Background information on the history of Bougainville since 1889, stifled attempts at independence and the civil war from 1988-1996 when the Autonomous Region of Bougainville was declared. This background explains the context in which Mister Pip is based. The student activity involves completing a timeline of key events in the civil war.

Crossword based on the graphic novel, Persepolis. The Story of a Childhood.

Romulus is a common man, but a man of extraordinary character, craftsmanship and endurance. His resilience to the beatings at the hands of the Gestapo, migration to a new country, wife who becomes incurably insane, his own battle with mental illness and deprivations of living in poverty in rural Victoria is a testament to the human spirit’s ability to overcome at all odds. This set of resources includes background notes on Romulus, passages from the and student activities.

As a moral philosopher, Raimond Gaita introduces the reader to many philosophical ideas and beliefs, relating these to the people and events of his childhood. This activity identifies 9 of these and asks students to research what they are and how they relate to the text: humanism, stoicism, moral absolutism, fatalism, multiculturalism, communism, relativism, spiritualism and puritanism.

Ezine article from The Monthly entitled ‘From Frogmore, Victoria’ and written by Helen Garner. She describes a visit to the sites in the text, Romulus, My Father with the author and the reactions of Raimond Gaita and herself to each of the sites in the light of the events that took place there. Student activities included.

Analysis of a photograph of Raimond Gaita’s childhood home of Frogmore. Students examine the details and make assumptions about the impact of poverty on the ideas and writings of Raimond Gaita.

Photographs of Raimond, Romulus and Christine to support student understanding of the characters in Romulus, My Father.

Romulus, My Father Crossword

Crossword based on Lloyd Jones’ novel, Mister Pip.

The Gaita family migrate to Australia after World War II, part of the massive migration of European and Middle Eastern peoples into the country in the 1950s and 1960s. They personally experience the discrimination against these “New Australians”. This resource includes background notes, passages from the text and student activities.

Activity that requires students to read the character profile and to select which character is being described.

3 Cloze activities related to the text, Romulus, My Father: Memoirs Raimond Gaita Yugoslav migration to Australia

Student activities for Sections 1-5 of Lloyd Jones’ novel, Mister Pip.

Sequencing activity of key events in the non-fiction text, Stasiland.

Sequencing activity of key events in Madeline L’Engle’s novel, A Wrinkle in Time.

Sequencing activity of key event in Lloyd Jones’ novel, Mister Pip.

This set of resources includes a map of Papua New Guinea and the surrounding countries of the Solomon Islands and Australia and gives details on how the novel mentions each country. A map of Bougainville shows where the Australian copper mine and base for workers was located and the likely location for the village from the novel. Students use the internet to identify the geography, flora and fauna and marine resources of Bougainville and then investigate problems of living on such a resource-rich but isolated island.

Topic summary for the novel, Mister Pip. Includes themes, symbolism, structure and style, characters, comparative texts, setting, key quotes, metalanguage, author and genre.

Student activities for Sections 6-10 of Lloyd Jones’ Mister Pip.

Students must identify if the 30 statements relating to Raimond Gaita’s memoir, Romulus, My Father are true or false.