, literate writing style

Assessment Task Two – Multimedia Activity Australia and the Cold War - Assessment sheet for Task 1

Task Two – Oral presentation – Students working in pairs

In your pair, develop and present to the class an oral presentation using multimedia depicting two events from the period. Your oral presentation will involve speaking to your multimedia presentation.

1 . Planning - In your pair, discuss and agree on two worldwide events from the period which you believe were the most significant from the fifties and sixties.

2. Judge the significance of the event by the reasons why and how the event impacted on Australian political decisions and internal policies and the relationship between Australia and the U.S. at the time.

Also, consider how the event has shaped our current relationship with the U.S. and determined current foreign policy between Australia and the U.S.

• You will need to explain the background to each of the events.
• What was the impact globally?
• What was the impact on Australia?
• How has this event impacted on current Australia-U.S. relations?
• What does this image/song/video clip tell us about Australia and U.S foreign relations?
• How factually accurate is the image/song/video clip?

3. Multimedia presentation – total time - 10 minutes for pair – 5 minutes for each presenter.

For each of your events - choose a range of images/songs/documentary film clips to communicate the significance of your chosen events in your multimedia presentation.

N.B. visual/audio/documentary film resources need to be primary sources – eg. actually from the 1950s and 1960s.

Submit – A printed version of your multimedia presentation after you have communicated your oral presentation.

Task Two – Multimedia Activity on Australia and the Cold War

Oral Presentation - Assessment sheet for Task 2