Discovering Anzacs Teachers Resource
Introduction
The Discovering Anzacs website provides an opportunity for Australians to engage with the events and stories of World War I through a rich selection of archival records.
This teachers resource provides a learning sequence of six lessons for Year 9 History students. It enables students to discover and explore the primary and secondary
sources available on the website.
The aim of this resource is to build connections between students and the people who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during World War I. Students do this
by exploring archival records, including original AIF service records, and reflecting on what they find. Students develop their historical skills and contribute biographical
information, life events and a short biography to the profile page of a serviceman or woman on the website.
Curriculum links
The suggested learning sequence has specific reference to the content descriptions for Year 9 students in the Australian Curriculum: History that require an in-depth study
of World War I. The specific Historical Knowledge and Understanding and Historical Skills developed in each lesson are indicated within the resource.
The activities also have some relevance to the English, Geography and Civics and Citizenship learning areas and to the General Capabilities of Critical and Creative
Thinking, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and Personal and Social Capability.
Using the resource
This resource adopts an inquiry learning approach which develops students’ skills as historians. Students are empowered to conduct their own research and to make
connections between the events of World War I and their own lives.
The learning sequence of six lessons can be used as a unit of work, culminating with students publishing their own research on the Discovering Anzacs website. However,
the approach adopted allows for flexibility and teachers are free to adapt the activities to meet the needs of their students and their own teaching objectives. For example,
students can develop the skills to publish a basic biography about a member of the AIF in the first four lessons.
Each lesson within the learning sequence incorporates the following features:
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learning intention and curriculum links
resources required to support the activities
descriptions of student activities
further activity suggestions.
Suggestions for assessment are provided at the end of lesson 4 and lesson 6.
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Discovering Anzacs Teachers Resource Lesson 1
Lesson
1
Learning intention and
curriculum links
Learning intention:
 Develop knowledge and
understanding about
some of the reasons
Australia became
involved in World War I
and why men and
women enlisted in the
AIF.
 Select an AIF
serviceman or woman to
research and find them
on Discovering Anzacs.
Curriculum links:
An overview of the causes of
World War I and the reasons
why men enlisted to fight in
the war (ACDSEH021)
Identify and select different
kinds of questions about the
past to inform historical
inquiry (ACHHS166)
Resources
Discovering Anzacs
 Timeline groups
Vrroom
 World War I classroom
resources
Student activities
Students investigate the following groups on the Discovering Anzacs timeline:
 why was Australia involved in World War I?
 recruitment.
(For further information visit the World War I classroom resources page on Vrroom.)
Identify the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors relevant to an individual’s decision to volunteer
to enlist.
Each student selects a member of the AIF who served in World War I to research.
This could be done by:
 visiting a local World War I memorial to identify names (see Department of
Veterans’ Affairs Remembering Them application)
 using a school honour roll
 identifying the names of those who were born or enlisted in a specific
geographical area
 identifying names from a particular battalion
 identifying a family connection to a person who served.
Students create a list of questions about their selected person to direct their
research.
Students search for their selected person on Discovering Anzacs, using How to
search for a profile (link). This could be done by searching:
 Places – click on the map to view places of birth and enlistment.
Alternatively type the name of a country, state/territory, city or street into
the search field.
 Search fields – use these on the home page and navigation bar to find the
selected person.
 Advanced search – use the different categories on this page.
Further activity
Students watch a selection of Anzac stories and consider the impact of war on an
individual and their families.
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Discovering Anzacs Teachers Resource Lesson 2
Lesson
2
Learning intention and
curriculum links
Learning intention:
 Develop knowledge and
understanding of AIF
service records.
 Learn to locate and
comprehend specific
information in an AIF
service record.
Curriculum links:
Identify the origin, purpose
and context of primary and
secondary sources
(ACHHS169)
Resources
Student activities
Discovering Anzacs
 Video tutorial Language
 Video tutorial –
Abbreviations
 Highlighted profiles
 Profile worksheet
Students explore World War I AIF service records:
 Watch Video tutorial – Language
Discuss how an attestation paper can help your research.
 Watch Video tutorial – Abbreviations
List and explain some of the language and abbreviations used in
service records.
Discuss the origin and purpose of service records.
National Archives of
Australia
 Abbreviations used in
World War I and World
War II service records
 Army – World War I
1914–18
 World War I and World
War II service records –
Fact sheet 177
Students explore one of the highlighted profiles on Discovering Anzacs focusing on
the biographical information provided.
Each student registers as a user on Discovering Anzacs. Students will require a
valid email address to verify their free Discovering Anzacs account.
Working independently, students explore the profile page and original service
record for the person they selected in the previous lesson. Using How to add
biographical information to a profile (link), students begin work on the Profile
worksheet and/or enter information directly onto the profile page.
Further activity
Students collect and share documents and memorabilia relating to World War I
from their families or community.
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Discovering Anzacs Teachers Resource Lesson 3
Lesson
3
Learning intention and
curriculum links
Learning intention:
 Develop knowledge and
understanding of the
different places
Australians served in
World War I.
 Learn to locate life
events in AIF service
records and contribute to
the Discovering Anzacs
website.
Curriculum links:
The places where
Australians fought and the
nature of warfare during
World War I, including the
Gallipoli campaign
(ACDSEH095)
Resources
Student activities
Discovering Anzacs
 Timeline groups
 Video tutorial - Stamps
 Life events worksheet
 Highlighted profiles
Students investigate the following groups on the Discovering Anzacs timeline:
 Gallipoli
 the Western Front
 the Middle East.
(For further information visit the World War I classroom resources page on Vrroom.)
Discuss which experiences were common to members of the AIF during the war.
Which varied in different campaigns?
Vrroom
 World War I classroom
resources
Watch Video tutorial – Stamps
Further explore AIF service records.
Identify some of the challenges of maintaining AIF service records during World
War I.
Students explore a second highlighted profile on Discovering Anzacs, focusing on
the person’s life events. Select the View as list tab in the interactive area of the
page.
Working independently, students complete the Life events worksheet for their
selected serviceman or woman, using the service records. Possible life events to
focus on include:
 date the person embarked (either from Australia or from an overseas
location)
 first place sent into action
 first injury
 date of death or return to Australia.
Students add these life events to the profile page on Discovering Anzacs.
Further activity
Research the types of honours and medals awarded to Australian servicemen and
women during World War I. Debate the merits of a military awards system.
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Discovering Anzacs Teachers Resource Lesson 4
Lesson
4
Learning intention and
curriculum links
Learning intention:
 Develop knowledge and
understanding about the
impact of World War I on
life in Australia.
 Use AIF service records
to research and write a
short biography.
Resources
Discovering Anzacs
 Timeline groups
Vrroom
 World War I classroom
resources
Curriculum links:
The impact of World War I,
with a particular emphasis on
Australia (ACDSEH096)
Develop texts, particularly
descriptions and discussions
that use evidence from a
range of sources that are
referenced (ACHHS174)
Student activities
Students investigate the following groups on the Discovering Anzacs timeline:
 war precautions
 conscription.
(For further information visit the World War I classroom resources page on Vrroom.)
Explore the following question from the perspective of different people in the
community (eg a soldier, a young father, a single female, a farmer of German
descent): How did World War I affect the lives of Australians?
Each student uses information from service records to create a short biography
about the experiences of their selected person. Contribute the biography to the
Stories and comments section on the selected person’s profile.
Further activity
Students role play a scenario in 1916 where members of a community meet to
express their opinions about the ongoing internment of ‘enemy aliens’ from their
district.
Identify and analyse the
perspectives of people from
the past (ACHHS172)
Assessment ideas
Students could:
 identify features of an AIF service record
 empathise with members of the AIF
 locate on a map different places Australians served
 list information available on Discovering Anzacs.
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Discovering Anzacs Teachers Resource Lesson 5
Lesson
5
Learning intention and
curriculum links
Learning intention:
 Develop knowledge and
understanding of how World
War I ended and what
happened in the years
afterwards.
 Locate sources of
information about members
of the AIF.
 Evaluate the reliability of
information found and
further develop short
biography.
Curriculum links:
Develop texts, particularly
descriptions and discussions
that use evidence from a range
of sources that are referenced
(ACHHS174)
Identify and locate relevant
sources, using ICT and other
methods (ACHHS168)
Evaluate the reliability and
usefulness of primary and
secondary sources (ACHHS171)
Resources
Internet access
Student activities
Students investigate the following groups on the Discovering Anzacs timeline:
 war ends
 repatriation.
(For further information visit the World War I classroom resources page on Vrroom.)
Complete an empathy task by creating two diary entries for a member of the AIF, one
dated 11 November 1918 and one two years later.
Discuss whether World War I veterans were given adequate support after the war.
Working independently, students locate records beyond those available on Discovering
Anzacs that provide further information about their selected person. Incorporate this new
information into the short biography. Use the following websites:
 RecordSearch – National Archives of Australia’s online database. Use the
NameSearch feature to find other records in the collection including repatriation
and immigration records
 Commonwealth War Graves Commission
 Australian War Memorial
 Trove (National Library of Australia)
 Australian Dictionary of Biography
 Shared Histories
 state/territory libraries and archives
 local councils and historical societies
Students use any new information to create additional life events and add relevant web
links to the profile page.
Further activity
Analyse artworks about World War I as historical sources. World War I poster example
1, example 2.
Identify and analyse the
perspectives of people from the
past (ACHHS172)
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Discovering Anzacs Teachers Resource Lesson 6
Lesson
6
Learning intention and
curriculum links
Learning intention:
 Develop knowledge
and understanding
about the
commemoration of
World War I.
 Create a group story
and contribute it to
Discovering Anzacs.
Curriculum links:
The commemoration of
World War I, including
debates about the nature
and significance of the
Anzac legend
(ACDSEH097)
Resources
Discovering Anzacs
 Timeline groups
Vrroom
 Classroom resources
Student activities
Students investigate the following group on the Discovering Anzacs timeline:
 commemoration.
(For further information visit the World War I classroom resources page on Vrroom.)
Discuss the role of commemoration during and immediately after World War I. Why is
World War I commemorated today?
As a whole class or in small groups, students create a group story about the people
they have been researching and contribute it to the Group stories page on Discovering
Anzacs.
Students recognise their research as a form of commemoration. As a class, they
decide how they will share the short biographies and group stories they created with
their community. This could be done by a:
 display in the school foyer or on the school website (link)
 presentation during ANZAC Day or Remembrance Day assemblies
 meeting with a local community group (e.g. RSL branch, aged care facility,
historical society).
Further activity
Students design a war memorial to commemorate the contribution of the servicemen
and women in their group story.
Assessment ideas
Students could:
 complete online research on an individual serviceman or woman
 evaluate the reliability and usefulness of sources about AIF members from a variety of websites
 identify evidence of commemoration in the local community or region and analyse its significance.
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