Resources for Teachers

Looking for classroom resources? The VWMA can help.

Young Soldier

The VWMA Schools Program is designed to complement the Australian Curriculum for both History and English. It has the flexibility to be adjusted for all student capabilities, be used in whole or in part and adjusted to suit your local community story.

Additionally, the VWMA runs Professional Development aligned with the AITSL standards and offers a selection of resources which are beneficial for a range of school events and specialist subjects, such as Research Project.

The team at the VWMA Schools Program are always happy to receive feedback and design new content to meet current classroom needs. If there are additional resources you would like to see or to book your school project, please email [email protected].

New to the Schools Program?

Watch our quick presentation to get an idea of how the program works and how we can make teaching WW1 and WW2 easier for you.


WW1 Serviceperson Profile and Biography (AC9HH9K09-K12; AC9HH9S01-S07)

WW1 Serviceperson Profile and Biography 'Pack' - all the guides needed to complete the task with your students. Do you need to adjust this work to meet the learning needs of students in your class? Contact the Schools Program Manager for guidance.

WW1 Serviceperson Profile and Biography Assignment Folio: this includes focus question development/modification and source analysis to meet most of the Australian Curriculum achievement standards - word editable and pdf. Assessment rubric for Folio - word editable rubric. Suitable for South Australian Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize, if completing source analysis too.

Year 9 WW1 Biography Assignment

Year 9 WW1 Profile Assignment with source description

Serviceperson Biography Assessment Task Guidelines shared by Peter Provis, Charles Campbell High School.

For students requiring modified task – typed Attestation Record, Service Record and Unit Diary of Soldier shared by Peter Provis, Charles Campbell High School

Assessment rubric for Biography Task (no Research Folio) -word editable - also suitable to assess the South Australian Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize.

WW1 Timeline Template

WW1 Timeline Activity with Images - suitable for students requiring differentiation


WW2 Serviceperson Profile and Biography

(AC9HH1K0K02-K06; AC9HH10S01-S08)

WW2 Serviceperson Profile and Biography 'Pack' - all the guides needed to complete the task with your students. Do you need to adjust this work to meet the learning needs of students in your class? Contact the Schools Program Manager for guidance.

WW2 Serviceperson Profile and Biography Assignment Folio: this includes focus question development/modification and source analysis to meet most of the Australian Curriculum achievement standards - word editable and pdf. Assessment rubric for Folio -word editable rubric Suitable for South Australian Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize, if completing source analysis too.

Year 10 WW2 Biography Assignment

Year 10 WW2 Profile Assignment

Assessment rubric for Biography Task (no Research Folio) -word editable - also suitable to assess the South Australian Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize.

WW2 Timeline Template

WW2 Timeline Activity with Images - suitable for students requiring differentiation


Guides and Resources to assist with Profile and Biography

Abbreviations and Glossary

Research Guide Template WW1 Serviceperson - word editable

Research Guide Template WW2 - word editable

Building a Profile (Contributing information)

Reading a Service Record - First World War

Reading a Service Record - Second World War

Reading a Unit Diary

Researching Trove

Finding Photographs

Writing an VWMA Biography

VWMA Biography Template

Digital Storytelling

Monitoring Student Progress

Teacher Moderation Guide

WW2 Army Unit Descriptions and Classifications


Other Useful Resources for Profile and Biography

Pre-Decimal Inflation Calculator

Medals For Australians WW1 and WW2

Ranks of the Australian Defence Force

Understanding Military Structure


Example of a short film biography

Ohlstrom Short Film (9:24)
Short film biography using Patrick Ohlstrom's WW1 diary and service record.


Rubric - Australian Curriculum Version 9.0

Year 9

Editable rubric for Year 9 History - general

Editable rubric for WW1

Year 10

Editable rubric for Year 10 History - general

Editable rubric for WW2

For rubrics to assess the profile and biography task (with or without a Research Folio of source analysis) see above


Source Analysis Teaching Resources

(ACHHS169; ACHHS170; ACHHS171)

Primary and Secondary Historical Sources

Analysing Historical Images Techniques

Source Analysis using PPPRRR Secondary (worksheet below)

Origin, Purpose, Value, Limitation (OPVL) of Different Source Types

Source Analysis Worksheets

5Cs Source Analysis Worksheet Upper Primary: pdf and word

5Cs Source Analysis Worksheet Middle Years: pdf and word

6Cs Source Analysis Worksheet Secondary: pdf and word

Source Analysis Worksheet PPPRRR: pdf and word

Origin, Purpose, Value, Limitation (OPVL) Worksheet Secondary: pdf and word

US National Archives
Excellent worksheets for the analysis of photographs, written documents, artifacts, posters, maps, cartoons, videos, artworks and sound recordings. The worksheets have been differentiated designed for both primary and secondary students, and students from an EAL background


WW1 Teaching Resources

Causes of WW1 (AC9HH9K08)

Leading to WW1 - causes presentation

Causes of WW1 worksheet for the presentation

VWMA Video - Causes of World War One

Recruitment and Conscription Propaganda (AC9HH9K08, AC9HH9K11)

Propaganda was used to convince Australian men to enlist to fight in the war. It was also used by both sides of a bitterly divisive conscription debate in 1916 and 1917.

See PowerPoints notes for more information and reference details. The suggested assessment task is integrated with English.

Recruitment Propaganda

WW1 Recruitment Propaganda

Student booklet WW1 Recruitment Propaganda

Propaganda Assessment Task PDF Word

To prepare for Propaganda Assessment Task Pt 2

Student booklet to prepare for Part 2 of Assessment

Conscription Propaganda

WW1 Conscription Propaganda

Student booklet WW1 Conscription Propaganda


WW1 Attestation (enlistment) Activity (AC9HH9K08; AC9HH9SO3)

The Attestation Paper was completed by prospective soldiers and nurses on enlistment. It is the first section of the service record held by the National Archives of Australia.

This activity will develop students’ understanding of the purpose of the Attestation Paper. They will understand that the selection criteria for acceptance changed over time due to declining enlistments. It will also give students the knowledge needed to interpret the Attestation Paper for the biography task, if you choose to complete it.

Complete the Attestation Activity near the beginning of the WW1 unit when you explore the reasons why Australians enlisted.

Outline of the activity and instructions:

Attestation Paper Activity instructions for teachers

Resources needed for the activity:

AIF WW1 Attestation Paper with explanatory notes

AIF WW1 Attestation Paper blank

Accept or Reject table

Identity Sheets 1 - 30

Medical examination 1 - 30

Further reading:

First AIF Enlistment Patterns and Reasons for their Variation, by Colonel K.H. Jobson, AM (PDF)


WW1 Activity booklet

World War One Booklet with text and activities, shared by Warren Macaulay.


National Archives UK Letters from WW1

Includes 32 letters and 16 photographs. All letters have been transcribed, and some letters feature an audio version. The resources provides students with the opportunity to develop their evaluation and analysis skills. Teaching resources are provided - click here

World War 2 Teaching Resources

WW2 Oversimplified Video Study shared by Warren Macaulay

WW2 in Colour: Conflict in Europe video study shared by Warren Macaulay

VWMA Video - Women in War: Florence Violet Mckenzie aka 'Mrs Mac'


Podcasts

The VWMA offers podcasts focusing on Australian lesser-known stories during World War One and Two.

Teachers can these podcasts to supplement course content. Check out the provided teaching resources or use the podcasts for assignment work such as source analysis, or as exemplars for students to produce a podcast of their own.

Australian Prisoners of War, WW2

From a Whisper to a Bang

Women in War

'The Sudden Storm': The Impact of the Bangka Island Massacre

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Service

'Walking in Two Worlds': Ngarrindjeri ANZACs Cyril and Rufus Rigney

Bringing His Spirit Home, Private Arthur Walker, WW1

War on South Australian Shores: a lesser-known WW2 Story

'When the War Comes Home: Beachport Mine tragedy


Personal War Diaries

The VWMA offers a collection of online, personal war diaries that are contributed by family members. Some suggestions for potential uses include:

  • Inspiration for student podcasts
  • Content for multi-modal presentations
  • Sources for Research Project
  • Emotive content for class, connecting students with real life experiences of servicepeople

To see our collection, click here.


Further Worksheets

Analysing Document Sources Worksheet

Deconstructing Images Worksheet

Worksheet for the VWMA Timeline

Write a Letter Home - Task Sheet (English)

MyMaps (History/Geography)


How schools implement the School’s Program

The Teachers’ Guide to the World Wars in the classroom (YouTube): a recorded online professional learning event from 28 April 2021. See experienced teachers show how they implement the Schools Program in their classrooms.

The Schools Program offered to South Australian Schools is proudly supported by a grant provided by the Government of South Australia, Department for Education.