Activities

Rationale

Resources

A.     Helping students to recall prerequisites

      Informing students of SIO

Time allocated: 3 minutes

·        Teacher engages the students in a discussion regarding some of the reasons behind Japanese's advance to Southeast Asia.

·        Wanted tin and rubber from Malaya

·        Wanted to utilise the naval base in Singapore as a springboard to launch attacks on the Dutch East Indies and Australia

·        Wanted to liberate the Asians from western rule and incorporate Southeast Asia territories into the Great Eastern Co-Prosperity Sphere.

·        Teacher accepts all ideas by writing them on the whiteboard and asks the students which is the most important reason and why.

Possible Questions:

v     Why do you think Japan wanted to advance southwards to Southeast Asia?

v     Why do you think Japan decided not to attack Russia instead?

v     What was the biggest obstacle in Southeast Asia which will prevent the Japanese from achieving their aim?

To allow the students to refresh and relate previously acquired knowledge with the lesson that is about to be taught.

Whiteboard

B.    Presenting information and examples

Time allocated: 20 minutes

·        Teacher announces the start of the lesson proper.

·        Introduce the main characters in the Malayan Campaign - Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Brooke Popham,  Lieutenant-General A. E. Percival,  General Heath, General Gordon Bennett, General Archibald Wavell and Lieutenant-General Tomoyuki Yamashita

·        Ask students to give an explanation to the statement on the OHT

Possible question:

v     Why do you think Sir Winston Churchill called the fall of Singapore the "worst disaster and the largest capitulation" in British history?

·        Inform the students the actual interpretation of the statement using map of British colonies

·        Show map of Britain and their colonies to see Sir Winston Churchill's concerns in the war.

·        Inform students that Sir Winston Churchill chose to send supplies to help the Russians and other fronts but not Malaya.  Ask them why is that so?

·        Show map of Malaya and highlight the main strategies of the Japanese and the British.  The main purpose was to wait for the fleet to come.

·        Inform the student that the Japanese and the British premises towards the war was entirely different - one was to take over Singapore at all cost and the other was not to repel the Japanese but rather to stall the enemies and engaged the Japanese resources as much as possible.

·        Show students the amount of force the British and the Japanese have but that the Japanese brought the right equipment for the war

Possible questions:

v     Why do you think General Percival decided to protect the whole of Malaya instead of focusing the defence on Singapore island itself?

v     Why do you think General Yamashita decided to attack peninsula Malaya instead of going head on at the island?

·        Interpret the whole Malayan campaign through 4 important fronts -

1)     Operation Matador, the Jitra-Kroh defence line, and correspondingly the destruction of Force Z. 

2)     The Battle at Kampar and Slim River

3)     Muar-Segamat -Mersing defence line,

4)     The defence of Singapore, and the perimeter of British defence in Malaya at the point of British surrender.

Possible questions:

v     Why do you think Sir Brooke Popham hesitate to launch Operation Matador?

v     What do you think were the consequences?

v     What does the defeat of Force Z mean to the British and the people?

v     Why do you think that General Percival decided not to retreat all the way to Johor after suffering crushing defeats at Jitra and Kroh?

v     Why do you think there was a tactical switch in the battle at Muar-Mersing defence line?

v     What were the consequences of this tactical switch?

v     Look at the picture with the burning of oil tanks in Singapore.  Why do you think the Japanese did that?

v     Look at the perimeter which General Percival had to defend.  Do you think it is worth defending?

v     Do you think that General Percival will be able to repel the Japanese if he had not surrendered?

To allow students to put events in context and understand the concept of 'cause and effect"

OHT#1

OHT#2-8

Handouts

OHT#9

OHT#10

OHT#11

OHT#12-13

(Graphs of the amount of troops and air-crafts the two armies had)

OHT#11

OHT#14-20

OHT#21

OHT#22-27

C.    Summarizing the lesson

Time allocated: 7 minutes

·        Question and Answer time -- for pupils to clarify their doubts.

·        Students to write down the main event in the campaign which they think culminated to British defeat.

·        Impress on the students that the whole Malayan campaign suggest that the British was inadequate in their planning and that the choices and decision of their leaders had a huge bearing on the outcome of the battle.

·        Inform the students that the next lesson will be focused on the reasons of Japanese victory and British defeat in Malaya.

Promote students' judgement and historical interpretation

Whiteboard

Handouts