Topic: Second Polish Republic – integration and reconstruction‑related problems

Target group

7th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

7th‑grade students of elementary school

XXIX. Second Polish Republic in 1921‑1939. Pupil:

1 ) characterizes the scale and consequences of wartime destruction and industrial heritage.

General aim of education

Students learn about the factors hindering the process of integration of the reborn Polish state, including the scale and consequences of war damages and the heritage of the partitions

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• about the implications of war damage and heritage of partitions;

• about the factors that made it difficult for the reborn Poland to integrate;

• about the economic, political and social phenomena that posed a challenge for the future governments of the Second Polish Republic.

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 lesson: *Skutki I wojny światowej*.

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 asks the students to perform ** Exercise 1 **. Students point to the problems indicated in the text by professor A. Garlicki. He also asks, in reference to the homework task, on which of the problems with shaping the borders did Dmowski focus? Asking the questions, the teacher remembers that they are to be formulated as the key questions.

Realization

1. The teacher asks the students to perform ** Exercise 2 ** (filling the table based on the information from the attached map). The teacher displays the graphics on a multimedia board. He reminds the students that their main task during the lesson is to analyze the factors hindering the process of integration of the reborn Polish state. The teacher encourages students to write down their observations on sticky notes.

2. Students perform ** Task 1, Task 2 and Task 3 **. Which of the social classes were the most numerous in the state and in what way could that influence political life.

3. Next, the teacher introduces the students to the national composition of the Second Polish Republic and the key agreements of the Polish Minority Treaty (and the opportunities it gave the minorities – to protest against Poland in the League of Nations forum) Then he asks the students to perform ** Task 4 and Task 5. ** The teacher again encourages the students to write down their insights on sticky notes. He makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and provides feedback.

4. The teacher asks the students to perform ** Task 6. ** After listening to the recordnig, students summarize the conditions in which the education of independent Poland was built. The students are wondering why the liquidation of illiteracy in Polish territories took time. The teacher takes care of providing feedback.

Summary

1. The students read out the examples of political, social and economic difficulties written on their sticky notes and stick them to the board. Then, together with the teacher, they wonder what criterion they can be organized with. Sticky cards on the board are organized according to agreed upon arrangements, maintaining the hierarchy of importance.

2. The teacher together with the students sums up the current course of classes.

3. 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: The students, based on the revised lesson and their own search in books and on the Internet, carry out Task 11 or Task 12 from the e‑textbook. They prepare a short written work or presentation.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Second Polish Republic – integration and reconstruction‑related problems

Polish lands were not equally developed, as they were functioning differently under three countries that partitioned Poland. They represented different levels of civilisational development being parts of three different partitions. It was essential to create a unified financial system, as each of the partitions had its own currency (Polish mark was introduced in 1919). The Republic of Poland had no uniform administrative or legal system. There were no trained public officials that could create bases of the Polish administration. In the first months of independence, the political fragmentation was significant. Moreover, there was no agreement regarding the final political form of the Polish country. Several public authorities were created. The Republic of Poland was a multinational country with a multi‑faith society which might have caused national and religious conflicts. Illiteracy was another major problem. A common obligatory education for children from 7 to 14 years of age was established by the Decree of 9 February 1919.