Topic: The cultural and scientific achievements of the interwar period

Target group

7th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XXX. Society and economy of the Second Polish Republic. Pupil:

4. gives the most important cultural and scientific achievements of Poland in the interwar period.

General aim of education

Students learn about the most important cultural and scientific achievements of Poland in the interwar period, against the background of Europe and the world

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to list the most important cultural and scientific achievements of Poland in the interwar period in the context of Europe and the rest of the world;

• to describe the achievements of the leading creators of the inter‑war period.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. The teacher asks the students to recall the knowledge concerning the effects of World War I. Alternatively, he asks them to search for illustrations associated with the culture of the inter‑war period.

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. The teacher displays the timeline from the e‑textbook presenting the milestones in the development of culture and science. He talks about them with withe students, thus checking their knowledge on the issues presented. Asking the questions, the teacher remembers that they are to be formulated as the key questions.

Realization

1. The teacher divides the students into three‑person groups. Each member of the team receives a different part to be analyzed / a portion of the exercise to be done (work sheets prepared by the teacher). Students from differen groups working on the same issues meet as expert groups. They discuss the assigned subject, share doubts and organize their knowledge. Later they return to their own three‑person groups and pass on their organized understanding of the subject (in alphabetical order).

2. S&T expert group (science and technology) The students investigate the achievements of such people as Albert Einstein, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, Alexander Fleming, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart. They look for information and photos on the Internet. They carry out Task 1 and Task 2 -- tasks related to the most famous scientists of that time.

3. C&M&D expert group (cinema, music, dance). The students investigate the development of cinematography (Rudolf Valentino, Greta Garbo, Pola Negri, Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable) and new genres of music (jazz), achievements of Sergey Diaghilev and Isadora Duncan. They look for information on the Internet. They perform Task 3 (analyze the propaganda effect of the film) and Task 4 (develop a short biography of Louis Amstrong).

4. A&A expert group (architecture and art). The students investigate modernism and functionalism as well as its manifestations in architecture and art (eg cubism). They focus their attention to the issues of everyday life. They perform Task 5 and Exercise 1, analyzing the changes in the approach to the style of living and dressing.

5. L&C expert group (literature and popular culture). The students investigate changes in mass culture. They collect information about novels such as: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque; A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway; The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek, as well as on authors such as Marcel Proust, Franz Kafka, Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. They get acquainted with the phenomenon of the radio play The War of the Worlds prepared by Orson Welles, based on the publication of Herbert George Wells. They look for information on the Internet. They carry out Task 6.

6. P&F expert group (philosophy and fashion). The students investigate philosophical trends. They focus their attention on such names as: Henri Bergson, Zygmunt Freud, Oswald Spengler. They familiarize themselves with the fashion trends of the inter‑war period (perceived as a result of modernism and feminism at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries). Performs Exercise 2..

7. After the return of the experts (in teams of three), in addition to sharing the knowledge with their colleagues, their work should be based on the relations between areas of knowledge gained by each student: mutual relations between philosophy, science, technology development and art – and mass culture. The goal common for each group is to understand the changes that took place in the interwar period.

8. During this part of the lesson, the teacher takes makes sure the tasks are completed correctly, and takes care of providing feedback to students.

Summary

1. The task ends with the discussion. The teacher makes the students aware that the common denominator of cultural undertakings of this era is the reaction to war and catastrophism, and on the other hand, the fascination with the progress of science and technology. He also points to the relationship between the rise of mass culture and the development of mass media, but also to the increase in the level of education of the society, which was the result of the introduction of universal schooling obligation.

2. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare a self‑assessment questionnaire.

Homework

1. The teacher tasks willing students with homework: One of two options to choose from: Variant 1: German cinematography of the interwar period was one of the most important in the world. The film worked in pair (the other media as well) with the propaganda machine during the reign of the Third Reich, and movies like Triumph of the Will or Olympia made by Leni Riefenstahl are considered outstanding in thier field. Prepare a presentation on the role of the film in propaganda of the Third Reich, and about art in the service of totalitarianism. Variant 2: Prepare a presentation about the beginnings of Hollywood – the dream factory.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The cultural and scientific achievements of the interwar period

The First World War sped up the emancipation of women. Due to the war, women started doing jobs that were originally intended for men. They were granted voting rights. The traditional family model changed and civil divorces were introduced. In many countries, the church was separated from the state. A consumerist lifestyle was gaining popularity, supported by the introduction of appliances that aided the everyday functioning of the household, such as washing machines, fridges and vacuum cleaners. The interwar period also witnessed great changes in the transportation sector. Aside from rail transport, road transport was developing. Science, including physics, was developing quickly. The person to whom the greatest achievements were attributed was Albert Einstein. People were gaining easier access to culture, due in part to the growth of the mass media and the increasing level of general education in society, which was a direct result of education being made compulsory. The press was undergoing rapid growth as a medium of communication. Cinema became the most important form of entertainment for interwar society. Another form of entertainment that became popular among the masses was music. New movements in the field of architecture emerged, including functionalism and modernism. New movements also emerged in the fine arts, including dadaism, surrealism and futurism. Literature, the fine arts, painting and philosophical movements reflected on the tragic experiences of 1914–1918 and the trauma of the war. That is why numerous works from the period visibly display catastrophism and value crisis.