Life Before the War

Year Level

Year 9

Duration

60 minutes

Unit Context

Unit: Experiencing World War 1 Lesson 2 of 30

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Lesson Description

Students will explore Australia’s political, social, and economic conditions in the early 20th century, prior to World War 1. Through immersive role-play activities, students will embody different societal roles to understand diverse perspectives within their community at the time. This experiential approach fosters empathy and historical insight, connecting the past to students’ contemporary understanding.

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Australian Curriculum Links

Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)

Historical Knowledge and Understanding

• ACHHS169: The causes and effects of World War 1 on Australia’s identity and society.
• ACHHS170: The experiences of Australians on the home front during World War 1.

Historical Skills

• ACHHS172: Identify and locate a variety of primary and secondary sources related to topics and events studied.
• ACHHS173: Analyse sources and use evidence from them to construct and contest narratives and descriptions of the past.
• ACHHS174: Sequence events, people, and ideas from the past using a range of appropriate terms.

Personal and Social Capability

• Social awareness through understanding historical perspectives.
• Develop empathy by adopting different viewpoints during role-playing.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Describe key political, social, and economic conditions in Australia before World War 1.
• Demonstrate understanding of diverse community roles and experiences through role-play.
• Communicate insights about early 20th century Australian society both orally and in writing.

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Success Criteria

Students will:

• Actively participate in role-play activities, demonstrating understanding of their assigned roles.
• Share at least one insight about community life in early 20th century Australia during class discussions.
• Begin drafting a letter from the perspective of a person living in that era, reflecting historical realities.

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Resources

• Printed role role-play cards (politician, farmer, factory worker, woman at home, Indigenous Australian, immigrant)
• Simplified historical handouts with audio versions (via QR codes or USB devices)
• Writing materials and lined templates for letter writing
• Whiteboard and markers for group discussion
• A projector or smartboard for visual aids (e.g., photographs, political cartoons)

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Lesson Plan Breakdown

1. Introduction and Context Setting (10 minutes)

• Briefly introduce the political, social, and economic state of Australia around 1910–1914. Use simple, key points: federation effects, urbanisation, labour force changes, social roles, and migration.
• Show photographs and explain how different people experienced community life differently.
• Use clear, dyslexia-friendly fonts on slides and provide accompanying audio narration.

2. Role-Play Preparation (10 minutes)

• Divide the class into pairs (to support collaborative learning and provide peer support).
• Assign each pair a societal role from early 20th century Australia using prepared cards.
• Share a short, simple fact sheet/audio clip about their role: political views, daily life, economic situation, and social attitudes.
• Allow time for pairs to discuss and prepare what their character might say or think about life before the war.

3. Role-Play Activity (20 minutes)

• Conduct a class “Community Meeting” simulation where each pair introduces their role and speaks about their experiences and views.
• Encourage active listening and note-taking using guided questions on the board (e.g., What challenges does your character face? What hopes do they have for Australia?).
• Teacher facilitates and prompts students with questions to deepen understanding.

4. Reflection and Letter Writing Introduction (15 minutes)

• After the role-plays, conduct a debrief discussion: What new perspectives did you learn? How did community roles differ?
• Introduce the letter-writing task for advanced learners as an extension: write a letter from the point of view of their character, describing life before the war and their feelings about the future.
• Provide a clear writing scaffold and exemplars, reinforcing simplified language and structure, especially helpful for students with spelling difficulties or dyslexia.
• Students begin drafting their letters in class, or plan them for homework if time is short.

5. Wrap-Up and Homework (5 minutes)

• Summarise key ideas learned about community life pre-World War 1.
• Encourage students to finish or start their letter as homework if they did not complete it in class.
• Remind students to listen to the audio versions of the fact sheets at home to support their understanding.

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Differentiation Strategies

• For diverse learners including ADHD and dyslexia:
• Pair work supports social engagement and reduces stress.
• Simplified written materials and audio versions available.
• Clear visual cues and chunked information on handouts and slides.
• Structured role-play makes abstract historical concepts concrete and engaging.
• For students requiring additional support:
• Provide sentence starters for the letter-writing task.
• Use graphic organisers to structure information.
• For gifted and advanced learners:
• Encouraged to extend role-play by adopting more nuanced perspectives (e.g., contrasting urban and rural views).
• Write extended letters including predictions about how World War 1 might affect Australia.

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Assessment

• Formative assessment based on participation and engagement during role-play.
• Oral feedback during the community meeting simulation.
• Review of letter drafts as an informal writing assessment to check historical empathy and comprehension.

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This lesson combines experiential learning with multimodal resources to support all learners, aligns tightly with Year 9 Australian Curriculum standards, and builds foundational understanding of Australian society before WW1 to underpin future lessons in the unit.