2. During Which War Was the Kokoda Campaign?

Teacher Resource

Kokoda Anniversary

1. What did the BTN story explain?

2. During which war was the Kokoda campaign?

3. Why were Australian soldiers sent to New Guinea?

4. New Guinea was a territory of Australia. True or false?

5. Why were reserve forces sent to New Guinea?

6. Why were the soldiers poorly prepared for war?

7. Describe the conditions on the Kokoda track.

8. What impact did disease and infections have on soldiers?

9. How did Papuan people help Australian soldiers?

10. Why does the Kokoda campaign remain an important symbol to many Australians today?

Class Discussion

After watching the BTN Kokoda Anniversary story, discuss with students what they know about the Kokoda campaign. Use the following questions to help guide discussion:

· When did the Kokoda campaign happen?

· Who was involved?

· What images and words come to mind when you think of the Kokoda campaign?

Write a personal response to the Kokoda Anniversary story. Leave a comment on the BTN story page.

Glossary of key terms

Students will develop a glossary of historical terms and concepts that relate to the Kokoda campaign. Students will add definitions to the glossary as they come across unfamiliar words throughout the BTN Kokoda Anniversary story. Students will demonstrate their understanding by writing their own sentences using historical terms and concepts from the glossary. Below are some key terms and concepts to get you started:

Reserve forces / Troops / Withdraw
Campaign / Camouflage / Battalion

Timeline of main events

Students will create a timeline to sequence significant events that led to World War II, significant events during World War II and Australia’s involvement in World War II.

Students will work in small groups to work through the following questions to build on their understanding of Australia’s involvement in World War II. Students will find and collect images, photographs, illustrations and video as part of their research.

· When did World War II begin and end?

· What was Australia’s involvement in World War II?

· Why were Australian troops sent to Kokoda?

· When did the Kokoda campaign begin and end?

· What impact did the Kokoda campaign have on Australia and its people at the time?

People

In Papua from July 1942 to January 1943 over 120,000 people from different countries fought, or supported the fighting troops.

Students will investigate who was involved in the Kokoda campaign and why. Students will use the internet to learn more about the Kokoda campaign from the perspective of the Australians, Papuans and Japanese, and use the following table to record their findings.

Australians – 39th Battalion / Papuans – Papuan Infantry Battalion / Japanese
Why were you fighting in New Guinea? What were your objectives?
How many people participated in this campaign?
Explain your strategy.
How successful were your operations in Kokoda? Did they go smoothly? What were some of the challenges.
Describe some of your experiences.
What was the impact of this campaign on your country and people?

Kokoda Research

Students will develop their own question/s for inquiry, collecting and recording information from a wide variety of sources.

Example – Inquiry question
While a lot of Militia were volunteers, Australian men could be conscripted, or forced, to join the Militia. What is conscription? Why did Australia have to conscript men for military service? How do you feel about conscription?

Students will locate, compare, select and use information from a range of primary and secondary sources and then present the information in an interesting way. Before starting this activity, students will learn more about the differences between primary and secondary resources, and respond to the following

· What is a primary source? Give an example

Through using primary sources, a document like a diary, painting or a physical object, that was written or created at a particular time, we can gain an understanding of what might have happened at a place in time. Example of a primary source – Photographs of Japanese bombing raids on Port Moresby

· What is a secondary source? Give an example.

Secondary sources are documents written after an event has occurred, providing “second-hand” accounts of that event, person, or topic. Unlike primary sources, which provide first-hand accounts, secondary sources offer different perspectives, analysis, and conclusions of those accounts. Example of a secondary source – The Age, May 20, 1942 49 Planes in Attack

As part of their research, students will need to:

· Use historical terms and concepts in their presentation.

· Refer to the source of the information (i.e. bibliography).

· Look for facts and opinions that answer their inquiry question/s.

Weather conditions on the track

Students will watch the ABC Splash Weather and War video that explains the weather conditions the soldiers experienced on the Kokoda Track. Students will respond to the following:

o How would you describe the winter of 1942?

o How does military historian Jack Ford describe the weather conditions?

o How did the weather give the Japanese soldiers an advantage?

o Give an example of how the weather helped the Australian soldiers.

o Why was it difficult to take supplies along the Kokoda Track?

Conditions on the track

Students will read the following description of the track by Sir Kingsley Norris, an army medical officer for the Australian 7th Division. Students will then respond to one or more of the questions below.

"Imagine an area of approximately one hundred miles long. Crumple and fold this into a series of ridges, each rising higher and higher until seven thousand feet is reached, then declining in ridges to three thousand feet. Cover this thickly with jungle, short trees and tall trees, tangled with great, entwining savage vines. Through an oppression of this density, cut a little native track, two or three feet wide, up the ridges, over the spurs, round gorges and down across swiftly-flowing, happy mountain streams. Where the track clambers up the mountain sides, cut steps - big steps, little steps, steep steps - or clear the soil from the tree roots."

Read the rest of his description here

o How did you feel reading Sir Kingsley Norris’ description of the track?

o How does he describe the vegetation on the track?

o What do you understand more clearly about the environment of the Kokoda Track after reading his description?

o Imagine climbing and descending the track carrying a weapon and supplies while fighting a better trained enemy. Discuss your thoughts with other students.

Visual Literacy – Conditions on the Kokoda Track

Below are photographs depicting conditions on the track during the Kokoda campaign. Students will look at the images and then respond to the following questions:

· What is happening in the image?

· What does the photo tell you about the conditions on the track?

· How do you think the soldiers might be feeling?

· What question/s would you like to ask the soldiers in the photo?

· Create a caption for each image.

Source: The Kokoda Campaign / Source: Australian War Memorial
Source: Kokoda Historical / Source: National Museum Australia

Reflection

Students will reflect on what they have learnt about the battle of Kokoda and Australia’s involvement in the campaign overall. Students will discuss what they have learnt as a class. What questions were raised in the discussion? Use the following questions to help guide the discussion:

· Who was involved in the battle of Kokoda?

· What were the experiences of the Australian soldiers?

· How were Papuans impacted by the Kokoda campaign?

· What were the experiences of the Japanese soldiers?

· What is the significance of Kokoda today?

· Has your thinking about Kokoda changed? If so, in what ways?

BTN – Kokoda Track
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2219584.htm

ABC Splash – Weather and war: the Kokoda Trail, 1942

http://splash.abc.net.au/web/splash#!/media/1668011/weather-and-war-kokoda

ABC Splash – Reinforcing the 39th on the Kokoda Trail
http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1485206/reinforcing-the-39th-on-the-kokoda-trail

Department of Veteran’s Affairs – The Kokoda Track
http://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/history/conflicts/kokoda-track