AC9HH10K04 – Year 10 Humanities and Social Sciences: Second World War

This Content Descriptor from Year 10 Humanities and Social Sciences provides the specific knowledge and skills students should learn. Use it to plan lessons, create learning sequences, and design assessments that align with the Australian Curriculum v9.

Elaborations

• • discussing the introduction of conscription into Australia through the Citizen Military Forces as a change from the policies of World War I
• • investigating the effects of the Second World War on the changing roles of women in Australia during the war (for example, women in the military [WAAAF, AWAS, WRANS], the Women’s Land Army, factory work) contrasted with the continuities of their roles before and after the war
• • investigating the impact of World War II at a local and national level, such as the bombing of Darwin, the Japanese submarine attack on Sydney and the sinking of ships off the Australian coast, the “Battle of Brisbane”, the Cowra breakout and the Brisbane Line
• • describing the effects of changes to individual rights and freedoms because of the National Security Act 1939, such as censorship of the media; detention of Japanese, German and Italian residents; banning groups opposed to the war on either political or religious grounds; and controls over the workforce (“manpower controls”)
• • identifying the barriers that affected First Nations Australians’ enlistment in the Second World War, such as the lack of trust in their loyalty by the Australian Government, denial of their Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status and the notion that there would be disharmony between First Nations Australians and non-Indigenous Australian men
• • examining the reasons for the Australian Government changing its views on including First Nations Australians in the defence forces, such as the critical shortage of soldiers, Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion established in 1941 and specialised work undertaken by First Nations Australians; for example, the Nackeroos and the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit
• • examining the changing roles of First Nations Australian men and women working as civilians for the army during the Second World War, such as increased employment opportunities in domestic work in hospitals, ammunition stacking, timber cutting and cement works, maintaining gardens, slaughtering cattle, and assembling and clearing gearboxes

Achievement Standard This Supports

This Content Descriptor contributes to the following Achievement Standard: