HASS · Year 10

Active learning ideas

The 'Ten Pound Poms' Scheme

Active learning works because this topic blends complex human stories with policy decisions. Students need to grapple with both the emotional weight and the structural realities of refugee resettlement. By engaging in role plays, discussions, and collaborative tasks, they connect historical decisions to personal experiences, deepening both empathy and analytical rigor.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9H10K07

• 60–90 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 90 min · Individual

Format Name: 'Ten Pound Pom' Persona Project

Students research and create a profile for a fictional 'Ten Pound Pom' migrant, including their reasons for migrating, their journey, and their initial experiences in Australia. This can be presented as a diary, a series of letters, or a short video.

Analyze the motivations for British migrants to come to Australia under the 'Ten Pound Poms' scheme.

Facilitation Tip

During Collaborative Investigation, assign small groups specific refugee journeys to map, ensuring each student contributes by researching one stage of the voyage or resettlement process.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 60 min · Whole Class

Format Name: Scheme Debate: Success or Failure?

Organize a class debate on whether the 'Ten Pound Poms' scheme was ultimately successful, considering demographic, social, and economic factors. Students must research and present arguments for both sides.

Explain the social and cultural impact of large-scale British migration.

Facilitation Tip

For the Role Play, provide students with a one-page brief of their character’s stance and access to historical newspaper excerpts to ground their arguments in primary evidence.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 75 min · Small Groups

Format Name: Primary Source Analysis Stations

Set up stations with different primary sources: government pamphlets, personal letters from migrants, newspaper articles from the era, and photographs. Students rotate through stations, analyzing the perspectives and information presented.

Evaluate the long-term success of the scheme in retaining British migrants.

Facilitation Tip

In Think-Pair-Share, ask students to compare Fraser’s policies with a contemporary refugee policy, using a Venn diagram to visualize connections and contrasts.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should anchor this topic in primary sources to avoid abstract policy discussions. Use student-centered strategies like role play and collaborative mapping to make the human scale of the crisis tangible. Avoid framing the topic solely as a success story—emphasize the ethical dilemmas and public debates to foster critical historical thinking. Research shows that when students engage with diverse perspectives, they develop deeper empathy and more sophisticated analytical skills.

Successful learning looks like students tracing refugee journeys with nuance, debating policy choices with evidence, and articulating how Fraser’s policies reshaped Australia’s identity. They should move beyond simplistic narratives to understand both the generosity and the tensions of the time.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Collaborative Investigation: The Journey of the 'Boat People', some students may assume most refugees arrived by boat.

  Have students refer to the 'mode of arrival' chart they construct during the activity, pointing out that the chart should show plane arrivals as the majority, based on the official resettlement program.

• During Role Play: The Resettlement Debate, students might believe the public fully supported accepting refugees.

  Encourage students to examine the primary sources provided for the debate, particularly the 'Letters to the Editor,' to identify and cite examples of public anxiety or opposition.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play