A lot has been written on the Greco-Persian Wars. Was Herodotus' story that a phantom appeared to Xerxes at night true? Or did Xerxes have other, more tangible motives? Why would he take on the Greeks after his predecessor was so badly defeated by them. Perhaps the internal politics in the Persian court was a stronger motive than the appearance of a ghost. This source-based homework task is designed for students of the NSW Ancient History Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum Higher School Certificate course Historical Persiods: Option D: Persia - Cyrus II to the death of Darius III

Cambyses II was the master military leader. He employed psychological terror to undermine the morale of the Egyptians before carefully employing forces to defeat them. So successful was he that he had planned to continue to Ethiopia and Libya (which he did) but also to the Carthaginians (which he did not). This source-based homework task is designed for students of the NSW Ancient History Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum Higher School Certificate course Historical Periods: Option D: Persia - Cyrus II to the death of Darius III

We get the impression that Spartans in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE were concerned exclusively with military training. The evidence shows that this is far from the truth. The Spartan passion for horse racing would shame the Irish, their passion for hunting would embarrass the French and their enjoyment of music, dance and banqueting would put them in good stead in any modern television music and dance competition. This source-based homework task is designed to build student understanding of the NSW Ancient History syllabus Higher School Certificate course Part II: Ancient Societies Option I: Spartan Society to the Battle of Leuctra

Vacek is a highly traumatised migrant and friend of Romulus and Raimond. He falls into homelessness, mental illness and the inability to care for himself. Whilst his story is tragic he is described as a person with a solid character and he possesses an empathy for animals. His influence on Raimond’s childhood ultimately leads to Raimond’s interest in moral philosophy. This resource includes background information on Vacek, select passages from the text and short answer questions.

Both narrator and child/teen character, Raimond Gaita’s relationships with family and friends form the basis of this tragic memoir, along with the almost unreal objectivity in which the text is narrated. This set of activities includes background notes on Raimond, passages from the text and student activities

Ezine article from ThoughtCo. on Armor and Weapons of the Spanish Conquistador. Great article to read to the class. Student activities are linked to the article.

As a journalist, Anna Funder is very capable of creating a highly evocative visual description of people and places using as few words as possible. This activity provides examples of Funder’s use of descriptive language by analysing passages from the text. Students are then asked to look for the common features of her descriptive writing and to analyse a passage from the text for themselves.

Metalanguage activity involving matching the key words and concepts from John Marsden’s text, Tomorrow, When the War Began.

This activity provides students with a map of Central America and asks them to identify modern countries, names of conquistadors who explored particular areas, when areas were explored, metric distances between cities and drawing lines to indicate where particular conquistadors explored.

3 Cloze activities on the topic Wheat Production: Harvesting wheat Wheat plant growth Wheat diseases

3 Cloze activities on the topic Weeds, Pests and Disease: Weed infestation prevention Types of insecticides Creutzfelt-Jakob disease

Analysis of the excellent ezine article by Carolyn Holbrook, Anzac Day: How it came to occupy a sacred place in Australian’s hearts, published on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website, April 25, 2017. The article examines changes in the Anzac Legend, views of why Anzac Day is celebrated and attempts at commercialisation of the day. The resource is part of a unit of work on Australia in World War I, Stage 5 History K-10 Syllabus.

Analysis of magazine article, Front-end loaders can exceed tractor limits, in Farming Ahead with the Klondinin Group magazine, January 2001 No.109. The article examines safe operational practices with front-end loaders and fittings. This resource is part of a unit of work on Farm Tools and Machinery, Stage 5 NSW Agricultural Technology 7-10 Syllabus.

Analysis of ezine article, written by Daniel Browning entitled, Indigenous Anzacs: Letters home from Aboriginal WWI diggers reveal humour, sadness, posted at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation News site. The article examines letters from Aboriginal servicemen in Europe to their families to assess their experiences and achievements. This resource is part of a unit of work on Australia in World War I, Stage 5 NSW History K-10 Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum.

Worksheet for the Modern Marvels documentary, The science behind cattle ranches. The video deals with artificial insemination, the history of beef cattle production in the U.S. and the role of feedlots. Part of a unit of work on Beef Cattle Production. NSW Stage 5 Agricultural Technology Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum.

This worksheet accompanies the video documentary, The War on Wheat, an episode of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s The Fifth Estate newsmagazine series. It examines claims by Dr William Kelley that wheat is unhealthy. It also looks at the movement to cut wheat from diets that has become popular amongst western, middle-class groups. This resource is part of a unit of work on Wheat Production, Stage 5 NSW Agricultural Technology Syllabus.

Jimmy Bigelow is an ordinary man living in the extraordinary world of the prisoner of war camp on the Thai-Burma Railway. Richard Flanagan uses the character to explore many of his themes, particularly memory and trauma. This resource is part of a unit of work on The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

Worksheet to accompany the outstanding info-documentary, Constitution of the Spartans. This documentary gives an thorough account of the make-up and role of the kings, ephors and Gerousia and their impact on the conservatism prevalent in the Spartan state. This resource is designed for Stage 6 Higher School Certificate students of the NSW Ancient History Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum. Historical societies: Option G. Greece - Spartan society to the Battle of Leuctra, 371 BCE.

Explanation of the concept of intertextuality and an explanation of the explicit references to Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007, the Apsara from Hindu religion and mythology, the implied references to Ian Serraillier’s The Silver Sword and the inferred connections to the range of recent texts dealing with the issue of a child refugees journey to safety and a new life, including the picture book Oskar and the Eight Blessings, feature film First They Killed My Father and novel When Michael Met Mina. Students research the nature of these related texts and look for the common themes.

Worksheet for the Special Broadcasting Service Australia/Journeyman TV documentary, A place in the sand: Life inside the world’s largest refugee camp. The video is available on Youtube and examines life in a refugee camp on the Kenya-Somalia border, including why people have moved there, services (or lack of them) in the camp and factors that keep the refugees in the camp.