Education Resources

Wars, Conflicts and Peace Operations

Australian Prisoners of War

This educational resource provides teachers and students with activities to investigate Australian Prisoners of War using the stories from the Australians at War Film Archive. The resource provides historical background about Australian prisoners of war since the Boer War and uses the personal stories of veterans and civilian POWs from the Second World War and the Korean War.

Guidebook - buy | PDF - see the chapter links below

The Full publication - Australian Prisoners of War (PDF14.08 Mb)

Contents

• Introduction (PDF 1.33 Mb)
• Topic 1 The History of Australian prisoners of war (PDF 2.8 Mb)
• Topic 2 Capture (PDF 2.07 Mb)
• Topic 3 Life in the Camps (PDF 2.8Mb)
• Topic 4 Guards, civilians and internees (PDF 1.81 Mb)
• Topic 5 Humour and mateship (PDF 1.66 Mb)
• Topic 6 Food, conditions and treatment (PDF 2.43 Mb)
• Topic 7 Despair, hope, secrets and escape (PDF 3.81 Mb)
• Topic 8 The end of the war, coming home and reflection  (PDF 6.3 Mb)

M is for Mates- Animals in Wartime from Ajax to Zep

This education book is designed for primary students and is an alphabetic book about the contribution made by animals in wartime and peace operations.

Guidebook – buy | PDF (65.35 Mb)
Please note: Due to the big file size the download of the publication may take some time.

Australian Women in War
Released late May 2008

Guidebook - buy | PDF - see the chapter links below

This educational resource provides teachers and students with self-contained classroom ready activities and teaching strategies to investigate the roles and experiences of Australian women during more than a century of wars, conflicts and peace operations. Covering women’s roles since 1899 to the present it includes the service roles as well as the home front experiences. The resource includes an introductory DVD and a CD ROM with ten interactive classroom activities.

Follow the links below to view each unit of the publication (PDF files).

Chapters

• The FULL publication – Australia Women in War ( PDF 23.56 MB)
• Introduction for Teachers (PDF 446.90KB)
• Unit 1 - Australian Women in the Second South African Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) (PDF 3.77MB)
• Unit 2 - Australian Women in World War I (1914-1918) (PDF 4.24 MB)
• Unit 3 - Australian Women in World War II (1939-1945) (PDF 6.76MB)
• Unit 4 - Australian Women in British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) and the Korean War (1946-1953) (PDF 4.46MB)
• Unit 5 - Australian Women in the Vietnam War (1962-1973) (PDF 2.23MB)
• Unit 6 - Australian Women in the Australian Defence Force and in Peace Operations (1947 – Today) (PDF 1.77MB)
• Unit 7 - Australian Women and Commemoration (PDF 579.44KB)

Australia and the Vietnam War

DVA Resource Kit Published2007

Primary & Secondary

Guidebook - buy

Students can learn about the experiences of Australians and the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1973, through images, film, classroom and interactive activities.
Follow the links below to view each chapter of the publication (PDF files).

Chapters

• The FULL publication - Australia and the Vietnam War (PDF 6.4 Mb)
• Introduction for Teachers (PDF 600 Kb)
• Topic 1 - Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War (PDF 1.2 Mb)
• Topic 2 - Life in Vietnam (PDF 1.1 Mb)
• Topic 3 - The experience of battle (PDF 1.3 Mb)
• Topic 4 - Reporting and representing the war (PDF 500 Kb)
• Topic 5 - On the home front (PDF 1 Mb)
• Topic 6 - Going home (PDF 300 Kb)
• Topic 7 - After the war (PDF 650 Kb)
• Topic 8 - Commemoration (PDF 400 Kb)

Australians on the Western Front

Guidebook - buy | CD Rom | PDF (4.17 Mb)
For teachers of primary and secondary students. The teachers’ guidebook contains information, images and teaching and learning activities relating to the experiences of Australians on the Western Front during World War I and the continued commemoration of their service. The accompanying CD-ROM contains additional information, resources and interactive tasks to further investigate the Western Front experience.

Activities include: WW1

Operation CLICK - Anzac to Kokoda

Guidebook - buy | CD Rom
Websites: Operation CLICK ; Visit Gallipoli ; Australia's War
Investigating Australia's wartime history with the websites Visit Gallipoli and Australia's War contains a range of teaching and learning activities aimed at upper primary and lower and middle secondary students. The activities relate to 10 topics which explore Australians’ experiences in World Wars I and II. The accompanying CD-ROM contains reproducible worksheets and relevant sections of the websites.

Includes a range of teaching and learning activities
WW1 - WW2
Anzac Day - Remembrance Day

Australians at War

DVA Resource Kit. Published 2002

Primary & Secondary

Guidebook | Video | DVD - buy | Primary - buy | Secondary - buy
Website: www.australiansatwar.gov.au/education
Dedicated to Australians who served their country over the past 100 years. This Primary and Secondary resource complements the Australians at War television documentary series, first screened in 2001. It covers the experience of Australians in wars, conflicts and peace operations from the Boer War to 2000 and includes a teachers’ guidebook and compilation video of highlights from the series

Activities include: Boer War - WW1 - WW2 - Korean War - Malayan Emergency - Vietnam War - Indonesian Confrontation - East Timor - Peacekeeping

Defence of Australia

Guidebook - buy | Video
Studies the period 1939-1945 especially the events of 1942, including the fall of Singapore, the bombing of Darwin and other Australian towns, the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour and the Kokoda Track campaign. The resource includes a teachers’ guide with classroom activities, a video and posters.

Activities & posters include: WW2  

The Spirit of Anzac

DVA Resource Kit. Published 2001

Primary & Secondary

Guidebook | CD Rom | PDF (2.96 Mb)
Presents a range of teaching materials and suggestions for the exploration of Gallipoli and the Anzacs in the classroom. The Anzac legend and the events at Gallipoli form an important part of what it means to be an Australian. Why is this? How did these events come to mean what they do today? Australia’s important role in peace operations and a brief history of Australia’s involvement in peacekeeping is also studied in the resource.

Activities include: Boer War - WW1 - WW2 - Korean War - Malayan Emergency - Vietnam War - Indonesian Confrontation - East Timor - Peacekeeping
Anzac Day

Working the Web: Investigating Australia's wartime history

Guidebook - buy | Websites | PDFs (below)
Designed to inform teachers and their students of the wartime history resources available on the websites of the agencies of DVA portfolio. The 10 investigative chapters examine significant themes in Australia’s Wartime history, peacekeeping roles, remembrance and commemoration and include links to the relevant websites.

About this book; Contents; State & Territory curriculum links
Teachers Guide (470 Kb)

Investigations

• 1 - Lest We Forget (313 Kb)
• 2 - For Kith and Kin: The impact of war on Australian families (332 Kb)
• 3 - Lives Shaped by War (317 Kb)
• 4 - Means to an End: Science and Technology in Australia's wartime experiences (385 Kb)
• 5 - Women at War: The changing role of women in times of conflict (553 Kb)
• 6 - Recording Australia's War Experiences (577 Kb)
• 7 - When Cold Wars Become Hot: Australia in Asia after 1945 (279 Kb)
• 8 - Keeping the Peace: Australians' experiences of peacekeeping (313 Kb)
• 9 - Australia under Threat: The defence of Australia 1942-43 (306 Kb)
• 10 - Australians' Wartime Experiences: Prisoners of war (306 Kb)
  

Activities include: WW1 - WW2 - Korean War - Malayan Emergency - Vietnam War - Indonesian Confrontation - Peacekeeping
Anzac Day - Remembrance Day

Memorial Box - Australian War Memorial

For more information: www.awm.gov.au/education/box
Authentic and replica artefacts that students can handle! There are boxes for World War I, the Red Cross Society, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Defence Force, World War 2, Women and Children during World War 2 and the War in the Pacific, 1942.

Includes photos, case studies, uniforms, equipment, models, videos & CDs
WW1 - WW2
Anzac Day - Remembrance Day

Commemoration

Their Spirit, Our History

Guidebook | PDF (5.12 Mb)
Discover and imagine, through letters, journals, newspaper clippings and telegrams, what life was like for Australians during WorldWarI. Learn about the origin and historical significance of Anzac Day through research-based activities. Find out tips on how to plan and conduct your own commemorative ceremony.

Activities include: WW1 - WW2 - Korean War - Malayan Emergency - Vietnam War - IndonesianConfrontation - FirstGulfWar - WaronTerror - SecondGulfWar - Peacekeeping
Anzac Day

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Time to Remember

Guidebook - buy | Picture Boards | PDF (3.06 Mb)
Through 16 Big Pictures and the teachers’ guidebook, students can learn about war and peacekeeping, and about commemoration in their local community.

Activities include: WW1 - WW2 - Korean War - Vietnam War - Peacekeeping - Anzac Day - Remembrance Day

Our Past – Our Future: Commemorating Remembrance Day

PDF (1.49 Mb)
Offers teachers and students information and activities about Remembrance Day and commemoration.

Activities include: Remembrance Day

We Remember

Big Book - buy | PDF (1.36 Mb)
A Big Book written specifically for the lower primary school audience. The book addresses the themes of remembrance and commemoration through the story of Charlie Cooper, a boy who lives in a rural township and discovers his family’s wartime history. Includes teaching notes and class activities.

Activities include: Boer War - WW1 - WW2 - Korean War - Malayan Emergency - Vietnam War - Indonesian Confrontation - Gulf War - East Timor - Peacekeeping
Anzac Day - Remembrance Day

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