Lesson plan (English)
Topic: Nobles’ Democracy
Target group
6th‑grade students of elementary school
Core curriculum
VI class of elementary school
VII. Poland in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Pupil:
characterizes achievements in the field of internal politics (...) of Jagiellonians in the fifteenth century;
characterizes the development of the state monarchy and the rights of the nobility (development of noble privileges to the constitution nihil novi).
IX. „Golden Age” in Poland against the European background. Pupil:
puts in time and describes the most important events in the field of internal policy of the last Jagiellonians;
describes the model of Polish economic life in the 16th century, taking into account the economic activity of Polish nobility and the role of peasants;
General aim of education
Students learn about the political life of the nobility on the territory of the Commonwealth.
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
to characterize who the nobility were;
to describe how did the Polish Nobles’ Democracy develop;
to explain why did the kings confer privileges;
to define what were the sejmiks and the General Sejm, and what were their tasks;
to indicate where did the liberum veto principle come from.
Methods/techniques
activating
discussion.
expository
talk.
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
The teacher asks the students to find out who the noblemen were and how this state was formed.
Introduction
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.
Tthe teacher begins a discussion referring to the homework, asking who the noblemen were and what their duties to the king and the state were. Then he asks students what the state of the nobility was characterized by and whether there were differences among the members of this group. Students should know about the origin of the nobility from the knighthood and its duties to the king (defense of the country, etc.). They should also know that the nobility constituted about 10% of society and that among them were both very rich (magnates) and poor noblemen (gołota). Students carry ** Task 1 ** .
Realization
The teacher explains to students what were the privileges of the nobility and why did their widening take place. Students follow ** Task 2 **. Then the teacher asks, beginning the discussion, why would the king, having absolute power, give way to his subordinates, limiting his power?.
Students carry out ** Exercise 1 **. The students should pay attention to the responsibilities of each state . The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.
The teacher explains that the basis of noble's democracy, of which the Polish nobility was very proud, were the sejmiks (local parliaments), at which representatives to the general sejm were elected. Students carry out the **Task 3**. Then the teacher explains what these institutions were and what were their duties. The teacher introduces the concepts of a chamber of parliament, the senate, the principle of unanimity, *liberum veto*. Students carry out ** Exercise 2 **. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.
Summary
Summing up the lesson, the teacher shows the students the impact that privileges had on the peasantry and the burgess. He explains how their status changed and slowly declined. He admonishes that all of this led to the crisis and fall of the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century.
Students carry out Exercise 3. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.
Homework
The teacher tasks willing students with homework: Among the noblemen there were also those who understood the danger of certain privileges, and the magnate's abuse of their position to enlarge their wealth and empty the treasury. This movement was called the Executionist movement. Find out what their postulates were and what they demanded.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Przywilej – prawa nadawane szlachcie przez polskich władców od XIII do XVI wieku.
Pospolite ruszenie – powołanie pod broń całej zdolnej do walki ludności męskiej lub jej uprawnionej części. Członkowie pospolitego ruszenia sami musieli dbać o swoje uzbrojenie i ponosić za nie koszty. W Rzeczypospolitej podlegało ono rozkazom króla.
Sejmik ziemski – lokalne zgromadzenie zwoływane w Polsce od XIV wieku w każdym województwie. Zajmował się sprawami administracyjnymi i prawem.
Sejm walny – nazwa najwyższego organu przedstawicielskiego – parlamentu – najpierw w Królestwie Polskim, a od 1569 roku w Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodów, decydujące o ważnych sprawach w państwie. Składał się z dwóch izb – senatu i izby poselskiej oraz trzech stanów sejmujących króla, posłów i senatorów.
Demokracja szlachecka – panujący na ziemiach polskich system polityczny, gwarantujący stanowi szlacheckiemu prawo głosowania i decydowania o sprawach państwa. Był przykładem równości praw w stanie szlacheckim bez względu na pochodzenie, majątek czy zasługi szlachcica.
Liberum veto – zasada panujące na sejmach w dawnej Rzeczypospolitej dająca prawo zrywania i unieważniana podjętych na nich uchwał każdemu posłowi – przedstawicielowi szlachty.
Żupan – reprezentacyjna, często bogato zdobiona męska, długa szata wierzchnia. Popularna wśród polskiej szlachty w XVI i XVII wieku.
Szabla – jeden z rodzajów długiej broni siecznej. W Polsce pojawił się za panowania Stefana Batorego w XVI wieku.
Rokosz – bunt szlachty, jej zbrojne powstanie przeciwko królowi‑elektowi.
Konfederacja – w Rzeczypospolitej szlacheckiej związek szlachty, duchowieństwa lub miast mający na celu realizację określonych zadań politycznych lub obrony swoich interesów. Zwoływana była przez szlachtę m.in. w celu poparcia poczynań króla.
Szlachta – wyższy ze stanów społecznych wykształcony w XIV‑XV w. Przynależność do niej określało urodzenie i posiadanie nazwiska rodowego. Posiadała szereg przywilejów i łączyła się z obowiązkiem służby wojskowej.
Senat – w dawnej Rzeczypospolitej wyższa izba sejmu w skład której wchodzili ministrowie, wojewodowie, kasztelanowie i wyższe duchowieństwo.
Kontusz – rodzaj płaszcza lub kamizelki z rozciętymi od pachy do łokci rękawami.
Texts and recordings
Nobles’ Democracy
The fourteenth century saw the birth of a new social class – the nobility. It came into being as a derivation of the knight class. The umbrella term “nobility” captures the magnates, the middle‑tier and croft nobles, and landless nobles (gołota). Since the second half of the fourteenth century, especially during the rule of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the nobility gained ever more privileges. This state first obtained an advantage over the burgesses, and later over the clergy. In the end, the rulers were forced to allow the nobility’s participation in the legislative process – adopting laws and especially imposing taxes. Since the fifteenth century, the gatherings of nobility in every Voivodeship earned the name of “sejmiks”.
The gatherings of the monarch, the Senate and the representatives of the sejmiks were called the general Sejm. The first general Sejm took place in 1493 in Piotrków. The Sejm adopted the law, i.e. mainly imposed taxes, announced the more important changes to the law, and controlled the state’s decisions pertaining to its foreign policy. It was the Sejm’s task to declare war and make peace. Any gatherings of the nobility without the participation of the monarch could be viewed as a mutiny against him. This kind of gathering was known as rokosz. The gatherings of the nobility called to support the actions of the monarch were called “confederations”.
The Polish Sejm operated under the principle of unanimity. In order for a new law to be adopted, every member of the gathering had to give his consent. This meant that one envoy could prevent a law from being passed. This principle was known as the “liberum veto”, i.e. the principle of free voice.