Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Images above: The city of Pompeii today, with Mount Vesuvius in the background
The history of Pompeii: frozen in time
The city of Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
The following videos give a great insight into what a city frozen in time would look like.
* A day in Pompeii
* The last day of Pompeii
* If these walls could speak
* Buried alive
* Unearthing Pompeii
* Pompeii: The full movie
Monday, November 17, 2014
Image above: Women in World War 2
The historical investigation for the course
During this term the class has had the opportunity to research in depth and share an historical topic. The topics required the development of an historical question and/or angle to research. Here are some videos the class used to share knowledge and understandings on each of the topics and to discuss the historical question.
Historical questions and supporting videos
* The Sydney Harbour Bridge is more than just a bridge!
* The role of Australians in Vietnam is an important story to tell
* The Stolen Generation was the untold story of Australia.
* Pirates exist beyond storybooks
* The role of women in World War 2 is often underestimated
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Image above: Annie Edson Taylor, our 'on this day' discussion from 24 October - an amazing story of going over Niagara Falls in a barrel - why? A fascinating historical 'backstory'.
Having studied the Great War this year, we all know what happened on 11 November but what happened on 10 November?
Over recent weeks we have been doing 'On this day' discussions. Use the following links to find something to discuss with class that happened on this day and stimulated your thinking or 'pricked' your interest. Find out what you can about the happening and present orally to the class.
* BBC on this day
* History Channel
* On this day
* New York Times
* British on this day
* This day in history
During our discussion we have found that every happening has a fascinating historical 'backstory'. To make sense of the happening we need to explore and learn about so much history of people, events and phenomena.