Mrs Bailey's Webquest: Australians' Experiences of World War One

Introduction

During class this term, we have been learning about the events which led to World War One and have started exploring the experiences of Australian soldiers who served in the trenches.

However, while the War, arguably, had its greatest impact on those serving on its front-line, the 'war to end all wars' touched all Australians in some way - whether they remained on Australian shores or coordinated the efforts to support our troops in the trenches.

This task is a work-in-pairs activity which will see you and your partner learn more about the war-time experiences of an Australian soldier, a woman who remains at home and the Chief Defence Minister who works for the Australian Government.

Task

1. Choose a partner to work with. If you wish, you can complete this activity on your own.

2. Choose one of the Australian personalities to profile - a) an Australian soldier, b) a woman remaining at home or c) Chief Defence Minister (an Australian Government official). Visit the Evaluation page to print out the learning expectations for this task and see how your work will be graded.

3. Visit the Process page to view the activities you and your partner will need to complete for your chosen personality.

Process

If you've chosen to profile an Australian Soldier, here's what you need to do. Scroll down for other options.

Australian Soldier

You are a new soldier who has volunteered to fight in the Australian Army.

Write a series of six letters to a loved one at home, relaying your experiences. Include how your attitude changes as you experience the realities of war.

Include some information relating to other soldiers' experiences in your group and at least one specific account of a battle in which you, as an Australian solider, participated in, and under what conditions.

What to do

  1. Use the links below as your resources.
  2. View the relevant Evaluation sheet to see how your work will be assessed
  3. Write your letters in a Word document, print them out and attach the Evaluation sheet to the front.

Links

http://youtu.be/sKNlnOXrIdIhttp://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww1.asphttp://www.anzacsite.gov.au/   Woman at homeYou are Josie, the young wife of a soldier who is away fighting in the war. Relay your experiences in the changing of women's roles in Australia during the war. Explain how you provide an income for yourself and the experiences of other women in your circle of friends or family. You will write six entries in your journal, including your attitudes towards the war (and if this changes over the course of the war).   What to do

  1. Use the links below as your resources.
  2. View the Evaluation sheet to establish expected outcomes.
  3. Write your journal in a word document, print out and attach the Evaluation sheet to the front.

Links

http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww1/homefront/women.html 

http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/women-in-wartime 

http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-14_u-42_t-48_c-142/nsw/history/australia-and-world-war-i/women-and-the-war/the-roles-of-women-in-the-war 

Chief Defence Minister for the Australian Government

As Chief Defence Minister, you have committed 50 000 troops to the Motherland, Britain's war.  

Conscription is banned in Australia. How will you encourage new recruits?

Look at the propaganda posters from governments involved in the war, including Australia.

Make your own propaganda poster and, in one paragraph, justify your design. Why have you designed it in that way? To which emotions are you appealing, and how?

Lastly, you need to critically analyse two propaganda posters from WW1. One poster must be from Australia and one must be from other country involved in the War. Include an image of each poster and write a paragraph addressing the following points.

  • the meaning behind the images in the poster
  • the target audience
  • the effectiveness of this poster for the society and culture at the time
  • why propaganda was an important tool for the government

What you need to do

  1. Use the links below as your resources.
  2. View the Evaulation sheet to establish expected outcomes.
  3. Write the written parts of this task in a Word document; you can construct your poster in your preferred media. Print everything out and attach the Evaluation sheet to the front.

Links

http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/index.htm 

http://www.ww1-propaganda-cards.com/

http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww1.asp 

Evaluation
Mark To achieve this mark, you will
16-20 (Excellent) present an accurate and detailed description of the different experiences of the chosen character explain the impact of World War 1 on the chosen character and their initial expectation and how this changes over the course of the war and why  use a range of specific and relevant historical information  display originality in selection and use of an appropriate text to communicate the results of their research  present a report with limited grammatical errors
12-15 (Satisfactory) present an accurate description of the different experiences of the chosen character  describe the impact of World War 1 on the chosen character and their initial expectation and how this changes over the course of the war and why  use specific and relevant historical information  select an appropriate text to communicate the results of their research  present a report with some grammatical errors
7-11 (Progressing) present a description of the different experiences of the chosen characters  show some understanding of the impact of World War 1 on the chosen characterand their initial expectation and how this changes over the course of the war and why  use some relevant historical information  demonstrate some use of an appropriate text to communicate the results of their research with frequent grammatical errors
1-6 (Limited) present limited or inaccurate description of the different experiences of the chosen character  display little awareness of the impact of World War 1 on the chosen characterand their initial expectation and how this changes over the course of the war and why  use irrelevant or inaccurate information  present a poorly-structured text report with many grammatical errors

 

Conclusion

Thank you for working so hard on this task.

I would appreciate your feedback about our experience with this learning activity.

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