Topic: The government of experts and the first economic reforms

Target group

7th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XXVII. Europe and the world after World War I. Pupil:

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

XXX. Society and economy of the Second Polish Republic. Pupil:

3 ) assesses the economic achievements of the Second Polish Republic, especially the Gdynia, coal and Central Industrial District.

General aim of education

Students learn about the factors hindering the process of integration of the reborn Polish state, as well as the goals and effects of the reform of Władysław Grabski.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• explain what were the factors hindering the process of integration of the reborn Polish state;

• describe what were the goals and effects of the reform of Władysław Grabski;

• characterize what were the goals of the land reform and the construction of the port in Gdynia.

Methods/techniques

• activating

  • discussion.

• expository

  • talk.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

• exposing

  • exposition.

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 students to repeat the information regarding the arrangements of the Treaty of Versailles and other agreements regarding the borders of the Second Republic of Poland.

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 explains to the students that the aim of the lesson will be to prepare a metaplan: Economic rebuilding of the Polish state after regaining independence in 1918.

3. Students carry out Task 1 (they are considering war losses indicated by the Polish authorities) and Task 2 (the most important dates regarding the economic situation of Poland). The teacher also explains what the agriculture in Poland looked like, he displays the diagram in the e‑textbook. The students list the areas in which they think reforms were necessary.

Realization

1. The teacher divides the students into groups of 5‑6 people and distributes task packages (a list of assigned tasks, the same for each group). During the exercise, the teacher monitors students' work, provides help, and minds the time.

2. Students perform one by one (or share them in a group -- then share their results with the rest of the group) the following tasks: Tasks 3‑4 (compare current and modern banknotes and reflect on the decision to build a port in Gdynia), and then Exercises 1- 6, which concern the hyperinflation and decisions of Grabski's government at that time in Poland related to the recovery of the state's finances. The teacher provides feedback and checks the correctness of completed tasks..

3. During the exercise, the teacher takes care of providing feedback to the students. Students also use the resources posted on the Internet. Conclusions from the tasks are organized by dividing them into groups: concerning the situation of Poland before the Grabski reform (yellow cards); on Grabski's reform (green cards); concerning the government's actions following Grabski's reform (land reform, counteracting the effects of the customs war with Germany - blue cards). Students write on the sticky notes of the appropriate color.

4. The teacher displays / suspends the metaplan titled „The economic situation of the Polish state after regaining independence in 1918” and asks students: What was it like? Why was not it like it should be? How should it be?.

5. Students provide solutions, both written on sticky notes, and prepared under the influence of group discussions; then they paste them in the right places or write them on the board. The teacher takes care of providing feedback to the students in relation to the problem that the students have solved.

6. Students perform Exercise 7 - they look at an interactive illustration, study the state budget for 1925 and solve tasks. They discuss their conclusions from the group exercise. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and provides feedback.

Summary

1. The teacher chooses one student by random method and asks him or her to explain in own words the meaning of a given word or concept learned during the lesson.

2. 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 (not obligatory): Prepare a presentation about the Polish banknotes from the interwar period.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The government of experts and the first economic reforms

Subsequent governmental cabinets tried to stabilize the country's economic life. They managed to unify the taxation and revenue system only partially. In March of 1920, a uniform Polish mark was introduced across almost the entire area of the Second Polish Republic. The fiscal system was also unified. The government, trying to meet all obligations, printed money without having the funds to back it. This led to a collapse of the value of the Polish mark, and eventually the hiperinflation. On December 19th, 1923 the President decided to establish the so‑called government of experts equipped with special powers of attorney to undertake extra‑parliamentary activities. Władysław Grabski stood at the head of this government. He began the reforms with the introduction of budget savings. Taxation issues were also stabilized. A new issuing institution was established, i.e. a private Bank of Poland, which was responsible for the issuance of currency. In 1924, a new currency was introduced, which was zloty. One of the most important achievements of the Grabski government was the implementation of agricultural reform. In 1924, the Polish economy suffered losses as a result of the so‑called customs war with Germany. This motivated the Polish government to seek new markets for Polish goods and new trading partners. As a result of this, Poland managed to become economically independent from Germany. the customs war It also had an impact on the deterioration of relations with Gdansk. Due to this, the construction of the port in Gdynia was accelerated. At the end of April 1923, temporary naval base, temporary harbor and shelter for fishermen were opened. The initiator and instigator of the undertaking was engineer Tadeusz Wenda. Nevertheless, tremendous credit for the obtaining of funds for the construction of the port and the expansion of Gdynia goes to Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski. In 1926, Gdynia received the status of municipality.