On 'tick'

• The impact and legacy of the First World War (1914–18): facts check. Students can work in pairs or small groups to find out more about why Australians fought in the war and the extent of their participation. They will need to research and note down at least ten related statistics and represent these facts visually in a chart or graph. The charts and graphs could include statistics on the following:

1. the countries who were the 'allies' and those who were the 'enemy'
2. ages of Australian servicemen sent to war
3. number and percentage of 'conscripted' compared to 'enlisted' servicemen
4. servicemen who returned as amputees compared to those with other injuries
5. number and percentage of Australian combat deaths compared to other countries involved in the conflict
6. number of medals awarded to soldiers for bravery, and the different types of medals given
7. names and accomplishments of First World War Victoria Cross recipients
8. number of women who served as nurses or in other roles
9. approximate number of Indigenous servicemen.

• Students choose one statistic they have collected from researching the items above and convert it into a separate graph or chart. Each student in the class should have a different item. These charts are then bound together to make a statistical record book of Australia during the First World War.

Student Activity Sheet H10.1: First World War statistics

Teachers should consider whether the following activities are appropriate for their classes.

• Find out the major causes of injuries in the war, including the causes for the loss of limbs and eyes. Have the types of weapons and conditions of war changed the type of injuries inflicted in wars today? How do you know this?

• Students choose from the following topics to compile a mini project on an A3 poster.

1. Weapons and exploding devices caused horrendous injuries and loss of life in the First World War. Research information about the weaponry used by both sides.
2. Many prosthetic limbs were needed during the First World War but who made them? Find out more about the doctors and specialist technicians in Australia at this time.
3. Returned soldiers were repatriated in hospitals and makeshift care facilities when they returned from war. Find out more about where these hospitals were and how they assisted returned injured servicemen. Who staffed the hospitals?
4. What institution was set up to support the returned soldier?
5. How did Australia recompense returned servicemen for their commitment to the war effort?
6. How were Indigenous people treated by the government when they returned from the war?

• Visit these websites:

1. Returned and Services League of Australia, http://www.rsl.org.au
2. Australian War Memorial, 'The ANZAC Day tradition', http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.asp
3. Screen Australia, http://www.filmaust.com.au/monash (This website is aimed at secondary and tertiary users.)

Student Activity Sheet H10.2: Information poster: war injuries

• Ask students to look closely at the designs and artwork on notes between 1901 and 1920. The pictures are downloadable from the Museum of Australian Currency Notes website. Have students choose one note and create a factual mind map outlining the important characteristics and special features of the note. Students should focus on the following:

1. Why were emblems used?
2. Why were serial numbers used?
3. What types of markings were used to make the notes distinctly Australian?
4. Why do the notes depict important people or events?
5. How collectable is the note today?

• Students should design their own note for the 1910–1919 era, depicting something or someone significant from the time.

Student Activity Sheet H10.3: Design a banknote

• Briefly discuss the characters introduced in this clip and ask students to deconstruct the character of Mr Watson. Have them read the third draft of the script for this scene and consider: Who is he? What work does he do? How does he dress? What do you think of him? How does he treat Bertie? Discuss their answers. Have students read the script again carefully before writing a character profile of Mr Watson, based on the script.
• If it is not mentioned in the students' responses, draw attention to the exchange at the end of the script extract where Mr Watson is said to 'soften' as he offers the book to Bertie for a 'ha'penny'. As a class, discuss the meaning of the word 'soften' and what it means in this context. Discuss whether this influences the way the audience feels about Mr Watson. Why do you think the filmmaker included this exchange?
• Screen the clip version of the same scene. Long before he refuses him credit, Mr Watson tries to sell Bertie the magician's book. Ask students to note the differences between this version and the script version. Discuss whether the changes would affect the way the audience responds to this character. Does the clip version make Mr Watson more, or less, likeable?

• Ask students why they think the filmmaker may have changed the emphasis in the final version of this scene, removing the 'softening' of Mr Watson. Discuss why the filmmaker might want to make Mr Watson a more unlikeable character. Why might this be important to the story?

Student Activity Sheet E10.1: Understanding Mr Watson

• As a class, brainstorm a list of unlikeable characters (villains) in literature and films. Some examples are Malfoy in the Harry Potter series or the Ice Queen in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. For each character, give examples of ways in which the filmmaker or author makes the audience dislike the character. As a class, discuss the reasons these characters were created in this way. What is their purpose in the story? What devices have been used to portray these characters as 'unlikeable'?

• Have students take the unlikeable character Mr Watson and rewrite this scene, making him a nicer person. Focus their attention on the dialogue and directions for acting needed to convey this message to the audience. Have students present their reworking of the scene to the class.
• Compare the different versions produced by students and discuss the techniques used to change the audience response to Mr Watson.

Student Activity Sheet E10.2: Making characters likeable or unlikeable

• Prior to viewing the clip, talk with students about the era in which this episode was set. It was the time of the First World War (1914–18). Create a list of their responses and understandings using these headings: Who, What, Where and When. As an extension of this discussion, students could consider what started this war and how war affected the lives of those who fought and those who stayed at home.

• Ask students to examine the role women played during the war effort. In this clip we find out that Bertie's mother and his sister Evelyn are nurses. Ask students to list what other roles women took on during the war. Have them examine one of these roles and prepare a profile of a female character who could have existed during this time. Conduct a freeze-frame exercise, in which the teacher walks around the group and taps the shoulder of each student in turn. When they are tapped, they introduce their character, tell their age and occupation and speak in character about a day in their life.

Student Activity Sheet E10.3: Wartime roles

• In this clip, Bertie asks Mr Watson to advance him credit for the present he is purchasing for his brother Eddie. The conversation between the two reveals many Australian colloquialisms or slang. Other words and phrases commonly used during this time can be heard in the clips 'Impact of war' and 'Armistice'. Ask students to begin a language journal that can be used to record unusual words from the series. Students should write down the words or phrases with their meanings.

• Have students read the script for this clip. After the first reading, ask them to list and discuss the meaning of unfamiliar words and expressions in the text. Some possible examples are: 'on tick', 'shillings', 'ha'penny', 'sixpence', 'pound', 'diggers', 'Keep your mitts off', 'do the honours', 'Strewth!', 'The shop is like Merlin's cave', 'Praying for a miracle' and 'wag'. They could also compare the language of characters in this episode to that of characters in the later episodes.
• Bertie goes to the repatriation hospital to see his mother. As they talk Bertie answers a question with 'Yep'. His mother corrects him and refers to herself as 'Mother'. Ask students to discuss why Bertie's mother insisted he use her more formal title and that he use the correct English for 'yes'. Ask them to find the words for 'mother' in at least five different languages and to develop a list of pet names that could refer to their mother, father, grandmother and grandfather.

Student Activity Sheet E10.4: Unfamiliar expressions