Held in honour of the Battle of Thyrea, this annual festival was held in July and included singing, dancing and the snatching of cheese from the altar in the Temple of Artemis Orthia. The purpose of the festival was to emphasise tradition and maintain the Spartan way of life. This source-based homework task supports 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 When cheese has a higher purpose than just being food...

Classical historians were consistent in their claim that the burning of Persepolis was the result of a drunken party that turned bad. Twentieth-century historians have encouraged us to think a more broadly and to consider other factors that may have played upon Alexander's mind. This homework task supports student understanding of the NSW Ancient History syllabus Higher School Certificate course Part III: Personalities in Their Times Option H: Alexander the Great Why am I never invited to these types of parties? Preparing too much time preparing for Ancient History classes?

All Greek city states had agoges. But the Spartans were renowned for their military prowess rather than their pursuit of the intellect. Does this mean that their agoges focused were more bootcamps than schools? This source-based homework task assists 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 The Spartans were really no different to other Greeks of the 6th and 5th centuries BCE - they valued a rounded education but they also understood the political necessity of a strong military.

This poster is part of a series demonstrating how the techniques of visual literacy can be applied in every subject so that students can deconstruct a visual image in order to find the hidden meanings behind the image. In this poster a screen shot of computer screen demonstrates the use of pose, lighting and tone, mood and atmosphere and audience. Visual literacy is a great way to help students build extended responses. There is a template on the second page that can be used as a scaffold.

This source-based homework task covers the living conditions of Aboriginal peoples, working class, rural and middle-class European settlers in Australia in the 1800s. It has been developed for the NSW History syllabus of the Australian Curriculum Stage 5 Depth Study 1: The Making of the Modern World 1(a) The Industrial Revolution I have avoided the assumption that the Industrial Revolution was the primary factor in determining wealth and social status, and therefore living conditions. In the Australian context I believe that the evidence indicates ethnicity (i.e. whether you were Aboriginal or not) and the rural/urban divide were stronger factors. Gifted and Talented students should be encouraged to pursue this further by investigating whether being able to speak English, being born in an Asian country and being Irish played any part in determining income and therefore, living conditions.

Strong willed and highly protective of her children, Alexander's mother Olympias had a strong influence on his upbringing and continued regular contact with him following his invasion of the Persian Empire. This source-based homework task supports student understanding of the NSW Ancient History syllabus Higher School certificate course Part III: Personalities in Their Times Option H: Alexander the Great Students examine a range of primary and secondary, visual and written sources to determine how influential Olympias was on Alexander. Olympias is in her own right is a very interesting historical character.

Literacy activity based on a passage about factors that made the Mongol cavalry so successful. Students select the correct definition of key words and concepts and then list the reasons for success of the Mongol army. This activity fits into the NSW History syllabus for the Australian Curriculum Stage 4 Depth Study 6: Expanding Contacts 6(a): The Mongol Expansion

More than just marriage by capture, Spartan marriage customs encompassed rituals of meeting, mating and cohabiting. Each of these was regulated (with varying levels of success) by the Spartan state. This source-based homework task is designed to extend 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 Students analyse a variety of primary and secondary, visual and written sources to determine what was so unusual about Spartan marriage customs. Setting loose a young man in a dark room to select an unmarried woman? The mind boggles!

The krypteia are believed to be the secret police of the Spartan state. They kept the helots (always the majority of the population) in check through random acts of terror including murder. This source-based homework task is designed to enhance 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 Many societies have secret police in various forms, including security intelligence services. Some are overt and some covert. The more extreme (e.g. Spartan society in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE and Stalinist Russia etc.) used terror as a means of controlling the population. When does their work cross the line of acceptable behaviour? Is there a line? When should good people speak out? What are the consequences of this?

Mongol military success lay with the use of terror, high level of horsemanship, communication and the use of spies and informers. In this set of activities students examine these factors before writing a narrative response, imagining they are a Mongol soldier outside the walls of Samarkand in 1218. The activity is to support student understanding of the NSW History syllabus for the Australian Curriculum Stage 4 Depth Study 6: Expanding Contacts 6(a): The Mongol Expansion Great opportunity to explore the use of terror as a weapon in military conflict and social control.

The Companion Cavalry were highly trained Macedonian troops first formed by Alexander the Great's father, Philip II. Despite his military genius, he could not have been successful without them. This source-based homework task supports student understanding of the NSW Ancient History syllabus Higher School certificate course Part III - Personalities in Their Times Option H - Alexander the Great Students analyse a range of primary and secondary, visual and written sources to come to an understanding of the importance of the Companion Cavalry to Alexander's military success. Most successful armies have a core of professional elite soldiers (e.g. the SAS in the Australian army). Students can research how and why these special forces are necessary and the training they undertake.

The power of Spartan kings was balanced by the gerousia - 28 elected older Spartan men who were no longer eligible for military service. This really explains why Spartan society tended to be conservative and reinforced military exploits. This source-based homework task is designed to support 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 Students analyse a range of primary and secondary, visual and written sources to understand why the Spartans allowed elderly former soldiers to rule the state with the king.

What happened in Lakonia before the Spartans arrived? Well, lots really - Neolithic settlement, Mycenaean civilisation, occupation by pre-Dorian tribes. This source-based homework task is designed to support 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 Students analyse a variety of primary and secondary, visual and written source materials to gain knowledge of the early history of Sparta.

It is the stuff of legend: 300 Spartans battling the Persian army to their deaths at Thermopylae in 480 BCE. The Spartans led the Greek defence and despite their loss, their heroics are remembered today. This source-based homework task is designed to support student learning of the NSW Ancient History syllabus Higher School Certificate course Part II - Ancient Societies Option I - Spartan Society to the Battle of Leuctra 371 BCE and/or Part IV - Historical Periods Option H - The Greek World 500-440 BCE The Greek loss at Thermopylae bears many similarities with the Anzac loss at Gallipoli. Both sparked legends of heroics, remembrance events and a respect for a worthy enemy. Can students think of more examples? How exactly do military defeats become a matter of pride? Why does the same not apply to other defeats e.g. Singapore in 1942?

Introduced in 1924 following the successful 1915 adoption by the State of Queensland, compulsory voting may not have guaranteed democracy, but it did guarantee that everyone would have the opportunity to cast a vote. Preferential voting made the process of selecting a candidate easier. This source-based homework task assists lucky Year 9/10 students to understand the rationale behind the adoption of compulsory and preferential voting. It is designed for the NSW History syllabus for the Australian Curriculum Stage 5 Depth Study 4: Rights & Freedoms and/or Depth Study 6: Decade Study - The Roaring Twenties (and who said civics was boring?)

Visual literacy can be used in Physical Education. Don't believe me? The skills of deconstructing a visual image in order to discover the hidden meanings behind the image are a great way to build student's analytical skills and to use this information to write short-answer and extended responses. The resource includes a poster with 4 aspects of visual literacy and a template with content, medium, emotional response and critical response. You will never look at another sports photo in the same way again!

Commander of the Praetorian Guard, Sejanus embodied Orwell's maxim that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Or does he? Why are modern historian's reviewing the traditional view of Sejanus as an archetypal villain and seeing him as another of Tiberius' victims. This source-based homework task is designed to extend student understanding of the NSW Ancient History syllabus Higher School Certificate course Part IV - Historical Periods Option O - Rome in the Time of the Julio-Claudians CE 14-69 One wonders if Sejanus would feel right at home in 21st century Australian politics! An interesting question for the classroom.

Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria - no brainer. But his reasons for doing so are a little more complicated. This source-based homework task is designed to support student learning of the NSW Ancient History syllabus Higher School Certificate course Part III - Personalities & Their Times Option H - Alexander the Great Students analyse a range of primary and secondary, visual and written sources to find the reasons why Alexander founded the city of Alexandria and why he chose it's location.

This poster was part of a series made for a New England NSW high school to promote the importance of visual literacy across the curriculum and to scaffold how a visual image (in this case an advertisement) can be used to elicit short- and long-responses from students. The techniques of visual literacy are outlined in the diagram on the second page.

The evacuation from the Gallipoli peninsula has been described as the most successful part of the Gallipoli campaign. It was an unprecedented success with no loss of life to any army and enabled the Allied and Turkish forces to focus on battles that would actually make a difference. This is a source-based homework task that supports student understanding of the NSW syllabus for the Australian Curriculum Stage 5 Depth Study 3: Australians at War World War I & World War II Students analyse a variety of primary and secondary, visual and written sources to determine whether the 1916 Gallipoli evacuation was a strategic success or the recognition that the whole Gallipoli campaign was a failed military strategy. What all armies learnt from their mistakes would make a logical follow-up classroom activity.