Investigating five case studies in Australian history

Teachers’ Guide
Classroom planner
Classroom Resource Suggested Approximate
activity pages required classroom format classroom time
1 Page 104–105 Class 15 mins
2 Page 106 & video Class 15 mins
3 Page 107 Individual 15 mins
4 Pages 108–111 Group 40 mins
5 Pages 112–119 Groups/class 80 mins
6 Page 120 Individual/group 120 mins
There are more resources for this unit — reading guides, updates,
extra resources and activities for the classroom, including an internet
‘game’ — at .
Classroom strategies
Activity 1 raises issues of what a hero is. Students should discuss their images, and fill in the
‘hero’ and ‘villain’ columns. Then ask them to complete a brainstorm about Ned Kelly. At the
end students will be able to come back to this page and test their new knowledge, as well as
think more deeply about how they will categorise Kelly.
Activity 2 can be used to encourage students to survey parents about their knowledge of Ned
Kelly — why has this person continued to be known in our history? Teachers must make sure
that students are clear what the main ‘mystery’ being explored is: Based on the killing of
Constable Thomas Lonigan at Stringybark Creek, was Ned Kelly a hero (the killing was
justified) or a villain (the killing was murder)?
In Activity 3, students start to gain information that will help their own interpretation of Ned
Kelly as villain or hero.
In Activity 4, students see how some writers have manipulated (and in some cases distorted)
information to create effects. Working in groups, students have only one of the three accounts.
They complete the summary table for that account. Students now form new groups so that
there are ‘experts’ on each of the three accounts in each new group. All share their
information, so that every person can complete the table for all three accounts. Discussion
should bring out the way in which each of the writers manipulates information to create
an effect.
Activity 5 is the key one in this unit. Students put Ned Kelly on trial for the killing of Thomas
Lonigan at Stringybark Creek in 1878. This is the crime that Kelly was tried for in 1880.
102 Australian History Mysteries Investigating five case studies in Australian history