Unique resources created by an experienced Secondary English and History teacher. These are academically rigorous resources that target children between 13 and 18 years of age.
Unique resources created by an experienced Secondary English and History teacher. These are academically rigorous resources that target children between 13 and 18 years of age.
Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons. The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
A PowerPoint which continues to explore gender discrimination and laws about discrimination (in Australia. It begins with a discussion about 3 more cognitive verbs students must demonstrate in their exam (decide, recommend and justify). There is a visual of the process for justifying from the QCAA which I use to explain this cognition further (it includes sentence starters). This is followed by an explanation of criteria 2.3 and what students must demonstrate to get an A in this criterion. There are some example questions for students to see what they look like in the exam. This is followed by some new content - Australian workplace rights. We unpack what a right is and look at rights that employees should have at work. We look at the Equal employment opportunity commission, what they do and how they are safeguarded by a number of state and federal anti-discrimination laws. We briefly touch on Federal laws (e.g. Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 & Fair Work Act 2009) and Queensland laws re discrimination (e.g. The Sex Discrimination Act & Queensland: Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (QLD)). We also looked at which of Australia’s National Employment Standards link to these laws. We also look at what the Fair Work Act does to protect parents or those seeking to become parents from adverse action. This includes questions which cannot be asked when interviewing potential employees to prevent biases around hiring (e.g. women around age of having babies).This is followed by advice about what to do if you believe you are being treated unfairly at work. To conclude the lesson, we go through the type of question to expect on exam (a small scenario which they must read and identify at least 2 perspectives from).
Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons. The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
A PowerPoint designed to introduce the second focus of the unit - discrimination. The warm up is to copy 3 terms into their glossary (discrimination, gender discrimination and sexist). Then there is a discussion of an interesting moment in the 2021 Australian season of ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here.’ There is an opinion piece which summarises what happened in the episode and the various reactions to it (from the celebrities and the author herself). There is a retrieval chart for students to use as they read the article to identify the various perspectives (they must identify 3 perspectives). During this activity it is easy to get students to begin using language of comparison. This is followed by a brainstorming activity to see what students know about discrimination and groups which have faced discrimination in the past. This is followed by an explanation about the differences between discrimination and prejudic. Additional discrimination subcategories/types are introduced - individual, institutional, direct and indirect. There is a checking for understanding activity where students are provided with 6 scenarios and must circle which of them are examples of gender discrimination. This is followed by statistics about gender discrimination and issues which have been experienced by women including the earning gap. Following this, students copy notes about Australia’s ‘Sex Discrimination Act’ (1984). This is one of the federal laws students should be able to refer to in their exam. As the exam is a response to stimulus, students are then introduced to ‘infographics’ as there is an infographic in the exam. We spend time talking about how to draw information from visual sources and offer our own interpretation of them. This is followed by brief information about when discrimination can occur in a workplace and a checking for understanding activity where students fill in a graphic organiser about the differences between prejudice and discrimination.
Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons. The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
A lesson which focuses on developing student ability to define, describe and explain (cognitive verbs which they will need for their upcoming assessment).It also builds student knowledge of how the media perpetuates gender stereotypes. It begins with a revision activity (a match the definitions task).This is followed by looking at what it means to define, describe and explain.Looking at some example questions which use the cognitive verb ‘explain.’ Some sentence starters which can be used for explaining are provided (from Pat Hipwell’s Logon Literacy explain poster). Then, using the Gradual Release of Responsibility method there is a ‘we do’ practice explain question to be done as a whole class and one to be done with their elbow partners (the person sitting beside them). This is followed by a self reflection tool for the student to see how confident they feel at this point. After this, the lesson moves onto practicing some question types similar to those on the exam that we have encountered thus far.There is a set of ‘you do’ questions about a person and what can be inferred from their interests and appearance and whether it is fair to ‘judge a book by its cover.’ This is followed by a look at another question which will require students to unpack an advertisement and “explain the effect the advertisement could have on female and male audiences.” As this is intended for a year 12 class, the advertisements are quite mature. They are derogatory advertisements produced for the men’s fashion brand Suitsupply which was founded in 2000 by Fokke de Jong in Amsterdam. This is meant to generate discussion about the fact that ‘sex sells’ and without rules to curtail advertising companies, some really messed up advertisements can be created. They are to make connections between the sexualisation of women in ads and how this can inadvertently reinforce negative perceptions of women and their value in society. This ties in nicely with our second part of the unit which is about discrimination. After doing the suit supply paragraph together, there is a Madison Avenue advertisement about cooking equipment for the students to analyse on their own and complete a practice response about.
Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons. The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
A PowerPoint which begins with a warm up practice exam question where students must make inferences about someone based on a photograph of them and some brief information about their occupation and interests. This is followed by a reflection to see how confident students felt about this task. Afterwards the term ‘stereotype’ is defined along with some information about why people stereotype. Students are to copy the definition of ‘gender stereotypes’ into their glossary. There is a viewing activity that explains this concept further. Looking at some stereotypes e.g. which gender is dressed in pink vs blue. This segues to a discussion about how advertisements target viewers of particular genders. There is a clip for students to view and discuss (Top 10 Unnecessarily Gendered Products). This is followed by some visual literacy activities where students have to analyse a range of advertisements and explain their meaning (as this is a skill they must have for their exam). Some of these advertisements are quite sexual and lend well to discussions about the impact of advertisements on body image. They can also cause society to continue to accept misogynistic views of women. There is also a sample advertisement related question for students to view and another one for them to attempt to answer. If time permits, at the end of the lesson, there is an interesting TED talk to watch.
Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons. The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
A lesson designed to teach students about groups which have been marginalised in the past (LGBTQIA+) and the importance of inclusivity. It begins with a discussion of whether students have seen television show Queer Eye and why it is important for marginalised groups to have representation in the media. Following this students are introduced to groups outside of the outdated ‘gender binary’ (e.g. androgynous, gender fluid / gender queer, transgender etc.) and to theconcept of gender dysphoria / gender nonconformity. Students are to take notes and engage in discussions of visual stimulus and clips (including some from the reboot of Will and Grace.) This lesson also introduces students to the various types of sexuality (Asexual, bisexual, pansexual, homosexual and heterosexual). Teach students about the importance of respecting people’s preferred pronouns. The second part of the lesson is skills based where students are introduced to one type of question from their upcoming exam.They must make inferences about someone based on their appearance + information about occupation (job) and personal interests. We talk through an ‘I do’ where my answers have been colour coded to show where I have provided evidence / addressed different aspects of the question. Following this, students have to do their own.
Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons. The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
A PowerPoint for an assessment literacy lesson where students learn more about their upcoming exam including word limits and the communication skills needed for the exam. Students are given a copy of the ‘I can’ statements which shows what an A, B & C looks like for each of the criteria. This is followed by focused teaching around Criteria 1.1 (how to write thorough definitions). This begins with explaining what a definition is and what makes a good definition. It also unpacks what makes a definition bad. Then a sample definition for ‘Gender Identity’ is provided using the four quadrant method (modelled response). Students are informed they will complete their own definition for ‘domestic’ at the end of the lesson after viewing a range of informative videos about this issue.
‘I can’ statements handout which breaks down the criteria into simple terms for students to understand (also assists teachers to mark the assessment with ease)
Resources for 2x 70 minute lessons at the beginning of a unit on Gender and Identity.
A worksheet for a documentary viewing lesson. I utilise the broadcast strategy approach (Barry & King, 1998) previewing the questions prior to playing the documentary so that students know what to listen out for. The documentary Gendered Revolution is available on Click View https://clickv.ie/w/7Xcp. The worksheet includes a range of cognitions. There are several terms for the students to define (based on the explanations provided in the documentary). There are boxes for them to record the viewpoints of different people who are interviewed in the documentary. There are some questions which require the students to form an opinion about what should be done in particular scenarios. There are also some post viewing questions for after watching the documentary.
A PowerPoint to use when going through the answers to the worksheet (it displays the questions and sometimes a sentence starter / some screenshots from the documentary to jog students memories.)
Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons. The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons (with some back up content in case students finish early). The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
A PowerPoint designed to teach students about gender roles (particularly those from past decades) with lots of visual stimulus to aid visual learners. It begins with revision of what the term ‘gender’ means. Afterwards students can copy additional terms into their glossary (gender identity & gender expression). There are visuals on the slide to prompt a discussion about about body language / posture e.g. typically male ways of sitting vs female ways. There are two clips from the 1959 film ‘Some Like it Hot’ (a comedy which features two males hiding from the mafia by dressing as females). These clips show the expectations of women at the time in a humorous way. This is used to segue into learning the terms ‘femininity’ and ‘masculinity’ & the fact that there is no necessary association between being biologically female and being ‘feminine’, or between being biologically male and being ‘masculine’. Revisit the concept of gender roles and that there has been a shift away from the traditional gender roles of previous decades. Students are to brainstorm traditional roles for men and women. This is followed by information about how gender roles are learned. Students are to copy notes about gender socialisation. This is followed by an image of the Disney princesses and other TV programs (e.g. I Love Lucy) which shows how popular culture can impact and reinforce gender roles. Students view some vintage Woman’s Weekly & Housekeeping Monthlymagazine covers from the 1940s and must answer questions about them in their book. There is a viewing activity (the trailer for Mona Lisa smile) and a teacher’s contract from 1923 outlining the expectations of American teachers.There is also a guide for women published in a magazine in 1955 followed by questions to check for understanding.
Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons. The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
A PowerPoint to introduce the students to the unit. It includes an overview of classroom expectations including notetaking and workbook expectations (as it is the first unit for the year). It includes an overview of the topics to be studied this semester, time to go through the Learning Intentions & Success criteria for this unit and to set some personal learning goals for the semester. Following this, the students are shown an engaging video (a Dove commercial) to get them thinking about the influence the media has on our sense of identity. There are some key terms for students to add to their glossary (identity, sex, gender, cisgender & gender identity). There is an explanation of the gender symbols and their roots in Roman mythology. There is a quick quiz to get students to reflect on their own households and the roles performed by the different genders. There is also some screenshots of a 1970s childrens book which shows some of the outdated beliefs about what boys and girls could do for students to discuss. If time permits, there is an interesting foreign Nike advert (with English captions) which can prompt valuable discussions.
A template for a title page that students decorate and place at the front of the display folder where they keep their worksheets.
A copy of the Learning Intentions & Success Criteria for the term which we unpack in the first lesson and glue at the front of our book to refer to throughout the unit.
I pride myself on the quality of the materials I produce, I don’t charge high prices because I don’t agree with paying £10 for a wordsearch. If you need to check before you buy, have a look at some of the free resources in my shop for a sample of the quality and depth
A glimpse into history! This source can be used to explore what Queensland students were learning about the First World War as it was occurring.
This monograph begins with a poem entitled ‘Gaba Tepe’ by Dr J. Laurence Renioul. (Gaba Tepe, is a headland overlooking the northern Aegean Sea in what is now the Gallipoli Peninsula National Historical Park). The next section is entitled ‘Remember Anzac.’ A year had elapsed since the first ‘School Paper’ about the Anzacs. The article speaks about why the Anzacs should not be forgotten by Australians. It includes quotes from the writing of Australian poet Henry Lawson. This article also includes new information about the experiences of those landing on Gallipoli (including recollections of returning soldiers). It includes artwork depicting men throwing bombs over their trench walls and photographs of the doctors and nurses captioned ‘heroes of the Dardanelles.’ The next section is entitled ‘Anzac day’ which is about the first commemoration of 25th April 1915 Australian troops landed on Gallipoli in Turkey. In Queensland Anzac Day 1916 was organised by the influential Anzac Day Commemoration Committee. They ensured the day revolved entirely around commemoration. The article speaks about the need to provide national protection for the graves of WW1 soldiers as well as “tender care for their living dependants; local honour boards and rolls; national monuments” and a war museum to house “appropriate souvenirs and historic records.” Information is provided about the progress of the war and how the war has blurred boundaries between countries as they have had to work together. There is a poem called ‘Knitting’ by Ella Wheeler Wilcox which reveals the women on the home front’s contribution to the war. This is followed by a section called ‘The Good Samaritan of the Dardanelles (information about Private William Simpson and his Donkey). Next is a section entitled ‘The Australians in France’ taken from London’s Daily Mail. The next section ‘Reville – Carry on!’ about the buglers and the songs they played including ‘Reville,’ the ‘Last Post and the ‘Tattoo.’ It concludes with reflections of how we should think of the war in the years to come and how we should care for our returning soldiers.
Author details: Queensland. Dept. of Public Instruction
Made in: Brisbane
Publisher: Department of Public Instruction
Source type: Monograph (a detailed written study of a single specialized subject or an aspect of it.)
Source origin: These books were given to students in Queensland schools during World War One. This was the property of Violet Coley (daughters of Philemon and Sylvia Coley) when she was a student in Coleyville. Coleyville is a rural locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. The locality is named after Violet’s parents who emigrated from Halesowen, Worcestershire, England, in 1866 and settled in the area.
A glimpse into history! This source can be used to explore what Queensland students were learning about the First World War as it was occurring.
first section of this monograph is includes information about Australian soldiers being trained in Egypt and about the decision to land at Gallipoli. Next is a poem entitled ‘The Sailing of the Long Ships.’ This is followed by information under the heading ‘The Months of Battle’ about the solders experiences in Gallipoli. Images are provided of some men of the Australian 10th Light Horse in the trenches. Another poem ‘The Grey Mother’ (by Lauchlan Maclean Watt) is featured. The ‘grey mother’ is a metaphor for Great Britain and her children are the colonies and dependencies of the British empire. This is followed by a section called ‘The Return’ about evacuating the ANZACs. It includes details about the numbers that had to be evacuated, the military strategy used to plan this evacuation with as little loss of life as possible. It was implemented under the cover of nightfall. A description of what remains there today (1916) – empty trenches, a hulk or two on the beach, shattered piers – is provided along with a belief that the spirit of the Anzacs will live on in this place. Statistics of the numbers lost in the war are provided. Along with a statement about the significance of the Anzacs: “The word has already passed the nation’s lips to the nation’s heart, and the world will not willingly forget it.” A poem called ‘Pro Patria’ (latin for to die for one’s country) written by O.S is featured. This is followed by information about ‘The Victoria Cross’ and its recipients.
Source name: The School Paper: ANZAC Day 1916 (for classes V and VI)
Author details: Queensland. Dept. of Public Instruction
Made in: Brisbane
Publisher: Department of Public Instruction
Source type: Monograph (a detailed written study of a single specialized subject or an aspect of it.)
Source origin: These books were given to students in Queensland schools during World War One. This was the property of Violet Coley (daughters of Philemon and Sylvia Coley) when she was a student in Coleyville. Coleyville is a rural locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. The locality is named after Violet’s parents who emigrated from Halesowen, Worcestershire, England, in 1866 and settled in the area.
A glimpse into history! This source can be used to explore what Queensland students were learning about the First World War as it was occurring. The first section of this monograph is includes information about the Gallipoli landing. Latter sections feature poems and stories.
Source name: The School Paper: ANZAC Day 1916 (for classes III and IV)
Author details: Queensland. Dept. of Public Instruction
Made in: Brisbane
Publisher: Department of Public Instruction
Source type: Monograph (a detailed written study of a single specialized subject or an aspect of it.)
Source origin: These books were given to students in Queensland schools during World War One. This was the property of Violet Coley (daughters of Philemon and Sylvia Coley) when she was a student in Coleyville. Coleyville is a rural locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. The locality is named after Violet’s parents who emigrated from Halesowen, Worcestershire, England, in 1866 and settled in the area.
A PowerPoint for the first lesson of the term – an introduction to feminism and the4 British suffragettes. It begins with a basic definition of feminism for students to add to their glossary + the class word wall. Students know they need to copy down whatever text is underlined in my slides. It is followed by a clip from Horrible Histories (on ClickView) about the Suffragettes. This is followed by an opportunity to discuss what students already know about this topic. Students are assigned a homework research task – due the following week. There is a clip from the 1964 Mary Poppins film showing Mrs Banks – a 1st wave feminist. The 4 waves of feminism are summarised before zooming in on Britain’s first wave. There is a YouTube video from 1913, when militant suffragette Emily Wilding Davison threw herself under King George V’s racehorse at a major public event. She died of her injuries and became a suffragette martyr. An extract from Mary Wollstonecraft’s influential text A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) is presented and students must summarise the key ideas. Another primary source an extract from The Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791) is provided for comparison. There is information about the hunger strikes which were used as a form of protest & the force feeding methods used by the authorities. There are excerpts of prisoner testimonies. An image of a primary artefact (a hunger strike medal) is displayed. Information about some of the advances women achieved in the early 20th century is provided including information about when British women achieved the vote. The trailer for the 2015 film Suffragette is shown and a synopsis is provided. This lends itself well to a discussion of the personal implications of joining the movement for women at the time. To conclude the lesson, students are encouraged to reflect on their learning and compile their own definition of first wave feminism – with examples.
Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). Designed as part of a unit entitled Women’s movements since 1893, which has the scope to span from when Women’s suffrage in New Zealand became law to the present. I decided to focus on the Second Wave of Feminism for our assessment (while briefly touching on the other waves of feminism).The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay under exam conditions. As the unit was taught in term 4, it was a shorter, 6 week unit.
The beginning of the PowerPoint is a handout of the IA3 task for 11 Modern History (a 1500-2000 word historical essay based on research). It includes a suggested word count breakdown for the various sections of their essay. There is information about what is and is not counted in the total word count. This is followed by an exemplar written by a previous student (not perfect by any means but with a lot of potential). Students are to read the introduction and make note of the strengths, weaknesses and how it could be improved. One lengthy body paragraph is provided which students can evaluate and check against the TEEASC structure. This is followed by a recap of tips for writing a conclusion and the student’s sample conclusion (very brief). A better conclusion from the QCAA is provided as a point of contrast. NB: to avoid plagiarism, printed copies of the exemplar should not be given to students.
This is followed by explicit teaching on how to write a hypothesis (something that students must complete for homework and submit as an assessment checkpoint). It explains what a hypothesis is and includes an example from the historyskills.com website and other examples. There is a slide with an example vs non example to provide clarity to students. This is followed by information about how to test their hypothesis and fine-tune their argument. An example graphic organiser is provided to show how you then build from the final hypothesis to write your essay (showing how a writer dot pointed their ideas and evidence to justify each element of their hypothesis). This is followed by an example intro for students to read and identify where the thesis was featured.
**NB: Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The content would also be useful more broadly for students in other states and countries with an interest in the Vietnamese Independence Movement (1945-1975). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay.
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This free lesson was designed to remind students about the requirements of historical essays in preparation for drafting their assessment. It looks at the QCAA’s exemplar essay about the end of the Cold War. It goes through the instrument specific marking guide and what must be done to get top marks for each criteria. Students are then given a handout (included for free in my shop at this link) designed to prompt students to deconstruct the IA3 example from QCAA. After students are given time to work through this independently or in groups, there is a whole class discussion of the answers (allowing teacher to point out what makes the essay a high quality example). This is followed by some advice from historyskills.com about how to write an apt introduction with a recommended structure – B.H.E.S. This is followed by the T.E.E.A.S.C. Structure which they recommend for body paragraphs (as an alternative to TEEL). Finally, we look at recommendations made for writing powerful concluding paragraphs.
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**NB: Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The content would also be useful more broadly for students in other states and countries with an interest in the Vietnamese Independence Movement (1945-1975). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay.
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This lesson (PowerPoint) was designed to have a short explicit teaching episode at the start followed by for students to develop key inquiry question. This lesson was a review of the key skills required for writing a question for their research essay. It begins with a summary of the assessment task. This is followed by looking at an example key question from QCAA for a different topic (The Cold War). Beneath this is some annotations from QCAA explaining how this addresses the ‘Devising and Conducting’ portion of the criteria. There is some advice about writing a key inquiry question and a graphic organiser showing how you could dot point ideas before narrowing this into a question (examples about the American Civil Rights Movement). There are also example questions written to demonstrate / centre on each of the 7 historical concepts. This is followed by an example key question for our topic (Vietnamese Independence Movement). Students must identify whether it is an open or closed question. They are provided with some information about each question type to help them make this decision. Three more questions (of varying degrees of suitability) are provided for students to evaluate against the criteria. Afterwards students have time to write their first draft of their key question (due the following week for feedback). If time permits, there is feedback about the Tet offensive and the famous photograph entitled ‘Saigon Execution’ which they were to research for their homework task.
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NB: Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The content would also be useful more broadly for students in other states and countries with an interest in the Vietnamese Independence Movement (1945-1975). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay.**
This is a set of resources for a student centred lesson which utilises a cooperative learning strategy known as ‘Jigsaw.’ The “Jigsaw Method” is a teaching strategy of organizing student group work that helps students collaborate and rely on one another. This teaching strategy is effective as it gives students a greater sense of individual responsibility. It works well in modern history as it teaches students to read sources, locate information relevant to their question and write a synthesised summary combining ideas from multiple sources and perspectives.
A 87 handout full of sources about a range of different topics including: Viet Cong, peasant experiences in the Vietnam War, the Australian presence in Vietnam, Colonialism in Vietnam, The My Lai massacre and Ideologies, causes and effects. Each ‘expert’ group only needs one copy of the sources for their topic. This forces students to engage with the materials and take their own notes so that they can teach their peers about the topic. (However, depending on your group sizes you may choose to provide two copies). This is also a great resource for uploading in full to One Drive / Class Notebook for students to use as inspiration when selecting their topic to investigate for their research essay.
A PowerPoint designed for running the lesson so you can see how the groups were set up for a small class size (10 students). There is also information behind the reference slide about the Jigsaw strategy for teachers who are interested in learning further about this pedagogy. In essence, Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy that enables each student of a “home” group to specialize in one aspect of a topic. Students meet with members from other groups who are assigned the same aspect, and after mastering the material, return to the “home” group and teach the material to their group members. With this strategy, each student in the “home” group serves as a piece of the topic’s puzzle and when they work together as a whole, they create the complete jigsaw puzzle. The fact that they have the opportunity to listen to the perspectives of others enhances the quality of their education. Through this activity they will become better at paying attention to their peers, reflecting on what they have learned and asking good questions
**NB: Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The content would also be useful more broadly for students in other states and countries with an interest in the Vietnamese Independence Movement (1945-1975). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay.
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To prepare students for their upcoming assessment (writing a historical essay about an individual / group involved in the independence movement that they have investigated) this lesson focuses on paragraph writing. This resource includes a PowerPoint, a handout of sources about the Viet Cong and a homework sheet about the TET offensive.
A handout containing a range of source types including extracts from textbooks, online encyclopaedias, biographies, illustrations and photographs.
The PowerPoint begins by introducing students to the question they need to respond to in paragraph form. They learn the meaning of the term ‘modus operandi’ which appears in the question. Students are reminded of the importance of synthesising (one of the criteria in the instrument specific marking guide for this subject). Synthesis is explained and then students have time to engage with the sources on the handout and write their TEEL paragraph. Students have a checklist to use post writing to ensure they have met the communication criteria. Afterwards students are called on to share their answers and feedback is provided from the teacher about their responses in terms of structure, content, synthesis, evidence of analysis/evaluation of sources within their response, word choices etc. Then, if time permits, this is followed by a brief introduction to a key event: The Tet offensive. There are some clips to view to provide students with a better understanding of this event in preparation for their homework task.
A homework sheet that requires students to summarise the Tet offensive, look at a famous photograph from the time and research its context & answer some questions about this image.
**NB: Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The content would also be useful more broadly for students in other states and countries with an interest in the Vietnamese Independence Movement (1945-1975). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay.
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Two resources: a PowerPoint presentation and a lesson plan designed for use in a year 11 Modern History class. Within this lesson I revisited the historical concept of ‘empathy’ through the use of passages from a biography about Phan Thi Kim Phuc (who was caught in a NAPALM attack in 1972). By engaging with biographical sources I hoped to contextualize the experiences of those who lived in the past and to also encourage students to consider how historical conditions shaped the perspectives and decision-making of people who lived in Vietnam from 1945-1975. Lastly, I wanted them to be able to evaluate the relevance and reliability of biographical sources as they may come across these in their own research for their historical essay.
This PowerPoint includes a warm up (quick quiz) to settle students and to discern their prior knowledge. This is followed by some answer slides which include an explanation of why empathising is an important skill for historians. Afterwards there is a viewing activity to introduce students to the subject for today’s lesson and the infamous photograph taken of her. This video is used to broach a discussion about ‘perspective’ and what factors can shape a person’s perspective.
Subsequently, the differences between biography and autobiography are included on a slide side-by-side for comparison. This is useful for determining the level of reliability and usefulness of these two genres.
Following this, there are some dot points about the biography ‘The Girl in The Picture’ written by Denise Chong. There is information to establish what life was like for Kim Phuc’s family and how their life was impacted by the Vietnam War. There is an extract about her mother’s encounters with the Viet Cong on her way to and from work. These extracts show how civilians were impacted by the war and include descriptions of the modus operandi of the Viet Cong (a group which students may wish to research for their assessment). After reading the source and asking students what stood out to them from the passage, we talk about whether this source could be utilised in the assessment.
Students are asked to consider to what extent is it ‘useful’ and ‘reliable’. To help students learn how to articulate an evaluation, they are introduced to the terms ‘subjective’ and ‘objective.’ They are also provided with some information about the author Denise Chong and her writing process. This can help students make a more educated assessment of the source’s reliability.
This is followed by a discussion of how a historian might corroborate the information found in this source. A third extract (showing the photographer’s perspective) is provided as a point of contrast. This passage is useful for discussing writing techniques used as these are a means of evaluating source reliability (e.g. neutral vs persuasive, facts vs opinions).
This lesson utilises an Inquiry Based Learning approach. From earlier terms, the year 11 MHS students are aware of the historical concept of continuity and change. They are aware that, as historians, we need to study what things have changed or continued over time and try to explain the reasons for these. In this lesson, the students receive a handout that poses a key question that they need to investigate and respond to. As a class, we then broke down the key question into sub questions which students could research independently. (I find the use of think aloud activities – talking through my process – helps students to learn historical skill. This lesson gives them the opportunity to practice doing these things which they will do again when they develop their own key question and begin their assessment).
Also included on the handout are a list of places where students can begin their research before branching out to their own searches. There is also a retrieval chart which provides a structured way for students to record their research. If you want to save on paper they can draw these in their books or complete them on One Note. Alternatively, a handout with several tables is provided as a separate word document. The final activity (Complete a T.A.D.P.O.L.E. of one of the sources you have chosen to assess its reliability) can be completed in class for fast finishers or for homework.
NB: Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The content would also be useful more broadly for students in other states and countries with an interest in the Vietnamese Independence Movement (1945-1975). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay.