Whangarei Girls’ High School
Level 2 History
2HIS
Course Description
This course focuses on some of the contested events of the 20th Century in NZ and the wider world. Each term has a different theme allowing students to investigate a wide range of events and experience different styles of history. In term one we look at some famous conspiracies, including the shocking death of young President Kennedy, and assess how well they are supported by the available evidence. Term two focuses on race relations- how ideas about race have impacted Aboriginal and Maori communities in Australia and NZ. In term three we investigate social movements in NZ: including the panic created by a new style of teen culture in the 1950s and the youth protest movement against NZ’s involvement in the Vietnam War.
Learning Opportunities
In this course you will need to:
Develop these skills: | Explore this content: |
Critical thinking- reasoning, interpreting information, explaining, identifying patterns and trends, synthesising information, making judgements based on evidence.
| - Conspiracies and Mysteries: the Erebus crash (Air NZ ) cover up; President Kennedy’s assassination; Marilyn Monroe’s apparent suicide.
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- Information literacy- identifying fact and opinion, making judgements about the quality of information, assessing the reliability of different sources of information such as websites.
| - Racism and protest: Australia’s Lost Generation; The Bastion Point protest; Hikoi; Springbok Tour; Dawn raids.
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- Communication skills- communicating effectively in a variety of formats: for example in small group and full class discussions; written work; visual formats.
| - Culture in crisis: social movements in NZ - the Vietnam war protest movement, the development of teen culture, the murder of Honoria Parker by her daughter, and the government’s investigation into teen “moral degeneracy” in NZ.
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Year Levels/Departments:
History, Seniors
Resources Required
1B5 or 1B8 Exercise Book