Topic: The rich and the poor… European society in the first half of the 19th century

Author of the script: Monika Piotrowska‑Marchewa

Target group

7th grade student of elementary school

Core curriculum

7th‑grade students of elementary school

XIX. Europe after the Congress of Vienna. Pupil:

2. characterizes the most important manifestations of the industrial revolution (inventions and their applications, areas of industrialization, changes in social structures and living conditions).

31. The development of industrial civilization. Pupil:

3. identifies the most important inventions and discoveries of the 19th century and explains the economic and social consequences of their application;

4. describes changes in the standard of living of various social groups in the 19th century based on written, iconographic and statistical sources.

The general aim of education

Students learn about the changes in living conditions and social structures, which occurred as a result of the industrial revolution.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in foreign languages;

• learning to learn.

Learning outcomes

Student:

• describes how the cities of the industrial era looked like;

• characterizes the new social strata in the era of industrial revolution.

Methods / techniques

• exposing methods: talk, traditional lecture, explanations and comments from the teacher;

• programmed methods: using e‑textbook; using multimedia;

• problematic methods: activating methods: discussion;

• practical methods: practical classes, working with text and program, art works, SWOT type analysis.

Forms of work

• activity in pairs or in groups;

• individual activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• interactive whiteboard or traditional blackboard;

• tablets/computers;

• sheets of paper, felt‑tip pens.

Before classes

The teacher asks the students to answer the questions: What was the new nature of poverty in the19th century? What does the pauperism term mean?

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Introduction

1. The teacher explains the students the lesson objective and the criteria for success.

2. The teacher explains the homework, then asks the students to do Instruction 1 (discuss the concept of demographic explosion) and Instruction 2 (analysis of the demographic data from the table).

Realization

3. The students, divided into several groups, analyse the materials concerning the 19th‑century city. The students view iconographic materials from the Internet, based on which the teacher presents the appearance of the 19th‑century city, everyday life and its residents. Students fulfil Instruction 3. They listen to the program and list the details important for their further work. The teacher takes care to provide the students with feedback when they do exercises and instructions.

4. Activity in groups: students draw on the sheets of grey paper their vision of the 19th‑century city, paying attention to the characteristic elements of the then landscape of the city. After finishing the work, the groups present and discuss their works.

5. The teacher suggests the students to do Exercise 1. Students answer the teacher’s questions:

• What strategies to combat poverty were used in the 19th century?

• What did the poor lack in those days?

• What examples of socially‑oriented activities of philanthropists and supporters of socialism do you know?

• Were they in your opinion sufficient?

Asking the questions, the teacher remembers to formulate them as key questions.

6. Students form the conclusions together, by filling the SWOT table.

Summary

7. 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.

8. The teacher gives a homework for volunteer students (not an obligatory part of the script) - suggests to do Instruction 4 in the abstract. The most interesting works of students, sent by e‑mail or delivered in a written form, will be presented to the whole class.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The rich and the poor… European society in the first half of the 19th century

In the first half of the 19th century, the population of Europe grew by more than 40%. Growing social contrasts were much more visible in urban reality than in rural areas. It was not only the landscape that changed in the countries affected by the industrial revolution. New social forces were born under the pressure of capitalist changes. One of the most noticeable changes was the emergence of the large‑scale industrial bourgeoisie. In the first half of the 19th century, as the prestige of intellectual work increased, a separate stratum of a representative of liberal professions formed. Laborers employed in the numerous opened industrial plants were a new social stratum in the structure of European societies —= just like the bourgeoisie and the intelligentsia. In the working‑class environment there were also divisions related to different material situations. The elite of this environment was qualified employees, on the margin there were lumpenproletariat and the unemployed. Industrialisation gave birth to a Europe‑wide movement of philanthropy, i.e. privately organized care for the poor.