Lesson plan (English)
Topic: Europe ancien régime
Target group
6th‑grade students of elementary school
Core curriculum
XII. Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Pupil:
1) characterizes, with the example of France, Louis XIV, the system of absolute monarchy;
4 ) characterizes the Enlightenment reforms introduced in Prussia, Russia and Austria.
General aim of education
The students explain the meaning of the phrase „ancien régime” and get acquainted with the Enlightenment reforms introduced in Prussia, Russia and Austria.
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
to explain the meaning of the phrase „ancient régime”;
to list the Enlightenment reforms in Prussia, Russia and Austria;
to compare reforms in Prussia, Russia and Austria.
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
Before the lesson, students repeat the knowledge about the absolute monarchy in France and refer to the subject of the lesson - ancien regime..
Introduction
The teacher gives the topic, the goals of the lesson in a language understandable for the student, and the criteria of success.
Realization
The teacher explains that the purpose of this part of the lesson will be to map the mental phenomenon that was enlightened absolutism. The introduction will be the doing exercises and tasks on the Internet and the preparation of preliminary notes.
Students start from Task 1. They listen to a broadcast about Katarzyna II and her image in Europe of the Enlightenment day.
Next, the teacher introduces students in the form of a talk about the reforms carried out in Russia, Prussia and Austria in the second half of the 18th century. The teacher he wonders which of them were of Enlightenment nature and what reasons were behind them. Students in pairs do Exercise 1, enlisting the implemented reforms to a specific state. While working, they discuss solutions.
Then, on one sheet of paper, they draw a mental map. The teacher makes sure that the tasks have been correctly completed and gives feedback.
Summary
The teacher assesses the work of student couples, paying attention to such elements as the substantive value of the work and its originality. Artistic qualities are not evaluated.
Students do Task 2 (if there is enough time). They analyze the French satirical engraving from the era.
The teacher gives students an evaluation questionnaire in which they evaluate their own work, colleagues.
Homework
The teacher sets homework (it is not an obligatory part of the scenario): Look for information about the life of the subjects and the situation of Russian society under the rule of Catherine II. Compare them with the situation in Prussia and Austria. Characterize the differences.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Absolutyzm oświecony – faza absolutyzmu w Europie w II połowie XVIII w.; rozwinął się w państwach, w których mieszczaństwo stanowiło znaczną siłę społeczną dążącą z poparciem tronu do zajęcia pozycji równej szlachcie; najpełniejszy kształt przybrał w Prusach, Austrii, w państwach skandynawskich; Rosja za panowania Katarzyny II przyjęła część idei absolutyzmu oświeconego, choć jej rzeczywiste zmiany ustrojowe nie były tak głębokie, jak w państwach niemieckich.
Ancien régime – (fr., ‘stary ustrój’, ‘dawny porządek’) nazwa absolutystycznego systemu społeczno‑politycznego, panującego w monarchicznych państwach Europy XVIII w., w szczególności we Francji; w czasie i po rewolucji francuskiej pojęcie to stało się synonimem rządów przedrewolucyjnych
Józefinizm – termin, określający politykę oświeconego absolutyzmu wobec Kościoła katolickiego w monarchii habsburskiej za panowania Marii Teresy i cesarza Józefa II
Poddaństwo osobiste – forma zależności społecznej, gospodarczej i prawnej ludności wiejskiej od właścicieli ziemskich (panów gruntowych)
Rewolucja francuska – rewolucja społeczna w latach 1789–99, w wyniku której zostały obalone monarchia absolutna i ustrój stanowy we Francji
Texts and recordings
Europe ancien régime
The absolutist socio‑political system existing in France from the 14th to the 18th century is called ancient régime. During the French Revolution, the phrase became a synonym for the pre‑revolutionary authorities. What was Europe ancient régime?
Between 1773‑1774 Russia was shocked with the greatest and the last so big national uprising. Catherine II won after long fights. The victory showed inefficiency of old internal structures of the state and the necessity of introducing reforms. The reformed administrative division, which survived until the 19th century, changes introduced in education and territorial expansion were the most durable element of the rule of Catherine II. Reforms consistent with the Enlightenment priorities were introduced also in Prussia. In 1763 a reorganization of education and general compulsory education was introduced. Intensive work on unification of law and jurisdiction in Hohenzollern monarchy was also started. Austria was ruled jointly by Maria Theresa, the heiress of the House of Habsburg, and her young son Joseph II, who became an emperor in 1765. They strengthened central power and limited privileges of estates and the Catholic Church.
Enlightened absolutism, personal serfdom, French revolution