Year Nine History

Semester Two 2009 - Task 2

A Muti-Media Presentation – Australians’ Experience of War

This task is meant to draw on and develop the significant skills you have learnt in Year 9 History. These include research skills, the identification and use of primary and secondary sources, the analysis of source material, the synthesis of knowledge to come to conclusions and the reasoned presentation of the results of your research.

THE TASK

You are to:

1. produce and present to the class, a multi-media report on ONE aspect of Australians’ experience in either World War One or World War Two – eg. Censorship in World War Two. The report should be between 5 and 10 minutes in duration.

2. work with a partner who is preparing a presentation on the same aspect of life in the other war eg. Censorship in World War One.

3. together with you partner produce, and present to the class, a report on the differences or similarities in Australians’ experiences of your common aspect of war. This should be between 3 and 5 minutes in duration.

4. participate as a part of an audience in the presentation and assessment of other students research report

5. contribute to the development of an understanding of a range of aspects of Australians’ experience of World Wars One and Two as preparation for the third assessment task, an in-class essay on Australians at War.

The multi-media presentation must include an annotated bibliography, clearly stating how each source was used in the presentation. The source of each major idea, graphic, picture or film clip used should be cited in the presentation. Refer to the faculty guide on ‘presentation of sources and bibliography’ found on the History faculty page of the intranet.

You may choose from a range of fairly specific aspects of Australians’ experience of war in either World War One or World War Two. Each topic can only be used once in each form. (allocation to be made by ballot if necessary). Begin work quickly to ascertain that you understand the topic and can locate enough material for your presentation.

SUGGESTED TOPICS

The National Response

The role of the government (and national leaders) in dealing with the war.

Relations with allies

Management of resources and dealing with shortages

War industries such as munitions, transport, ship building and aircraft development

Home security/Censorship/maintaining morale

Treatment of enemy aliens, enemy background citizens and prisoners of war

Wartime divisions

Post War reconstruction

The Home Front

Reaction to the declaration of war

The effects of war on daily life

Effects of the war on women, children

Effects of the war on the workforce

Effects of the war on farmers

From the soldiers point of view

Recruitment (including reasons to join up and pressure to join) Conscription

Training, preparation and experience at the front

Australian Prisoners of War

Repatriation

Women in war service

Home defence

A range of the presentations may be made available in a site on the school intranet for use by student in preparation for the in-class essay.

You may suggest another topic if it is of particular interest to you and seek approval from your class teacher. Do not attempt general military history.

RESOURCES

You should find and use a variety of references including books, videos, films (a rich source), the Internet. Do not neglect oral accounts. There are many personal accounts of Australians’ wartime experiences which you could use to give your presentation a realistic touch.

PLANNING

For preliminary work you should ask a number of questions about your specific topic. These include: What are the main issues that the topic covers? What do you need to find out? Where are you likely to find the answers to your questions? These questions should appear on the planning sheet.

Your intended resources must be listed on this sheet also and this must be signed by your class teacher.

FORMAT

Your research report should be in the form of a multi-media presentation of approximately 15 minutes duration per pair. You may consider a variety of presentation styles; e.g. Powerpoint or a Web page, and include text, still images or moving images and sound (including voice-over or your own direct speech).

Your resources must be provided according to the basic rules of bibliographical citation given to you for the essay on World War One. This means correct citing of major sources and an annotated bibliography. As long as you cover the topic well and address the criteria you should not need to use a very extensive range of sources.

ASSESSMENT

The assessment criteria take into account the following considerations:

· evidence of appropriate planning, organization, time-management and teamwork (see planning sheets)

· the quality of your research processes (including referencing and citing)

· the quality of the content of your report

· the logic of the structure of your report

· your capacity to make comparisons between the two wars

· your ability to demonstrate your understanding of the topic in a presentation to fellow students

· your use of information technology in planning and research

· your use of information technology in presenting your findings

· the consistency, clarity and care demonstrated in your use of multi-media

Remember that your interest and participation in the assessment process of fellow students will be reflected in your result in the Task 3; the in-class essay on ‘Australians’ Experience of War’.

Date Due - Week beginning 17^th September

N.B. No extensions will be possible

Year Nine History

A Multi-Media Presentation – Australians’ Experience of War Planning Sheet

The first step is to decide upon your precise topic in accordance with the instructions regarding the scope and nature of possibilities. The topic and your questions must be approved by your teacher.

TOPIC ...................................................................................................................................

Before commencing your research you should frame key questions to achieve a focus for the investigation for the report.

KEY QUESTIONS

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2....................................................................................................................

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4. ..................................................................................................................

TEACHER’S SIGNATURE.............................................................

PRINT RESOURCES

List the main resources obtained from libraries, giving author, title, publisher and date.

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INTERNET

You are required to make use of the internet for this activity. List the sites you found most useful.

N.B. THIS SHEET MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH THE FINISHED WORK