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A Study Guide by Robert Lewis

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A Study Guide by Robert Lewis Secondary-level guide © ATOM 2013 A STUDY GUIDE BY ROBERT LEWIS http://www.metromagazine.com.au ISBN: 978-1-74295-272-7 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au WHAT DOES THE AUSTRALIAN SUBMARINE AE2 TELL US ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE OF WORLD WAR ONE? CONTENTS: TEACHER GUIDE TO USING THE RESOURCE IN THE CLASSROOM STUDENT ACTIVITIES Activity 1 – page 5 (individual activity) Imagine that you are in this An introduction to the concept of the submarine as a weapon of war in submarine … World War One. Activity 2 – page 6 (shared group activity) ‘Meeting’ AE2 Students understand the principles behind submarines, and their key characteristics in 1915. Activity 3 – page 11 (individual activity) What was it like to be a crew member Students discover some of the features of life aboard a submarine. of AE2? Activity 4 – page 13 (individual activity) Why was AE2 at Gallipoli? A study of the failed naval assault on the Dardanelles that led to the formation of the amphibious invasion plan of 25 April. Activity 5 – page 17 (shared group activity) What was the mission of AE2? A detailed re-creation of the AE2’s historic and final mission through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmara. Activity 6 – page 27 (individual activity) What was the result of AE2’s mission? Students weigh the successes and failures of the mission. Activity 7 – page 28 (shared group activity) AE2 crew’s prisoner of war experience A study of what it was like to be a prisoner of war of the Ottomans. Activity 8 – page 35 (individual activity) SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2013 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION What do we do with AE2? A discussion of what should happen with the wreck of the AE2. Activity 9 – page 36 (individual activity) Conclusions Students discuss eight big questions and issues that the AE2 helps us understand. Cover image: Phil Belbin’s painting Running Amok in the Narrows <http://www.submarineinstitute.com/sia-projects/submarine-ae2.html>. Image used with kind permission of Mrs Cecily Belbin. 2 TO THE TEACHER historical inquiry • Evaluate and enhance these An inquiry resource questions This resource has been developed Analysis and use of sources as an inquiry-based resource for the Australian Curriculum: History at • Identify and locate relevant sourc- Year 9. es, using ICT and other methods • Identify the origin, purpose and The Australian Curriculum: context of primary and secondary History sources • Process and synthesise information It provides evidence and activities for from a range of sources for use as these aspects of World War One: evidence in an historical argument • Evaluate the reliability and useful- • Students investigate key aspects of ness of primary and secondary World War One and the Australian sources experience of the war, including the nature and significance of the war Perspectives and interpretations and Australian history. • Identify and analyse the perspec- It allows students to investigate tives of people from the past these aspects of the Australian • Identify and analyse different experience through the focus of the historical interpretations (including last voyage of the submarine AE2. their own) It particularly covers these aspects of Explanation and communication knowledge of the war: • Develop texts, particularly descrip- • The places where Australians tions and discussions that use fought and the nature of warfare evidence from a range of sources during World War One, including that are referenced the Gallipoli campaign • Select and use a range of com- And munication forms (oral, graphic, • The commemoration of World written) and digital technologies War One, including debates about the nature and significance of the A practical classroom Anzac legend. resource The activities encourage the develop- The activities are designed for class- ment of these specified historical skills: room use, but may also be used as research or additional study. Chronology, terms and concepts All activities are self-contained, and • Use chronological sequencing only require the printing of pages for to demonstrate the relationship students to work on. between events and developments in different periods and places Teachers can use the resource in its • Use historical terms and concepts entirety, or select and adapt com- ponents to suit their own needs and 2013 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION Historical questions and research circumstances. • Identify and select different kinds of questions about the past to inform 3 USING THE ACTIVITIES IN THE CLASSROOM ACTIVITY 1 A short introduction to the concept of the submarine as a weapon of war in World War One. Imagine that This is best done individually or in small groups by students, so that all have a summary that they can add to you are in this several times later in the resource. submarine … It focuses on having students start to think about the qualities that are needed by the crew of a submarine. Eventually this will help students consider if the AE2 crew is part of the Anzac tradition. ACTIVITY 2 Students understand the principles behind submarines, and their key characteristics in 1915. ‘Meeting’ AE2 This Activity contains a lot of content. If teachers want to shorten this activity they can allocate one or two of the characteristics to a small group, and have them report back to the whole class. In this way the class summarises all the information, but without having to read it all themselves. All students complete their own table and annotation of the features of AE2. ACTIVITY 3 Students discover some of the features of life aboard a submarine. What was it like This is appropriate as an activity for each individual to complete. Students work through the variety of information to be a crew and develop both their knowledge and understanding of submarine life, and also their empathy with the crew – member of AE2? started in Activity 1. They should add to their table of the qualities needed by submariners, in Activity 1. ACTIVITY 4 A study of the failed naval assault on the Dardanelles that led to the formation of the Allied amphibious invasion Why was AE2 at plan of 25 April. Gallipoli? Students do not focus here on the landing at Gallipoli, but on the overall strategy, and AE2’s role in it. A detailed classroom exploration of the landing is available in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs educational resource kit Gallipoli and the Anzacs, 2010, and available online at <http://www.dva.gov.au/commems_oawg/ commemorations/education/Pages/education%20resources.aspx>. ACTIVITY 5 A detailed re-creation of AE2’s historic and final mission through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmara. What was the This is the key activity for understanding what AE2 did, and what happened to it. It also brings out the key mission of AE2? experiences of the crew, and therefore is central to understanding this aspect of the Australian experience of World War One. There is a great deal of detail in this Activity. Teachers should divide the twenty-one stages among the class. Students will have one or several of these to read and summarise. They then report to the rest of the class, explaining what happened at the stages they are investigating. All students can complete their own personal summary and map for the twenty-one stages. It would be good to create a rough classroom map, so that all students could see the approximate progress of AE2 at each stage. At several stages there can be additional discussion of what AE2 is telling us about the nature of the submarine as a weapon, and about the sailors’ experiences of war. ACTIVITY 6 Students weigh the successes and failures of the mission. What was the They need to look at what it achieved, and what it was unable to achieve. Note that achievement may not be only, result of AE2’s or even mainly, a ‘head count’ of ships destroyed. mission? Students should consider what ‘success’ means in the 1915 context. ACTIVITY 7 A study of what it was like to be a prisoner of war of the Ottomans. AE2 crew’s This is another quite large collection of material that teachers may find more manageable if they divide it among prisoner-of-war students. experience Some important and difficult ideas emerge from this section: • that the crew were ordinary Australians, with both strengths and weaknesses • that the Anzac legend mainly celebrates combat – so where do prisoners fit? • that the effect of the war on families is an important aspect of the POW, and the combat, experience. ACTIVITY 8 A discussion of what should happen with the wreck of AE2. 2013 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION What do we do This is the Activity that may require most individual research to find more details of the state of the wreck, and with AE2? the plans for it. ACTIVITY 9 Students discuss a number of big questions and issues that AE2 helps us understand. Conclusions They are summarising the knowledge, understanding and empathetic awareness that they have developed through the individual activities, and bringing them together in a series of big conclusions and reflections. 4 Figure 1: S Cribb; Smyth-Haggard Collection in Fred and Elizabeth Brenchley, Stoker’s Submarine, HarperCollins Publishers, 2001, between pages 112-113 ACTIVITY 1 1.3 The crew is led by officers – QUALITIES NEEDED BY OFFICERS what qualities would you want your IMAGINE THAT YOU ARE leaders to have? List them in the table IN THIS SUBMARINE … ‘Qualities needed by officers’ (right). Imagine that there is a war. 1.4 What qualities would you want yourself and the rest of the crew to You are part of the crew of this have? List them in the table ‘Qualities submarine. needed by sailors’ (right). SEE FIGURE 1. On 25 April 1915, and for several days after, this was the position that the You are beneath the water in enemy crew of the Australian submarine AE2, territory.
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