Unit Name: Persuasion and Propaganda Year : Grade 10 Duration: 4 weeks (12 lessons of 70 minutes each)

Essential learnings:

Ways of Working

Knowledge and understandingsAddress all of the 'Ways of Working' from the Queensland Year 10 History Area Guidelines, but focus on developing the following skills:
- locate and use evidence from primary and secondary sources and maintain a record of research
- analyse and interpret explicit and implicit meanings in a range of historical sources
- reflect on the nature of historical sources, recognising inherent values and beliefs, and the tentative and interpretive qualities,
- evaluate sources of evidence for their worth, including their relevance, reliability, authenticity, purpose, bias and perspective
•
•Address the following areas of the 'Knowledge and Understanding' part of the guidelines:
- Past events are classified, organised and interpreted using descriptions of time and ideas which locate social, political, economic and cultural changes and continuities
- Historians and public figures influence the points of view from which historical events are analysed, and how evidence of the past is interpreted
- Australian cultures and identities have been shaped by international events and connections to other nations
Class context
These lessons are designed for use in a large international school in Beijing, China. Only foreign nationals are permitted to enrol. This means that the
student population consists of three main groups: firstly, children of business people or diplomats who have been posted to Beijing for a period of
between 2 and 5 years, these children are often very bright and international in their way of working; secondly, the children of ultra rich Chinese who
have the resources to obtain a foreign passport for their children, these children are often very bright and under high pressure from their parents but are
also often indulged, arrogant and naïve, with many presenting undiagnosed and un-medicated behavioural problems, and thirdly, the children of
teachers at the school, these students vary greatly in ability but are over-represented in the learning support classes and often have learning difficulties
and more rarely behavioural problems. This class has been acknowledged as the most challenging class in the middle school. There are two students
with significant behavioural issues, one of whom also has learning difficulties while the other is in the gifted program although shows no interest in
extension. Three quarters of the students do not speak English at home, although only four are in the ESL program. On the whole this class is lively,
talkative and easily distracted. They can also be very engaged when they are interested and have a rapport with the teacher. The major issues with this
class are making sure that vocabulary is front-loaded through the ESL lessons and is written on the board for reference, keeping students on task, and
preventing the two students with behavioural problems from interfering with others' work.
 The school is very well resourced with all teachers and students having their own laptop and every classroom p with computer projectors and
interactive whiteboards. There is a well resourced library, as well as IT and visual art departments. Teacher's Aides are available for support work such
as photocopying and classroom set-up and a small number of students are allocated a teacher's aide or learning support teacher to shadow them and
assist them individually in all their classes.
The ICT skills of this class are good but generally not exceptional. Some students are very proficient but most have only a good general
working level of knowledge but are above average on the specific software taught so far in their technology classes. The student's research skills are
basic and have improved a lot during the year. It is still necessary to structure their research quite heavily, with writing research questions to be a
distinct task which is checked by the teacher and the resources used should also be vetted by the teacher. It is generally a good idea to give the students
a starting point of 3 or 4 specific websites or books, they can look further afield if necessary and if time permits once they've exhausted the
possibilities in the supplied materials.
This unit is the first unit of the second half of the school year. Students will have covered basic research skills in the first unit of the year and
there is room in the timetable for another lesson to be spent on the assessment task if necessary.

Rationale
This unit is designed with two main focusses: firstly to increase student's knowledge of historical events of the 20th century and how these events have
affected Australia's identity and culture, and secondly, to increase students' critical research skills and make them aware of the various factors that need
to be considered when evaluating any material.
World War 1 and 2 along with the Vietnam War and the Cold War generally have had a great impact on the world and Australia over the last 100 years.
This unit is an opportunity to give students an overall understanding of conflict, Australia's role in it, the effects on Australia and relate these conflicts
to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the conflicts covered in this unit will be new to students and this unit will serve as an
introduction, placing these conflicts in a wider context, emphasising the commonalities of the conflicts and the changes in people's attitudes to
Australia's role in foreign conflicts. Propaganda is inevitably present, especially during wartime, and this unit aims to educate students about the
different persuasive techniques used over the last 100 years.
Whilst primarily a history unit, this is a multi-disciplinary unit as it will utilise and enhance learning from English (such as the use of persuasive
language) and technology (the use of various software to create/display the assessment work). Literacy learning is a large component of this unit as the
roles of code breaker, text user, text participant and text analyst are all used, with particular emphasis on critical framing and situated and transformed
practice of their skills.
Key Questions
How has propaganda been used to influence people over the last 100 years? How has it changed over that time?
What techniques are used in propaganda?
Who uses propaganda? Why?
What are modern day forms of propaganda? How is it different to the propaganda of the 20th century?
How is the internet used to influence people?

Key Understandings
No piece of writing/media is value neutral.
Authors write with an intended audience and message, this can be explicit or implicit.
Different cultures associate different meanings.
Information sources need to be verified and evaluated for their worth, reliability, authenticity, purpose, bias, perspective and relevance.
The culture and values of a society at a particular point in time will affect how its people communicate.

Unit Description
This unit is designed to cover key concepts from modern history and english Els....

ICT Integration
Research using the internet and other electronic databases.
Viewing of primary sources via the internet.
Analysis of how the internet is used as a tool of various groups to promote their messages.
Creation of assessment item using ICT.

Suggested student activities, tasks or teaching strategies

Debates
PMI charts
Comparison and contrast activities
Small group and class discussions
Think-Pair-Share
Research to locate examples of propaganda
Creation of a modern propaganda website

Assessment
Formative: KWL chart about propaganda – whole group and individually
Formative: Mind-map/brainstorm – current examples of propaganda from the internet – whole group and individually
Formative and Summative: Analysis of a piece of modern propaganda (website) as either a written piece, an oral presentation or annotation of a print-
out of the website (student's choice) - individually
Summative: Creation of a piece of modern propaganda (website) – small groups of 3 or 4

Resources
Propaganda posters from WW1 and WW2
Pop culture propaganda from the Cold War
Examples of Gulf War propaganda
Examples of internet propaganda
Worksheets for structured analysis of propaganda

Lesson 2
Content and Key Concepts:
Propaganda posters from World War 1: Propaganda appeals to people to do the right thing.
Lesson outline/sequence (including activities):
1One half of class is to brainstorm reasons that people would have volunteered to fight in WW1, the other half is to brainstorm things that the people
at home could do to help the war effort in WW1.
2Divide the groups into 2 and make 2 new groups in which they discuss their ideas and get more ideas, then bring the whole group back together and
put all the ideas onto the board in a mind-map format. Project examples of propaganda posters onto the board and add ideas to the 2 mind-maps.
3In pairs, complete the 'Analysis of Propaganda Posters' worksheet with reference to one of 6 specific posters (available on moodle for students to
view on their laptops). Pairs to split up and form new pairs to tell new partner about the poster that they analysed.
4Bring group back together and discuss key features that all or most of the posters had in common. Introduce the term 'white' propaganda and discuss
other key terminology.
5Lesson wrap up – ask students to write in their workbooks the three main features of propaganda posters from WW1
Resources:
Propaganda posters from WW1 from http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/australia.htm
Teacher's computer and projector
Whiteboard and markers
Student's workbooks
'Analysis of Propaganda Posters' worksheet
Student's laptops and access to moodle

Lesson 3
Content and Key Concepts:
Propaganda from WW1: Propaganda can be used to demonise the enemy.
Lesson outline/sequence (including activities):
1Ask students to write down on a scrap of paper which country was 'the bad guys' in World War 1. Then ask for a show of hands, see if most people
thought it was Germany. Brainstorm reasons why they thought this, write on board.
2Project an example propaganda poster on the board – ask students what comparison this poster is making (Germany/Kaiser is the devil, hungry for
Europe, blood-thirsty)
3Distribute the 'Analysis of Propaganda Posters' worksheet, complete as a group for the poster projected onto the board.
4Distribute another 'Analysis of Propaganda Posters' worksheet and break the students up into groups of 4. Each group will be allocated a different
poster and needs to complete the worksheet.
5Bring group back together and discuss the common features in each poster.
6Lesson wrap up – ask students for other examples of demonisation in modern media – eg AIDS advertising, anti-alcohol campaigns, Current Affair
type journalism, politicians etc
Resources:
At least 6 examples of propaganda posters from WW1 from http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/australia.htm
Teacher's computer and projector
Whiteboard and markers
Student's workbooks
'Analysis of Propaganda Posters' worksheet
Student's laptops and access to moodle

Lesson 4
Content and Key Concepts:
Differences between WW1 and WW2 in warfare technology and on the home front, illustrated through the propaganda posters of the time.
Lesson outline/sequence (including activities):
1Write 'The Blitz' on the board and ask students what it means. Write key words on the board, ask students what life at home was like during the war,
focussing on rationing, women in the workforce and the blitz. Also make sure that students think about the Australian situation – there was no blitz but
remember that there were Japanese subs in Sydney harbour and the attack on Darwin
2Students then having 20 minutes to work in groups of 3 and look at the following websites: http://www.propagandaposters.us/index.html,
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html, http://bss.sfsu.edu/internment/posters.html,
3Their task is to find one good example of a 'home front' issue as depicted in a propaganda poster. They need to complete an Analysis of Propaganda
Posters' worksheet for their selected poster and then make a short (5 minutes or less) presentation to the class about their poster. Teacher will need to
check as the pairs work that no pairs have selected the same poster.
4After watching all the presentations, students will vote on which poster they think was most effective (which one would have influenced how they
felt or acted).
Resources:
Whiteboard and markers
Student's workbooks
'Analysis of Propaganda Posters' worksheet
Student's laptops and access to moodle

Lesson 5
Content and Key Concepts:
Propaganda in different cultures – comparing Axis and Allied propaganda from WW2
Introduction of the assessment task
Lesson outline/sequence (including activities):
1Split class into 4 groups – each group needs to find 2 interesting propaganda posters from WW2 from either Japan, Germany, Australia or Russia.
2Each group then needs to make a comparison table comparing their selected posters with the US posters shown in the previous lesson
3Each group shows their posters to the whole class and shows how they are similar/different to the US posters – then compare all the posters. Make a
list of similarities and a table with culturally specific/unique features
4Hand out the assessment task sheet and the rubric. Explain task to students. Allocate student's to groups. Give them 10 minutes for brainstorming. 5
minutes for questions. More time for questions in the next lesson.
Resources:
Student's workbooks
Student's laptops and internet connection
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/posters2.htm for Nazi propaganda posters
Japanese propaganda posters taken from https://www.msu.edu/~navarro6/srop.html (also detailed comparison of Japanese and US propaganda)
Japanese propaganda http://www.2bangkok.com/wwiipropaganda.shtml
Australian propaganda posters http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww2/homefront/overview.html
Russian posters http://www.crestock.com/blog/design/propaganda-design-aesthetics-soviet-retro-posters-118.aspx
Fast finishers: Propaganda in different media (many links) http://www.teacheroz.com/WWIIpropaganda.htm
Assessment task instruction sheet and rubric

Lesson 8
Content and Key Concepts:
The Gulf Wars: Grey and Black Propaganda
Continue assessment
Lesson outline/sequence (including activities):
1Teacher gives quick description of black and white propaganda and reminds class of white propaganda definition.
2In pairs, students then examine examples of Gulf War propaganda and categorise whether it is white, black or grey; and if it is effective - why/why
not. Discuss as a class – make table on whiteboard.
3Second half of lesson – students continue working on their assessment tasks.
Resources:
7 pieces of Gulf War propaganda from http://propaganda.mrdonn.org/techniques.html
Whiteboard and markers

Lesson 9
Content and Key Concepts:

Lesson outline/sequence (including activities):

Resources:

Lesson 12
Content and Key Concepts:
Complete assessment – present to class and/or submit to teacher
Lesson outline/sequence (including activities):
The first half of this class is devoted to students putting the finishing touches on their assessments. The teacher will collect assignments from students
with adequate time to present suitable assessment tasks (ie short films, advertisement, cartoons, songs etc) to the class group.
Resources:
USB sticks with 2GB memory (to collect electronic assignments)
Teacher's laptop and projector to show assessments