Topic: Warsaw Uprising

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

8th‑grade students of elementary school

XXXIV. Poland under German and Soviet occupation. Pupil:

4) characterizes the political and military activities of the Polish underground state, including forms of resistance to the occupiers;

5) explains the causes and describes the consequences of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising and assesses the attitude of the Allies and the Soviet Union towards the uprising.

General aim of education

The students will learn about the course of the Warsaw Uprising.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• what reprisals Germans used against Poles;

• when and why the Warsaw Uprising broke out;

• what was the course of the Warsaw Uprising;

• effects of the uprising;

• assess the attitudes of Poles towards the Warsaw Uprising..

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 students recall the repression of the occupiers against the Polish population during World War II. They get acquainted with the song about the Warsaw Uprising „Pałacyk Michla” from the e‑textbook.

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. Referring to the homework assignment, the teacher asks students what forms of repression the occupiers used against Poles. He asks that the students list those aimed at residents of Warsaw.

3. Then he asks students what this behavior could lead to? How did Varsovians feel and what could they think about? If necessary, the teacher guides students to the feelings that could have accompanied the residents of the capital (desire to free the city, desire for revenge, etc.). Asking questions, he remembers to formulate them to be key questions.

Realization

1. The teacher briefly introduces the students to the situation of the summer of 1944 in Europe and in Poland. Students read out from the map (** Exercises 1 **) events of the Eastern and Western fronts, and then perform the exercises. Next, the teacher explains the meaning of the „Burza” plan and its assumed results and proceeds to discuss the causes of the Warsaw Uprising and the anticipated outcomes (approach of the Soviet army, short‑term struggles, etc.).

2. The teacher divides the students into 5 or 10 groups (there may be pairs) and assigns each group with a week of the history of insurgent fights (in case of 5 groups -- 2 weeks for each group). Students carry out ** Task 1 ** – on the basis of the insurgent calendar they list the most important information of this period (each of the groups) regarding areas of fights, victories, insurgent losses and fate of the civilian population. According to the homework – the song – the teacher asks when the events mentioned in it took place.

3. Students discuss in groups the most important, in their opinion, event of the period they were created. They list the groups participating in the battles (** Exercise 2 **), they get acquainted with the interactive illustration presenting the Monument of the Little Insurgent (** Task 2 **) and complete ** Exercise 3 **. The teacher provides the feedback to the students during the exercises and tasks.

4. The teacher complements the information about the outcomes of the Warsaw Uprising, explaining the extent of damage and sacrifices. Optionally, the teacher shows the students the trailer for the film „The City of Ruins” from the Warsaw Uprising Museum channel on YouTube.

Summary

1. The teacher sums up the lesson and asks students whether the outbreak of the uprising was the right decision? Was not it better to wait for the entry of the Soviet army?.

2. The teacher emphasizes that today the memory of the uprising is increasingly visible even in popular culture. Students listen to the song by Lao Che (** Exercise 4 **) and execute the task.

3. 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 evaluation of the teacher's work.

Homework

1. The teacher tasks willing students with homework: The collapse of the Warsaw Uprising was a great tragedy not only for the insurgents but also for the residents of the capital who had to leave their city and homes. Search on the Internet, what was their fate and what was happened to them?.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Warsaw Uprising

In 1944, the war was about to end. The Germans suffered defeated after defeat on the Eastern Front. The Red Army already entered the territories of pre‑war Poland. At the end of July, the Soviet troops approached Warsaw. Under the circumstances, the command of the Home Army decided to trigger an armed uprising in the city, to welcome Soviets as a host. For many months, young Varsovians have been preparing for this moment, actively participating in underground activities (Gray Ranks). It broke out on August 1 at 17:00 („W” Hour). Meanwhile, Stalin stopped the offensive. The Poles were forced to fight in loneliness against a heavily armed and better trained opponent. Their determination and the will to fight for a free capital meant that the fighting planned for a few days lasted over two months. The fights took place in districts: Wola, Stare Miasto or Czerniakow. In the first days of the uprising in Wola, German soldiers carried out slaughter of civilian population. The uprising lasted 63 days and ended with the total defeat of the Home Army. About 10,000 insurgents and 150,000‑200,000 civilians died in a hopeless fight. The Germans expelled the surviving people and teared down the city. The capital of Poland ceased to exist.