Discovering Democracy Units
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A Democracy Destroyed

At a glance

Focus question 1: What are the features of a healthy democracy?

Content Activities
(Assessment tasks are in bold italics.)		 Preparation
  • Principles of democracy
  • Threats to democracy
  • Class discussion
  • Hypothetical Youth Party: would students vote for a party that would destroy democracy?
  • Download and duplicate materials from the Stories of Democracy CD ROM for Activity 1

Teaching and learning activities

Focus question 2: How and why was democracy lost in Germany in 1933?

Content Activities
(Assessment tasks are in bold italics.)		 Preparation
  • Background to the creation and destruction of German democracy 1871-1933
  • Research activity using the Stories of Democracy CD ROM and other sources.
  • Construction of timeline of key developments
  • Analysis of voting patterns of Weimar elections 1919-33
  • Download and duplicate source materials from Stories of Democracy CD ROM
  • Arrange library booking
  • The Nazi Party and propaganda Hitler's ideas and policies, and their appeal
  • Report on the nature of the Nazi Party
  • Development of appropriate captions for propaganda images
  
  • Groups that voted for the Nazis
  • Critical analysis of election posters
  • Development and justification of conclusions about the nature of the support for the Nazis
  • Drawing a cartoon to illustrate these conclusions
  
  • Timeline of events that destroyed democracy
  • Primary source analysis:
  • Explanation of the Nazi use of the Enabling Act to destroy democracy
  • Newspaper report, storyboard, or debate: to answer the question about whether democracy was taken or given
  • Summative and analytical report of the period
 

Teaching and learning activities

Focus question 3: Which people resisted the Nazis?

Content Activities
(Assessment tasks are in bold italics.)		 Preparation
  • Consequences of resistance
  • Simulation of resistance choices
  • Duplicate the Score sheet and Situations for the Resistance activity. Have a copy of Consequences sheet in the Teacher notes available to read out after each 'situation'.

Teaching and learning activities

Focus question 4: What are the key features of a democracy and how did the Nazis take them away? How is democracy in Australia protected?

Content Activities
(Assessment tasks are in bold italics.)		 Preparation
  • How specific Nazi policies destroyed democracy
  • The effects of these policies on people's lives
  • Application of general principles of democracy to particular events
  • Incident analysis leading to creative response - letter writing
  • Identification of effect of loss of democracy on nation and individuals
  • Arrange for students to undertake interactive on the Stories of Democracy CD ROM
  • Democratic principles in Australia and elsewhere today
  • Reflection on democracy in Australia and its destruction in Germany
  • Imaginative
    engagement and
    analysis of a
    constructed
    conversation
  • Application of
    democratic
    principles to
    Australia
  • Identification of
    examples of
    democracy or
    threats to it in
    Australia
  • Critical analysis of
    ways of resisting
    threats to
    democracy
  • Development of a poster illustrating some democratic principles and resistance to threats to them in Australia and elsewhere today or an essay-writing task
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • Collect sample newspaper articles

Teaching and learning activities
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