General Vo Nguyen Giap was a talented military leader. He organised the Viet Minh and North Vietnamese Armies into effective fighting forces, he ensured that the Ho Chi Minh Trail was maintained and reinforced, he understood the effectiveness of guerrilla warfare, he planned the Tet Offensive and used French and U.S. weaknesses against them. This source-based activity is designed for students of the NSW Modern History Syllabus. Higher School Certificate course Peace and Conflict Option A: Conflict in Indochina

The Celts were master farmers. Advanced husbandry, grazing and cropping practices and agricultural technology created a wealth of food that was traded across Europe to provide finances and goods. Agricultural practices dominated the Celtic year in a way that would be very familiar to rural Australians today. This source-based activity is designed for students of the NSW Ancient History Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Preliminary course Investigating Ancient History – Case Studies List A: Case studies from Egypt, Greece, Rome, Celtic Europe A8. The Celts

For a self-declared neutral nation Iran certainly had an interesting history during World War II: occupation by Britain and the Soviet Union, the Shah forced to abdicate and sent into exile, interventions in political and economic affairs by Germany and the USA, forced to sign a Treaty of Alliance with the Allies and a range of social and economic problems that needed to be dealt with by the new monarch, Mohammed Shah. This task is designed for students of the NSW Modern History Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Preliminary course National Studies Option H: Iran 1953-1989

The causes of the Iran-Iraq Way, 1980-88 included: religious and ethnic differences, Iraqi desire to acquire the oilfields of Khuzestan, an ongoing dispute over control of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, other border disputes, Saddam Hussein's leadership of Iraq and his desire to expand Iraq and show strong leadership and Iraqi fears that the 1979 Revolution on Iraq may spark political unrest amongst the Shia in Iraq. This source-based activity is designed for students of the NSW Modern history Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Higher School Certificate course National Studies Option H: Iran 1953-1989

Cloze activities on the topic The Holocaust. The activities are: + Wannsee Conference + Theresienstadt Ghetto + Kristallnacht + Rescue of Danish Jews Designed for students of the NSW History K-10 Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Stage 5 Depth Study 6: The Holocaust

In 1953 the Iranian government of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi commenced a suppression of Tudeh, the Communist Party of Iran. There were political and personal reasons why the Shah did this, but it needs to be viewed in the context of the Cold War. The suppression was excessive and included many and extensive human rights abuses. The response of the United States was to support the Shah. This decision did not bode well in the eyes of the Iranian people. This source-based activity is designed for students of the NSW Modern History Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Higher School Certificate course National Studies Option H: Iran 1953-1989

Kristallnacht was a clear message to German Jews that they were not safe and that the authorities would not support them against acts of violence. Many attempted to emigrate and seek refuge with non-Jewish friends. Some German non-Jews supported their Jewish neighbours by protesting about events. They suffered retribution by the state. Most non-Jews responded in silence, either because they were not personally affected by events or they tacitly agreed with the pogrom against the Jews. Some gained personally by looting Jewish goods. This source-based task is designed for students of the NSW History K-10 Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Stage 5 Depth Study 6: The Holocaust

Powerpoint on the Myall Creek Massacre Memorial Site. Part of unit of work on The Investigation of Historical Sites and Sources: New England. Designed for students of the NSW Modern History Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Preliminary Course Investigating Modern History – The Nature of Modern History Topic 1. The Investigation of Historic Sites and Sources This Powerpoint looks at the Myall Creek Massacre Memorial Site and provides students with activities: You have been employed by Gwydir Shire Council to: 1. Consult on community needs regarding the current Myall Creek Memorial site. Who would you speak to? Why? 2. Enhance the memorial. What would you do to improve the memorial? 3. Produce educational materials based on the importance of the site. What would these be?

Scaffolded research task on tractors. includes questions on historical development, different applications on Australian farms, implements that can be attached to tractors, uses in specific cropping and grazing enterprises, ways to reduce tractor accidents and common mechanical problems with tractors. This task is designed for students studying the NSW Agricultural Technology Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Stage 5 Farm Tools and Machinery.

Worksheet for the video, Former Stasi Agents Defend Their Deeds. Includes answers.

The Stasi used imprisonment and the threat of imprisonment to silence the people of East Germany. This set of activities includes information on imprisonment in East Germany, extracts from the text and an activity requiring students to make a mind map from the information provided.

Worksheet to accompany a 9-minute 2009 news item from Deutsche Welle television on efforts by the German Ministry of Information to piece together destroyed East German Stasi files and to allow citizens to access their files. Excellent resource for the teaching of the text, Stasiland.

This scaffolded research activity allows students to focus on Cortés’ personality, influences on his life, motivations to conquer the Aztec Empire, leadership and military skills, treatment of First Nations peoples, positive contributions to the history of Mexico and an assessment of whether Cortés was a hero or a villain. Three sources are provided for students to analyse to gain information on the character of Hernán Cortés. The activities are designed for better-able to Gifted and Talented learners of the NSW History K-10 Syllabus. Stage 4 Depth Study 6: Expanding Contacts 6©: Spanish Conquest of the Americas

Activity using the principles of visual literacy to analyse 6 different covers to the English language editions to Anna Funder’s Stasiland: colour, people, content, critical response and medium.

This activity analyses the passage from Stasiland when Miriam Weber attempts to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin over the Berlin Wall. It focuses on language, building suspense, humour, effects of light and dark, style, juxtaposing the younger and older Miriams as storytellers, and the impact of the narrrator asking questions in her narrative.

Wired ezine article, Piecing together the dark legacy of East Germany’s secret police. Excellent resource for understanding the computerisation of destroyed Stasi records and the uses of these records. Supports the teaching of Anna Funder’s text, Stasiland. The last activity involves students evaluating whether the enormous cost involved in this reconstruction process is worth the result.

Charlie Weber appears as a character in Stasiland through the memory of his wife, Miriam and through physical remains of his existence: photographs and a poem. He is a victim of Stasi discrimination, surveillance, harassment, imprisonment and (we believe) brutality that led to his death. If Miriam is the principal interviewee, Charlie is her evidence. The ghost of Charlie haunts Miriam, although there is evidence is the last chapter that Miriam is at last coming to terms with his death. This set of activities includes extracts from the text and a profile proforma. The activity is designed for Year 12 students of the VCE and HSC.

Information report assessment task on the topic Spanish Conquest of the Americas. The topic is: What impact did Spanish conquest of the Americas have on the indigenous peoples? This resource includes information for students on the structure and language features of an information report and a marking guide (rubric). The task is designed for students of the NSW History K-10 Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Stage 4 Depth Study 6: Expanding Contacts 6(a): Spanish Conquest of the Americas

Information report assessment task on the topic: Who invented the steam engine? Why was it such an important invention? The resource includes advice to students on the structure and language features of an information report and a marking guide (rubric). The task is designed for students of the NSW History K-10 Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Stage 5 Depth Study 1: Making a Better World? 1(a): The Industrial Revolution

The Stasi established a surveillance network in East Germany that monitored and reported upon all aspects of life. This resource provides background details in this surveillance network, passages from the text and student activities focused around the nature and extent of the network and the impact of surveillance on the lives of the characters in the text.