Achievement Standard:

• Year 9: When researching, students develop different kinds of questions to frame a historical inquiry.
• Year 10: When researching, students develop, evaluate and modify questions to frame a historical inquiry.

Periscope Link:

Watch on #Periscope: Muliyan History 25/03/2020

https://www.pscp.tv/w/cUk4czFxTGpHSk1uV0J5S0p8MVlxeG9RVnJYTlhHdkFsCOrnCjBMyx3nj-rCdYt4ZVYAz05vJdWEix6PtRCf

What does that mean? 

Historical Inquiry: History provides us with a way of thinking about the past. The use of historical inquiry shows students a way to inquire into, organise and explain events that have happened. Historical inquiry is the process of “doing history”.

It is a cyclical process that begins with the asking of guiding historical questions. This is followed by locating and analysing historical sources to establish historical evidence. The historical evidence is then used to construct historical interpretations that seek to answer the guiding historical questions.

There are six generic questions which you can use to guide your inquiry: 

• What were the major forces and developments during this period? 
• What caused these major forces and developments?
• Who were the key players involved?
• How did the developments influence peoples’ decisions and actions and vice-versa?
• How did people’s views and perspectives shape their interpretation of these developments?
• How did these developments impact societies?

Note: In this context, force is talking about things that pressure a historical event into happening. For example, we might be talking about the “market forces” that surround economic recessions. 

What are we going to do with this? 

Step 1: Plan a topic: 

Write/record a short passage (50 to 100 words long) on what topic you are going to research. Some examples: 

• What positive stories could other people tell about my past? 
• Who lived on these lands (Canberra) first and how do we know? 
• How has the community on these lands changed? What features have been lost and what features have been retained? 
• How has Women’s fashion responded to world war II? (Wartime wardrobes)
• The evolution of the skateboard 
• Your topic from your timeline last week
• Something from your passion project. 

Step 2: Choose the three most significant event from your chosen topic and ask the following questions: 

• What were the major forces and developments during this period? 
• What caused these major forces and developments?
• Who were the key players involved?
• How did the developments influence peoples’ decisions and actions and vice-versa?
• How did people’s views and perspectives shape their interpretation of these developments?
• The early roots of the Yakuza
• How did these developments impact societies/you? 

How will you know you are done? 

• You will have chosen a topic 
• You will have written a short description of your topic

Achievement Standards: 

• Year 9: Students sequence events and developments within a chronological framework concerning periods-of-time and their duration
• Year 10: Students sequence events and developments within a chronological framework and identify relationships between events across different places and periods-of-time. 

What does this mean?

Historians need to understand how events roll into each other and how places may impact those events.

What does a timeline look like? 

History Timeline

How to make a timeline:

Growing understanding

Create a timeline of events and locations that those events happened. What relationships may those events have with locations

Ideas for the timeline: 

• Positive events in your life
  • When did you lose your first tooth? When did you meet your best friend?
• A timeline of Ned Kelly from birth to death
• Different stages of economic development
• The history of skateboarding
• The start of the Yakuza
• Something connected to your passion project. 

How will you know you are done?

• You will have a timeline with at least 5 significant events
• Each event should include a description of the event and a location that it happens
• Prepare some evidence that talks about the relevancy of the location with their events.

Achievement standard: 

• Year 9: Students explain the significance of these events and developments over the short and long term.
• Year 10: Students explain the significance of events and developments from a range of perspectives. They explain different interpretations of the past and recognise the evidence used to support these interpretations.

What does that mean? 

• Significance: Sometimes, events, periods, developments, perspectives, or ideas, are regarded as having significant consequences.
• Events and developments: Things that happened, and their effect. Similar to cause and effect from last week, except it’s just talking about the impact of things. 
• Range of perspectives: After World War I, different countries felt differently about the outcomes. France thought that the reparations that Germany was making were fair and just, while Germany thought it was unfair and unjust. 
• Interpretation: Purposeful and thoughtful, representations of past events. 
• Evidence: Assertions made without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. 

In everyday words: 

One of the roles of being a historian is to explain to people who weren’t there, what happened, why it happened, and how that event impacted future events. Importantly, they also to understand that just because you read it in one place, doesn’t mean it’s accurate or even an honest attempt at informing other people. 

Let’s talk: World War 2

What was the significance of WWII? It was the most significant and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland. The war dragged on for six years until Allies defeated both Nazi Germany and Japan. 

What events and developments in WWII: 

• 1939 
  • Hitler invades Poland on September 1st. 
  • The United Kingdom and France declare war on Germany 2 days later. 
• 1940: 
  • Rationing begins in Briton
  • German ‘Blitzkrieg’ overwhelms Belgium, Holland and France.
  • Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain.
  • British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk.
  • British victory in Battle of Britain forces Hitler to postpone invasion plans.
• 1941
  • Hitler begins Operation Barbarossa – the invasion of Russia.
  • The Blitz continues against Britain’s major cities.
  • Allies take Tobruk in North Africa and resist German attacks.
  • Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the US enters the war.
• etc

What were the major perspectives on the cause of WWII? 

• That Hitler was a master planner who intentionally started World War II due to his strong beliefs on fascism, expansionism, and the supremacy of the German State – Trevor-Roper, Hugh (2011). The Wartime Journals. London: I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1848859906.
• Hitler was an opportunist who took advantage of the situation that Germany was left in after WWI – A. J. P Taylor (1961). The Origins of the Second World War. Hamish Hamilton. The United Kingdom. ISBN 978-0684829470
• Hitler was both an “evil” master planner who’s objectives would not have been possible without the situation that Germany was left in after WWI – Bullock, Alan (1992). Hitler And Stalin: Parallel Lives. New York: Knopf. ISBN 9780771017742.

Different perspectives at the time: 

Warning spies, be careful when talking

Growing Understanding

History stopped in 1936 – after that, there was only propaganda – George Orwell. 

Think of a historical event that is of interest to you (including recent events) that have very different perspectives. This event should have been well documented. 

You need to: 

• Choose a significant historical event 
• Identify why it is significant
  • List at least 3 events or developments that happened within that event
• Document at least 2 different perspectives on the event.
  • Documentation can be any form of text (posters, images, youtube videos, etc) 
• Have at least 1 piece of evidence for each of the events/developments (3 in total)
  • How do you know that your events are factual or likely to have happened?

Examples: 

• The justification of the start of WWII
• Fires in Australia, Arson or Climate-disaster
• Metadata in Australia: Australian Government Passes legislation to capture the addresses of what you browse. 
• Drug Testing, should Events have drug testing stations?
• Private Schools win more funding from the Federal Government than Public Schools (2 dollars of Federal funding goes to private schools for every dollar that goes to public)
• Young people and car restrictions based off of power
• PETA attacking people wearing fur
• Any, significant event that interests you