The Kelly Gang and the Siege of GlenrowanActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning works because this period invites debate and perspective-taking, where students grapple with conflicting narratives rather than memorize facts. When students construct timelines or role-play decisions, they confront the complexity of choices made under pressure, deepening historical empathy without romanticizing figures like Ned Kelly.
Learning Objectives
- 1Construct a chronological timeline of at least five significant events in the Kelly Gang's criminal activities and the Siege of Glenrowan.
- 2Analyze the strategic decisions made by Ned Kelly and the police force during the Siege of Glenrowan, identifying at least two key choices for each.
- 3Evaluate the evidence presented to support the claim that Ned Kelly acted out of desperation versus premeditated criminality.
- 4Compare the perspectives of different groups, such as selectors, police, and the general public, regarding the Kelly Gang's actions.
- 5Explain the historical context of bushranging in 19th-century Victoria, including its connection to social and economic conditions.
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Timeline Construction: Kelly Gang Events
Provide students with event cards detailing crimes and the Glenrowan siege. In groups, they sequence the cards chronologically on a class mural, adding cause-effect arrows and primary source images. Groups present one key decision and its outcome to the class.
Prepare & details
Construct a timeline of the key events involving the Kelly Gang.
Facilitation Tip: During Timeline Construction, have students physically rearrange event cards to emphasize how sequence shapes interpretation, not just dates.
Setup: Desks rearranged into courtroom layout
Materials: Role cards, Evidence packets, Verdict form for jury
Role-Play: Siege of Glenrowan
Assign roles as Kelly Gang members, police, or hostages. Students rehearse the siege events using props like cardboard armour, then perform and debrief on tactical choices. Record the role-play for timeline integration.
Prepare & details
Evaluate the decisions made by Ned Kelly and the police at Glenrowan.
Facilitation Tip: In Role-Play: Siege of Glenrowan, assign opposing roles (Kelly Gang, police, hostages) to ensure students engage with conflicting perspectives firsthand.
Setup: Desks rearranged into courtroom layout
Materials: Role cards, Evidence packets, Verdict form for jury
Debate Pairs: Desperate Man or Criminal?
Pair students to prepare arguments using evidence from sources: one side justifies desperation due to land disputes, the other calculated crime via bank raids. Pairs present in a class debate with voting and reflection.
Prepare & details
Justify whether Ned Kelly's actions were those of a desperate man or a calculated criminal.
Facilitation Tip: For Debate Pairs, require each student to cite at least one piece of evidence from their timeline or source analysis before stating an opinion.
Setup: Desks rearranged into courtroom layout
Materials: Role cards, Evidence packets, Verdict form for jury
Source Analysis: Ned Kelly Letters
Distribute excerpts from the Jerilderie Letter. Individually highlight perspectives on police and selectors, then share in pairs to categorise biases. Compile class findings into a perspective chart.
Prepare & details
Construct a timeline of the key events involving the Kelly Gang.
Facilitation Tip: During Source Analysis of Ned Kelly’s letters, highlight vocabulary choices (e.g., ‘tyrants,’ ‘oppression’) to reveal Kelly’s framing of himself and his actions.
Setup: Desks rearranged into courtroom layout
Materials: Role cards, Evidence packets, Verdict form for jury
Teaching This Topic
Teachers should avoid framing Ned Kelly as a rebel hero or outright villain, which flattens the topic into a morality tale. Instead, use primary sources like Kelly’s Jerilderie Letter to uncover his self-justifications, while contrasting them with police reports or newspaper editorials. Research in history education suggests that structured debates and role-plays help students test interpretations against evidence, reducing oversimplification. Keep the focus on process: how historians weigh evidence, not who was ‘right.’
What to Expect
Students will articulate multiple viewpoints, use evidence to justify arguments, and recognize the consequences of individual actions within a broader social context. Successful learning is evident when students move beyond binary labels and evaluate motivations through specific historical examples.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Timeline Construction, watch for students who oversimplify Ned Kelly’s actions as purely heroic or purely criminal without examining escalating events.
What to Teach Instead
Use the timeline to trace the Kelly Gang’s actions (e.g., Stringybark Creek, bank robberies) and ask students to annotate each event with evidence of Kelly’s motivations (revenge, survival, gain) or consequences (public opinion, police response).
Common MisconceptionDuring Role-Play: Siege of Glenrowan, students may assume the police were entirely justified in their tactics without considering the siege’s chaotic and violent outcome.
What to Teach Instead
Provide role-play scripts with incomplete or biased information for each character, forcing students to negotiate perspectives and question assumptions during the role-play debrief.
Common MisconceptionDuring Source Analysis: Ned Kelly Letters, students might accept Kelly’s portrayal of himself as a defender of the poor without comparing it to other sources.
What to Teach Instead
Have pairs compare Kelly’s Jerilderie Letter with a police report or a contemporary newspaper editorial, highlighting discrepancies in language and purpose to reveal Kelly’s rhetorical strategies.
Assessment Ideas
After Timeline Construction, provide students with three statements about the Siege of Glenrowan (e.g., 'The police were unprepared for Kelly's armour.'). Ask them to write 'Agree' or 'Disagree' and cite one event from their timeline as evidence.
After Debate Pairs, facilitate a class discussion where students must use specific examples from their timeline or source analysis to support arguments about whether Ned Kelly was a hero or a villain, referencing at least two key events.
During Timeline Construction, present students with a list of key events out of order and ask them to arrange these on a mini-whiteboard, then hold it up for immediate feedback.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge early finishers to research and present on the long-term impact of the Kelly legend, citing modern media portrayals (e.g., films, songs) alongside historical accounts.
- Scaffolding for struggling students: Provide a partially completed timeline with key dates filled in and three missing events for them to place using context clues.
- Deeper exploration: Assign a creative writing task where students compose a diary entry from the perspective of a Glenrowan hostage, using details from the role-play or source analysis to inform their portrayal.
Key Vocabulary
| Bushranger | A criminal who lived in the bush, typically in colonial Australia, often engaging in robbery and evading capture. |
| Siege | A prolonged military operation in which a besieged place is surrounded and attacked by enemy forces, often leading to a final confrontation. |
| Armour | Protective clothing or equipment, in this context, homemade metal plates worn by Ned Kelly to defend against bullets. |
| Selector | A person who selected and took up land for farming under government land acts in colonial Australia, often in conflict with squatters. |
| Constabulary | A body of police officers, referring to the police force tasked with apprehending the Kelly Gang. |
Suggested Methodologies
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Origins of Bushranging
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Famous Bushrangers: Beyond Ned Kelly
Investigate the stories of bushrangers such as Ben Hall, Captain Thunderbolt, and Frank Gardiner, and their impact.
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The Life and Times of Ned Kelly
Examine the early life, family background, and formative experiences of Ned Kelly.
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Ned Kelly's Legacy and Mythology
Explore the enduring debate about Ned Kelly's status as a hero or villain in Australian culture.
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Squatters, Selectors, and Rural Life
Examine the lives of squatters and selectors, and the challenges of establishing farms in the Australian bush.
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