Schools Program
About
About the program
In partnership with the Department for Education (SA), the Virtual War Memorial Australia (VWMA) provides teaching and learning resources for the Australian Curriculum: History Years 9 and 10, and Civics and Citizenship at Year 10.
Additionally, the VWMA also supports teachers and students of Modern History, Research Project and Research Practices, Aboriginal Studies, Community Studies, Cross-Disciplinary Studies, Society and Culture, Women’s Studies and more.
We also provide Professional Development and professional networking. Go to Professional Learning 2024 to view the current training schedule. If the scheduled dates are not suitable, contact the Schools Program Manager to arrange for onsite training for the History Teachers at your school, tailored to the needs of your students.
The VWMA provides information about Australia’s involvement in Conflicts from the Boer War through to Afghanistan with specific information about different battles and offensives. Information is also provided about the different Units that Australians served in. Our interactive Timeline is a particularly useful resource to build your students’ understanding of Australia’s involvement in wars and peacekeeping operations.
The Resources for Teachers page has supporting resources for the delivery of the Australian Curriculum at Year 9 and Year 10. Further resources will be added over time, so keep visiting to see what’s new. If you would like to share resources you have developed for your fellow teachers to access, please contact the Schools Program Manager at schools.program@vwma.org.au. Contributions are greatly appreciated, and your authorship will be acknowledged.
VWMA Mission and how your students are important
The main mission of the VWMA is to provide a worthy home, in perpetuity, for the records and the personal experiences of all People who have served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations, and the impact of this service on the individuals themselves, their families and communities.
To meet this mission, we invite Year 9 and 10 students to contribute to our WW1 and WW2 commemorative collections by researching the life and war experience of an individual serviceperson to complete a biography which can be added to the VWMA profile of the person. This task can be assessed (rubric provided) or can be an activity to complement other lessons in your unit of work. Outstanding student biography contributions are recognised with our annual Excellence Awards.
We provide support to schools to complete the Serviceperson Research Task with teacher training and ongoing in-class support for your students.
The VWMA also promotes and supports the South Australian Premier’s ANZAC Spirit School Prize.
To view testimonials from teachers and students about the benefits of the serviceperson biography task, please watch the short presentation above (5 mins).
For more information and to access resources head to our Resources for Teachers page. To register your class to contribute to our important mission to commemorate all WW1 and WW2 servicepeople, please email schools.program@vwma.org.au
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The Schools Program offered to South Australian Schools is proudly supported by a grant provided by the Government of South Australia, Department for Education.
Participating Schools
- Schools Program
- Resources for Teachers
- Resources for Students
- Professional Learning 2024
- Premier's ANZAC Spirit School Prize
- DVA Anzac Day Schools Awards
- Research Project / AIF
- Ohlstrom Short Film & Resources
- VWMA Excellence Award
- Excursion: Adelaide Commemorative Precinct Walking Tour
- Podcast: Bringing His Spirit Home: Private Arthur Thomas Walker, Ngarrindjeri ANZAC
- Podcast: Walking in Two Worlds: The WW1 Story of Ngarrindjeri ANZACs Cyril & Rufus Rigney
- Podcast - The Sudden Storm: The Bangka Island Massacre
- Podcast: ‘When the War Comes Home: Beachport Mine Tragedy’
- From A Whisper To A Bang! Podcast
- Victory in the Pacific
- ANZAC Day Resources
- Remembrance Day Collection
- VWMA Video - Causes of World War One
- End WW2 80th Anniversary 2025
At the heart of the Schools Program is the Serviceperson Profile and
Biography Research Task.
In this portfolio, each student is given a serviceperson to research. The student uses online resources to tell their person’s true story. The research is then uploaded to the VWMA, making a permanent contribution to the historical record - and to the serviceperson's family. It is an engaging and authentic research task which transforms students into historians.
Additionally, the Schools Program provides learning activities and resources which can easily be added to an existing unit, enriching your students' experience of studying History. These are continually updated and can be found on our Resources for Students and Resources for Teachers pages.
To join the program or to find out more, please email us: schools.program@vwma.org.au