1,000 good deeds

• In pairs, students research the availability of education and resources for children in the late 1800s. Students can research educational facilities, educational values and expectations, rules and regulations, uniforms, buildings, and general information about schools during that era. Did all children get a fair go?
• Use the following websites as a starting point:

1. History Australia, 'The Evolution of Education in Australia', http://www.historyaustralia.org.au/ifhaa/schools/evelutio.htm
2. "New South Wales Pioneers', Photographs by George Bell 1890–1900' at Powerhouse Museum, http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/pdf/OPAC/246256.pdf (There is a photo of two children riding to school on page 9.)

• Students can create a virtual classroom of the era, including notes and information from their research. Students could elect to design the classroom using illustrations on paper or an image-editing software program. Kahootz 3 is an ideal 3-D animation software program to use here. The software is available for purchase from the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) website at http://www.kahootz.com
• Visit ABC3, 'My Place', http://www.abc.net.au/abc3/myplace and select '1898' to see how a web designer has created a model of Rowley's bedroom and kitchen.

• Discuss the chores of the late 1800s by developing a mind map. Encourage students to elaborate on some of the most common jobs seen in the clip, such as collecting horse manure and firewood. Discuss what tools Rowley may have needed to complete his chores, why his chores were necessary and what skills were required to do the chores.
• Compare Rowley's belief in good deeds bringing him luck, or something that he wants, to the previous episode where Victoria and her siblings hide objects for luck. Which method do the students believe would be most effective? Do they have superstitions or beliefs that they can share with the class?

• Ask student to create a 'Help wanted' poster with a partner. They need to include a job or chore title and a description of it from the mind map. They must include the skills required to fulfil the job or chore using a job criteria section.

Student Activity Sheet H12.1: Job advertisement

• Before viewing the clip, explain to students that this is the opening scene of the episode. As a class, discuss the purpose of the opening scene in a film text, or the opening chapter or paragraphs in a novel or short story. What does the storyteller as filmmaker, or author, usually do at the beginning of their story?
• Make a list of key elements that students see as important in setting the scene at the beginning of a story. They could include character introductions, location, time, and objects of significance to the story. Encourage students to give examples from familiar texts where possible.

• Brainstorm a class list of ways a filmmaker might provide information to the viewer, including camera, dialogue, acting, costumes, lighting, props and location. Explain to students that the activity focus is not on the characters and the overall story, but on how the filmmaker has created the time of day, era or historical period, and the setting or place for the story.

Student Activity Sheet E12.1: The opening scene

• Rowley and Tom Müller are watching the college students practise marching with wooden rifles. They discuss the amount of money it costs to send boys to a college school and what they get for their money, for example, cricket equipment.
• As a class discuss the difference in education systems in 1898 and today. What opportunities for education existed then? Were there advantages in attending a private school? Who attended these schools? View the clip and discuss the type of education available to Rowley and Tom. Also research how girls of that era were educated and what subjects they were taught.

• Ask students to research statistics on children's education in 1898 and compare this data to today's statistics. They should examine the number of children educated, and their age, gender and school level reached, among other facts. Findings can be presented as a number of graphs comparing data. Students could interpret these graphs in a report on 'The state of schooling today compared with 1898'.

Student Activity Sheet E12.2: The state of education

• In this clip, the college students are marching to practise for real wars. At this time the British Empire was involved in numerous conflicts around the world, particularly in Africa, the South Pacific and South America.
• At the start of the Boer War (1899–1902), the Australian colonies offered troops as part of the British Empire contingent. Of the 16,000 Australians who served in the Boer War, 282 died in action or from wounds sustained in battle, 286 died from disease and another 38 died of accidents or other unknown causes. Six Australians received the Victoria Cross in South Africa and many others were decorated.
• A good source of information is the Australian War Memorial website, http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/boer.asp

• Look at the reasons for the Boer War and, as a class, discuss why Australians still believed they were more British than Australian at the time. Research some of the known identities, such as Breaker Morant and Captain Howse, who fought in this war.
• Ask students to write a short biography for a known or unknown soldier who fought in the Boer War. The story of this soldier should start from the practice march of the college students on the day that Rowley spied on them.

Student Activity Sheet E12.3: War heroes