Focus question 1: Why do people decide that governments should federate?

ESL activities

Teacher instructions

Conduct all activities.

Activity 1 | Activity 2 | Activity 3 | Activity 4 | Activity 5 | Activity 6

Activity 1: Map work

Vocabulary: rebellion, colony, administered, declaration, Confederation, despotism, tyranny, parliament, consent, waged, petition, prudent, lightly overthrow.

• Introduce the US situation though class discussion, working through 'Rebellion in America' and clarifying difficult vocabulary in the Declaration of Independence.
• For 1a place ESL learners in pairs with students who have better spoken English.
• For 1b, discuss as a class. Students then write answers in their workbooks.
• Conduct 1c as described.

Activity 2: The establishment of the Australian colonies

Vocabulary: self-government, defined, commission, continent, boundary, province, whaling station.

• Discuss the information relating to each map as a whole class activity.
• Place ESL learners in pairs with students who have better spoken English to complete the table.

Activity 3: Document study - Australia and Britain

• For Activity 3, conduct a class discussion about Australia's attitude to Britain rather than use the documents.

Activity 4: Document study - Australia and the USA

Vocabulary: Constitution, parliament, self-government, federation, side by side, unjust imposts, levied, Her Majesty, presides, empire, credits us.

• Read the document to the class.
• Conduct the class discussion as described.

Activity 5: Federation

Vocabulary: oration, invasion, shores, allegiance, tax, tariff, free trade.

• Read and explain 'The Tenterfield Oration' to the class, explaining difficult vocabulary.

• Conduct parts 5a and 5b as class discussion.

Activity 6: Reasons for and against federation

Vocabulary: parliament, influencing factors, vast, influential politicians, advocates, federation, policies, cheap labour, presence, border duties, hinder, free trade, goods, import, tariff, protection (of industry), crimson thread of kinship, patriotic.

• Assist ESL learners to interpret the illustrations for this activity by conducting 'background' class discussion.

• For 6a, allow ESL learners, working in pairs, to view the One Destiny! CD ROM and then to write a sentence or two for each picture.

• Conduct a class discussion about the reasons against federation.

• Conduct 6b as described; ESL learners continue to work in their pairs.

• Conduct 6c as described, clarifying the arguments and recording them as for and/or against on the board.

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