Courting

• In the 1940s, courting followed a set of unwritten rules for both young men and women. There was an acceptable time during which the couple held hands, kissed and then got engaged. Following these societal conventions kept your reputation intact.
• Ask the class to research the topic 'courting etiquette' or dating advice. They should find out what conventions were followed in the 1940s and evaluate if these expectations have changed today and how.  For example, the boy/man opens the door for the girl/lady, the boy/man is expected to pay for dinner while on a ‘date’, the girl/women is expected to be demure, quiet and attentive.
• They could also find out more about the radio drama When a girl marries that was popular in the 1940s. Some sources to help with researching the topic are:

1. Screen Australia Digital Learning, 'Programs with Staying Power', http://dl.screenaustralia.gov.au/module/290/
2. National Film and Sound Archive, 'Australian Radio Series 1930s to 1970s', http://www.nfsa.gov.au/docs/collectionguide_australianradioseries1930-1970.pdf
3. Australian Old Time Radio, http://www.australianotr.com.au/Valebud.asp

• Students could find images of famous people getting married in the 1940s: for example, royalty, movie stars and sportspeople. These can be used to document 1940s wedding fashions and produce a wedding album.

Student Activity Sheet H7.6: Radio show on courting today

• The Second World War spurred considerable change to family life in Australia. Many men were killed in the war, leaving families without a father, women without a husband and many young girls without the prospect of marriage. However, when those men who did return got married, Australia's birth rates soared. More than four million Australians were born between 1946 and 1961. This generation was termed the 'Baby Boomers'.

• Divide students into groups to research Australian birth rates and marriage rates from 1800 to 2000. Allocate a specific era to each group. Ask them to speculate why these rates peak and fall at various times in history and to list their reasons.
• As a class, create a mind map with students' comments and reasoning on the topic. Guide each group to find statistics for their era to share with the class using the library and online resources. Have students fill in the information on Student Activity Sheet H7.7.
• After each group has shared their information with the class, they could collate all the information and create a graph or chart to show the changes in Australian birth and marriage rates over the decades.

Student Activity Sheet H7.7: Charting birth and marriage rates

• Jen has experienced many changes in her family. She lost her war-hero father, is living with her extended family and is getting a new stepfather. Her mother also experiences considerable changes; she is now a young widow with a child to support, relies on her family for help, and has to share her house. Following the war, it was common for young war widows to remarry.

• As a class, discuss the changing roles of women in post-war Australia and the effects this had on society. Students could investigate women's roles in the 1940s compared with the roles of women today. They should look at women's responsibilities in the home, at work and in the community. Then the class can create a Venn diagram to visually represent this comparison.

Student Activity Sheet H7.8: Comparing women's roles

• Wal approaches Jen's grandfather to ask for permission to marry Jen's mother. We see Wal leaving the house and acknowledging the older man. Jen guesses what is happening.
• As a class, discuss why it was important for Wal to approach Jen's grandfather for permission to marry. Ask students to consider if this custom is still common today and why or why not. Discuss where and when the custom may have developed.

• Ask students to select communities with different cultural backgrounds in Australia or in other countries and research their marriage customs. Each student or group should make a poster about their research and present it to the class.

Student Activity Sheet H7.9: Marriage customs

• Discuss the way Jen feels about Wal in this clip and look for reasons. For example, why does Jen tell her friend that Wal is her mother's cousin and he'd recently been in a lunatic asylum? Discuss the term 'lunatic asylum' and what this means. Further discussion questions could include the questions below.
• Why did Jen misrepresent Wal?
• What does this scene tell the viewer about Jen's feelings?
• Why does Jen have such strong feelings about Wal's presence in her life?

• Ask students to place themselves in Jen's position and write a letter to a friend explaining how they feel. Students can then swap letters with a partner and write a letter back to Jen as the friend, giving Jen some advice and reasons why her mother's relationship with Wal might be a good thing.

Student Activity Sheet E7.7: Internal conflicts

• 'Lawrence Olivier is an eight, his nose is too pointy.' Revisit the start of the clip when Jen and her friends rate film stars out of ten. Ask students to consider:
• What type of rubric are they using?
• How do they compare and rate Wal when he pulls up in his car?
• Discuss whether the girls' evaluations are fair or inappropriate. Ask the class what they think makes a great movie star and use a concept map to list all the characteristics of a movie star.

• Students should use a concept map to create a visual representation of their ideas about what constitutes '10 out of 10' for a favourite movie star. As students complete this task, invite them to publish their work on a placemat graphic organiser as a celebration of student work.

• As a class, discuss the relationships between the main characters in this clip, Jen and her mother Kath; Jen and Wal; and Wal and Kath. Have students use Student Activity Sheet: E7.8 to describe each of these relationships.
• View the scene again where Jen comes home to find her mother and Wal behind closed doors. Ask students to consider what they are talking about in private, and what is the significance of the ring. What information does this provide to the viewer and Jen?
• As a class, discuss the concept of marriage in Western culture. What does it mean? Discuss and list the rituals of marriage in a family like Jen's. Explore the feelings Jen may have experienced with the news of her mother's impending marriage. What is meant by Wal being 'a good catch'?

• Have students work in pairs to design two wedding invitations. First, they should design a traditional invitation from Kath and Wal inviting friends and family to their wedding, and then one from Jen discouraging people from coming to the wedding.

Student Activity Sheet E7.8: Extending families