Lesson plan (English)
Topic: Nicolaus Copernicus – a Renaissance man
Author of the script: Marcin Dyś
Target group
6th grade student of elementary school
Core curriculum
IX. Golden era in Poland against the European background. Student:
1) recognizes the characteristics of the European Renaissance; characterizes the greatest achievements (...) of Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo.
The general aim of education
Students will learn about Nicolaus Copernicus, one of the greatest minds in the history of science.
Key competences
communication in the mother tongue;
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Learning outcomes
Student:
tells who Nicolaus Copernicus was and what he did;
describes his life and the places where he lived and worked;
explains what heliocentric theory is and what a breakthrough it was;
explains why Copernican theory was condemned by the Church and the Reformation..
Methods/techniques
exposing methods: talk, explanations and comments from the teacher;
programmed methods: using e‑textbook; using multimedia;
problematic methods: activating methods: discussion, activity in groups (in pairs);
practical methods: exercises concerned, working with a source text, working with illustration.
Forms of work
collective activity;
activity in pairs or in groups;
individual activity.
Teaching aids
e‑textbook;
interactive whiteboard or traditional blackboard;
tablets/computers;
notebook and crayons/ felt‑tip pens.
Before classes
Students should recall the figures of the world of Renaissance science and culture and know how the world was perceived before Nicolaus Copernicus' discovery.
Lesson plan overview (Process)
Introduction
The teacher explains the students the lesson objective and the criteria for success.
When introducing the students to the subject, the teacher asks them about knowledge of the world and its location among the people of the 15th and 16th century. Students should know what geocentric theory is and that it dates back to ancient times, and that Ptolemy was one of its founders.
Realization
The teacher explains the breakthrough of the heliocentric theory described in Nicolaus Copernicus’ work entitled “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”. The teacher stresses that this was the most important and well‑known work of the astronomer, and adds that Copernicus was, as befits a Renaissance man, comprehensively educated and had extensive knowledge and interests. Students look at an interactive illustration of the scientist, and then discuss the importance of Nicolaus Copernicus' discovery.
The teacher divides the students into pairs (groups of 2‑3). The task of each group is the same - based on the information they find on the Internet, they are to create a biography/presentation about the life of Nicolaus Copernicus. The teacher points out that they should touch upon the following aspects: youth, studies, career, research, interests, most important moments in life and inventions/theories he discovered. The teacher also points out that the astronomer is associated with several cities and asks the students to note these cities and the role Copernicus played in them. Optionally, the students may be divided into groups (of 2‑4) and each group may be assigned a different city from Copernicus' biography, with a request to develop how much time he spent in it, what he did, what functions he performed there, etc. The proposed cities are: Toruń, Kraków, Bolonia, Lidzbark Warmiński, Olsztyn, Frombork. The teacher takes care to provide the students with feedback when they do exercises and instructions.
After the students read the astronomer's biography, the teacher begins a discussion on Renaissance science and how Nicolaus Copernicus fit into its frameworks. The teacher also asks what other discoveries should this scientist be known of - “Quantity theory of money,” and the theory that bad money drives out good money. Asking the questions, the teacher remembers to formulate them as key questions.
Summary
Summarizing the lesson, the teacher tells about the heliocentric theory and the problems of its protagonists. The teacher mentions Giordano Bruno, Galileo and Johannes Kepler. The students do Exercise 1, matching the descriptions to characters associated with this theory, and Exercise 2 (completing the sentences correctly). The students may optionally fulfil Instruction 1 based on the attached photo gallery.
The teacher assesses the students’ work during the lesson taking into account their contribution and involvement. The teacher gives the students feedback on their work.
The teacher gives homework for volunteer students (it is not an obligatory part of the script): Nicolaus Copernicus is said to be a man who “stopped the Sun and moved the Earth”. What does this saying mean? Does it refer only to the heliocentric theory proven by him?
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Geocentryzm – teoria geocentryczna, pogląd który stanowi, że centralnym punktem Wszechświata jest nieruchoma Ziemia a wokół niej krążą pozostałe planety, Słońce, Księżyc i inne ciała niebieskie.
Heliocentryzm – teoria heliocentryczna, teoria budowy Układu Słonecznego, według której Słońce znajduje się w jego centrum, a wszystkie planety je okrążają.
Astronomia – nauka zajmująca się badaniem ciał niebieskich oraz zjawisk zachodzących we Wszechświecie. Jest jedną z najstarszych nauk, a jej badaniem zajmowały się starożytne cywilizacje Bliskiego Wschodu i Egiptu.
Styl gotycki – późnośredniowieczny styl w architekturze europejskiej, mający odzwierciedlać doskonałość Boga i jego wielkość. Charakteryzuje się smukłością i strzelistością budowli, sklepieniem krzyżowo‑żebrowym oraz obecnością witraży i rozety. Najlepiej widoczny jest w budynkach średniowiecznych katedr.
Planty – miejskie tereny zielone zakładane najczęściej na terenie zlikwidowanych murów miejskich, fosy lub dawnych koryt rzek.
Baszta – element muru obronnego, wzniesionego ponad jego poziom. Były najczęściej budowane na planie koła, kwadratu lub wielokąta. Pełniły funkcję miejsc, z których możliwa była obrona muru pomiędzy nimi oraz atakowanie oblegające miasto wroga.
Żak – dawna nazwa studenta uniwersytetu, uczelni wyższej (ale także stosowane do określania ucznia).
Texts and recordings
Nicolaus Copernicus - a Renaissance man
Nicolaus Copernicus was one of the most eminent scholars in Europe at the turn of the 15th and 16th century. He was born in Toruń. He studied at the Cracow Academy and in Italy. He spent most of his adult life in Warmia, where his mother's family came from. He became a clergyman, was the administrator of goods and fought in the last war between Poland and the Teutonic Knights (on the Polish side – he was a loyal subject of the Polish king). He wrote a treaty in the field of economics. However, Copernicus' main interest was astronomy. Throughout his life, he was conducting research and calculations. In 1543, he published a treaty entitled “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”. It contained a revolutionary thesis. Thus far, it had been believed that the Earth was in the center of the Universe, and that the Sun and other planets revolved around it. According to Copernicus, it was the Sun that was in the middle of the Universe. This theory was called heliocentric (greek: Helios – sun). This discovery disturbed the previous view of the world. For many years, the Church forbade preaching Copernicus' theses and reading his work.