SHELDON COLLEGE

SENIOR WORK PROGRAM

MODERN HISTORY
2004 Syllabus

School code: 134

District: Brisbane East
Subject code: 020
Panel code: B38

(for implementation with Years 11 & 12 in 2010/11)

Sheldon College
Taylor Road, Sheldon, 4157
Phone: 3206 5555 Fax: 3206 5588
www.sheldoncollege.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. COURSE ORGANISATION ................................................................................................................................ 1

2. CONTEXT AND COHERENCE OF THEMES ................................................................................................ 2

2.1 STUDIES OF POWER ............................................................................................................ 2

2.2 STUDIES OF CHANGE .......................................................................................................... 2

2.3 STUDIES OF CONFLICT........................................................................................................ 2

2.4 THE HISTORY OF IDEAS AND BELIEFS ................................................................................ 2

2.5 NATIONAL HISTORY ........................................................................................................... 2

2.6 HISTORY AND FUTURES ..................................................................................................... 2

3. ASSESSMENT....................................................................................................................................................... 3

4. STUDENT PROFILE – MODERN HISTORY .................................................................................................. 5

1. COURSE ORGANISATION
Modern History at Sheldon College consists of 3 x 70 minute lessons each week. This equates to
approximately 63 timetabled hours per semester. In total the two year course will encompass a minimum of
230 hours.

The following represents the likely organisation for the two year course. However teachers may choose
different themes depending on students’ interest, teacher expertise and available resources. The minimum
requirements of the course organisation as outlined on page 11 and 12 of the Modern History Senior
Syllabus must be adhered to. Any changes to the course requirements or mandatory aspects require a
program amendment to be submitted.

Themes and inquiry topics are shaped by the focus questions that the students will eventually be able to
develop through the process of inquiry, namely
definitions
sources
backgrounds, changes and continuity, motives and causes
effects, interests and arguments
reflections and responses

These aspects are described in more detail in Section 6 Learning Experiences and Section 7 Themes
and Inquiry Topics.

THEMES INQUIRY TOPICS TIME ALLOCATION SEMESTER

Background study: What is history? Defining terms. 7 hours
Inquiry topic: Early Modern Europe & European exploration
and expansion. 24 hours
o Rise of global capitalism & the Industrial Revolution.
o Development of the nation-state. Total: 31 hours
o Intellectual and social developments. (approx 9 weeks)
STUDIES OF POWER
o Rise and effects of modernity & nationalism.
European imperialism 1
o Working conditions & socialism.
Linking study: Overview of the cultures of the Americas. 7 hours
Australasia and Africa at the time of the European expansion.
Inquiry topic: The course & impacts of European imperialism. 25 hours
o Aztecs, Inca & North American tribes.
o South Africa & the Congo. Total: 32 hours
o Australian Aboriginal peoples. (approx 9 weeks)
Background study: The historical forces at work in Europe 10 hours
th
and America at the beginning of the 19 Century. 22 hours
STUDIES OF CHANGE
Inquiry topic: The Napoleonic and US Civil Wars.
Conquest and revolution
in Europe and America o Revolutionary France & the rise of Napoleon.
o The spread of revolutionary ideals in Europe. Total: 32 hours
o The Secession of the Confederate States. (approx. 9 weeks) 2
o The spread of liberal ideals in the United States.
Background study: The international situation at the 6 hours
th
beginning of the 20 Century. 19 hours
Inquiry topic: Australians in the Great War.
STUDIES OF Total: 25 hours
CONFLICT (approx 7 weeks)
The World Wars Linking study: The Interwar Years. 5 hours
Inquiry topic: The military history of the Second World War. 26 hours

Total: 31 hours
(approx 9 weeks) 3
Linking study: The Postwar Years. 6 hours
THE HISTORY OF Inquiry topic: The struggle between the USA and the USSR. 26 hours
IDEAS AND BELIEFS
The Cold War Total: 32 hours
(approx 9 weeks)
th
Background study: Asia at the beginning of the 20 Century. 10 hours
th
Inquiry topic: Case study of an Asian nation in the 20 22 hours
NATIONAL HISTORY
Asia in the 20th Century Century.
Total: 32 hours 4
(approx 9 weeks)
HISTORY AND Background study: The spread of postmodernity and 6 hours
FUTURES globalism in the Postwar World. 19 hours
The Clash of Inquiry topic: Fundamentalism, autocratic capitalism and the Total: 25 hours
Civilisations? st
challenge to the Pax Americana in the 21 Century. (Approx 7 weeks)

-1-
Sheldon College – Modern History Work Program
12/05/2010 2:37:00 PM
2. CONTEXT AND COHERENCE OF THEMES

The following is provided to establish a link between the themes and inquiry topics, linking and background
studies. Through teacher-led instruction and inquiry students will engage in the following studies.

2.1 Studies of Power

This unit will focus on developing students’ knowledge of the transition from the Late Middle Ages through to
the Renaissance and Early Modernity in Europe and the consequences of these developments, in order to
lay the foundation for the rest of the course. The factors which motivated and enabled the European
expansion will be explored, along with the effects this expansion had on the populations of Europe and later
the impacts upon the indigenous populations of the Americas, Africa and Australasia.

2.2 Studies of Change

The focus of this unit is conquest and revolution in Europe and North America in the 19th Centuries. The
background study will enable the students to understand the historical forces and tensions in early 19th
Century Europe. Through investigating this theme the students will be able to better contextualise later
events studied in the course.

2.3 Studies of Conflict

This unit will focus on providing students with comprehensive understandings and a thorough appreciation of
the international conflicts of the first half of the 20th Century and Australia’s place within them. The dominant
plausible explanations for the outbreak of the First World War will be explored along with the role Australians
played in that conflict. The consequences of the Great War will be examined and the causes of the Second
World War will be studied. The military history of the Second World War will then be investigated, with
particular focus upon the battles in Europe and especially the intense warfare between the USSR and the
Third Reich on the Eastern Front. What the nature of this intense warfare reveals about the motivations for
conflict will then be explored.

2.4 The History of Ideas and Beliefs

The focus of this unit is the struggle between the rivals the USSR and the USA in the latter part of the
twentieth century. The historical phenomena of containment, detente and proxy wars shall be studied within
the context of the nuclear arms race. Through studying this unit students will be challenged to develop their
position as to whether the Cold War was an ideological struggle or a traditional imperial contest between
rivals masked by ideological rhetoric.

2.5 National History

The focus of this unit will be the historical experiences of the nations of Asia during the 20th Century.
Students will investigate the historical experiences of a particular Asian nation during the 20th Century and
evaluate the factors which influenced the development of that country in light of the international events
occurring at the time. Particular emphasis will be placed upon how the people within that country have
interpreted and adapted international movements and trends to suit their particular place and position within
the world.

2.6 History and Futures

This unit will focus on intellectual, ideological and cultural developments since the end of the Second World
War. Many of the significant intellectual theories of recent decades will be examined in light of historical
evidence, including Francis Fukuyama’s End of History prediction and Samuel P. Huntington’s Clash of
Civilisations theory. The events of the 21st Century will also be studied in order to determine the main trends
and developments shaping the world of the future.

-2-
Sheldon College – Modern History Work Program
12/05/2010 2:37:00 PM
3. ASSESSMENT
The order of assessment during the semester may be rearranged and/or the criteria being assessed may be
altered throughout the course of the year. Any changes must be in accordance with the conditions of
assessment outlined in section 8.5 of the syllabus.

Categories of Criteria Form/

Time Conditions of Assessment
Assessment Assessed Summ

Semester 1.1 Category 4: Short answer/Response to stimulus test Criterion 2

One Additional test All sources seen Criterion 3
format All questions unseen
Clean copies of sources provided for test
Students may have assistance from
teacher with comprehension and
interpretation of seen sources.
500-600 words
90 minutes
F
Choice of topic (response to statement)
1.2 Category 2: Students create own hypothesis
Must have evidence of research process Criterion 1
Written
research task (journal) Criterion 2

Completed by
Combination of own and class time Criterion 3
Annotated bibliography
Consultation with teacher during the
research process
Rough draft teacher feedback
Approximately 6 weeks
1000-1200 words

Semester 2.1 Category 1: Essay under test conditions Criterion 2

Monitoring
Two Extended Response to unseen set statement Criterion 3
written Students create own hypothesis
response to All sources seen
historical Clean copies of sources provided for test
evidence Students may have assistance from
teacher with comprehension and
interpretation of sources.
No notes allowed
500-600 words
110 minutes

2.2 Category 3: Choice of topic (response to statement) Criterion 1

Multi-modal Students create own hypothesis Criterion 2 F
presentation Must have evidence of research process Criterion 3
(journal)
Combination of own and class time
Annotated bibliography
Consultation with teacher during the
research process
Rough draft teacher feedback
Approximately 6 weeks

-3-
Sheldon College – Modern History Work Program
12/05/2010 2:37:00 PM
Semester 3.1 Category 1: Essay under test conditions Criterion 2
Three Extended Response to unseen set statement Criterion 3
written Students create own hypothesis
response to Some sources seen, some unseen
historical Clean copies of sources provided
evidence Students may have assistance from
teacher with comprehension and
interpretation of seen sources.
No notes allowed

Completed by Verification
500-600 words
110 minutes S
Choice of topic (response to statement) Criterion 1
3.2 Category 2: Students create own hypothesis Criterion 2
Written Must have evidence of research Criterion 3
research process (journal)
task
Combination of own and class time
Gradually diminishing teacher
consultation during the research
process
Rough draft teacher feedback
Approximately 6 weeks
1500-2000 words

3.3 Category 4: Short answer/Response to stimulus test Criterion 2

Additional Some sources seen and some unseen Criterion 3
test format All questions unseen
Clean copies of sources provided for
test
Students may have assistance from
teacher with comprehension and
interpretation of seen sources.
500-600 words
110 minutes

Semester 4.1 Category 3: Choice of topic (response to statement) Criterion 1 S

Four Multi-modal Students create own hypothesis Criterion 2
presentation Must have evidence of research Criterion 3
process (journal)
Combination of own and class time
Annotated bibliography
Gradually diminishing teacher
consultation during the research
process
Rough draft teacher feedback
Approximately 6 weeks

Essay under test conditions Criterion 2

After Verification

4.2 Category 1:
Response to unseen set statement Criterion 3
Extended
written Students create own hypothesis
response to Some sources seen, some unseen
historical Clean copies of sources provided
evidence Students may have assistance from
teacher with comprehension and
interpretation of seen sources.
No notes allowed
600-800 words
110 minutes

-4-
Sheldon College – Modern History Work Program
12/05/2010 2:37:00 PM
4. STUDENT PROFILE – MODERN HISTORY

STUDENT NAME: _________________________________________ YEAR: 20_________

MY GOAL FOR MODERN HISTORY: __________________________ Entry Year / Exit Year _____/_____

3.Communicating
research process
using a historical
ASSESSMENT ITEM

1. Planning and

through critical

ACHIEVEMENT
SEMESTER

LEVEL OF
knowledge

knowledge
2. Forming
ASSESSMENT CATEGORY

historical

historical
inquiry
Additional Test Format
1.1
(Short Answer/Response to Stimulus Test
1
1.2 Written Research Task
Teacher Initials Student Initials
Semester 1 Results

2 2.1 Extended Written Response to Historical Evidence

Teacher Initials Student Initials
Term 3 Result

2 2.2 Multi-Modal Presentation

Teacher Initials Student Initials
Semester 2 Results

Year 11 Monitoring

3.1 Extended Written Response to Historical Evidence

3 3.2 Written Research Task

Additional Test Format
3.3
(Short Answer/Response to Stimulus Test)
Teacher Initials Student Initials
Semester 3 Results

4.1 Multi-modal Presentation

4 Verification Proposed Result

4.2 Extended Written Response to Historical Evidence

Teacher Initials Student Initials
Exit Level of Achievement

EXIT LEVEL REQUIREMENTS:

Very High Achievement Standard A in two (2) criteria, not lower than standard B in the remaining criterion
High Achievement Standard B in two (2) criteria, not lower than standard C in the remaining criterion
Sound Achievement Standard C in two (2) criteria, not lower than standard D in the remaining criterion
Limited Achievement Two criteria at standard D.
Very Limited Achievement Lower than two criteria at Standard D.

-5-
Sheldon College – Modern History Work Program
12/05/2010 2:37:00 PM