Topic: For their freedom

Target group

6th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

6th‑grade students of elementary school

XIV. The rise of the United States. Pupil:

3 ) presents the contribution of Poles to the struggle for independence of the United States.

General aim of education

Students learn about the contribution of Poles to the fight for independence of the United States

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to recognize the reasons and manifestations of the involvement of Europeans in the war for American independence were;

• to explain who the Polish heroes of the War of Independence were;

• to characterize how the Poles contributed to the fight for independence of the United States.

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 instructs students to get acquainted with the source text of the „Ustawy o Prawach Wirginii” announced on June 12, 1776 (predecessor of the Declaration of Independence). Students should answer the questions attached to the text in the e‑textbook and recall the reasons for the outbreak of the War of Independence.

Introduction

1. The teacher gives the students the subject, the purpose of the lesson and the criteria for success.

2. The teacher introduces students to the European meaning of the American Revolution.

3. In conversation with the teacher, the students wonder why participation in the war or support for it was treated as a kind of ideological declaration against absolutism. They try to comment on the fact that the rebels really fought the most „democratic” - „parliamentary” monarchy of the old continent. They are doing Exercise 1.

Realization

1. The teacher asks students to recall (based on information from the previous lesson), which European countries joined the war on the side of American colonists? Then, students do Task 1. They learn about the history of Polish involvement in the war of independence. Then they execute Task 2. On the map depicting the war for independence of the United States, they indicate more important battles with the participation of Poles and places fortified by Tadeusz Kosciuszko. The teacher makes sure that the tasks have been correctly completed and gives feedback.

2. Students search on the Internet for information on non‑Poles, most famous foreigners supporting the struggle of American colonists. What were their nationalities?.

3. Using the knowledge gained during this lesson, students in pairs do Exercise 2.

Summary

1. Students do Exercise 3. They analyze monuments of the fighters for American independence in the exercise. They look for similarities and differences. They look for information about the circumstances of their placement. How did the French government decide to recall the then French‑American alliance over the centenary of the struggles of the rebellious American colonists for independence?.

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

Homework

1. The teacher sets homework (it is not an obligatory part of the scenario): What were the reasons for engaging France and Spain in the American Revolutionary War? Analyze the chapter of the e‑textbook, entitled „Zemsta rywali – Francja i inne państwa przystępują do wojny.” Try to prepare 1‑2 memes by commenting on your findings.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

For their freedom

From the very beginning, European public opinion, and France in particular watched the conflict in the American colonies with great interest. The humiliation associated with the end of the Seven Years' War and the almost complete destruction of the French colonial empire had not been forgotten there. The desire for retaliation was very strong. However, direct support was limited to the actions and involvement of specific people, such as the Marquis de Lafayette, Pierre Beaumarchais. It was only the defeat of the English at Saratoga in 1777 and Franklin's skillful actions that led to the signing of two treaties by the government of Louis XVI: commercial and military‑defensive. Recognition of the new state and a mutual guarantee of the inviolability of the estate was complemented by the military alliance and the decision to wage the war until the recognition of independence of the United States. The next stages of internationalization of the conflict were the joining the coalition by Spain (1779) and the Netherlands (1780). Tadeusz Kościuszko also left for America. He became particularly famous during the siege of Saratoga and the construction of West Point fortifications. Another Pole, Kazimierz Pułaski, is considered to be the founder of American cavalry, which he owes to the commandership of a brigade of this military formation and the forming of a legion known as the „Pułaski Legion” in 1778.