Lesson plan (English)
Topic: The foreign policy of the Second Republic of Poland 1922‑1936
Target group
7th‑grade students of elementary school
Core curriculum
7th‑grade students of elementary school.
5) the student presents the main directions of the foreign policy of the Second Polish Republic (system of alliances and the policy of balance).
General aim of education
Students get acquainted with the main directions of foreign policy of the Second Polish Republic (system of alliances and the policy of balance)
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
to list the most important international agreements concerning Poland in 1922–1936 were;
to characterize the international situation of Poland in 1922–1936 was;
to describe the achievements and mistakes of the Polish foreign policy during that period were.
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
The teacher asks the students to read the Introduction to the lesson and execute Task 1‑4 (the students refer to the guidelines for Polish foreign policy outlined in the texts).
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.
The teacher discusses the conclusions from students' homework.
Realization
The teacher asks the students to absorb the information necessary to conduct the SWOT analysis on the lesson's subject.
The teacher briefly introduces the students to the international situation of Poland in the 1920s. He draws their attention to the issue of the alliance with France and Romania, a concordat with the Vatican and the Treaties of Rapallo and Locarno. Students carry out Task 1, Exercise 1, referring to the Rapallo Treaties and Germany's failure to uphold the border with Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Next, the teacher moves to the period after the May Coup, and discusses the main directions of foreign policy under the rule of Józef Piłsudski. He presents the origin of the policy of balance and the attitude of Poland towards the League of Nations (termination of the minority treaty in 1934). Students carry out Task 2. They listen to the recording and write down the most important conclusions. They perform Exercise 2 (they analyze the map and refer to the relations of the Second Polish Republic with its neighbors) and Exercises 3 and 4 related to Polish foreign policy. The teacher makes sure that the tasks have been correctly completed and provides feedback.
Students – in groups of at least two (the more the groups, the better involvement in the task is) - carry out a SWOT analysis. To this end, they execute Task 3. In the table, they put the appropriate wording in the correct spots.
Summary
After the exercise, the selected members of each group present the results of their work to the class. At the end, the teacher asks the students to work out a common position on the issues.
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
The teacher tasks willing students with homework: Students prepare a presentation about Józef Beck. They try to put together different opinions about his diplomatic activity.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Koncepcja „Międzymorza” – federacyjna propozycja Piłsudskiego, zmierzająca do powstania sojuszu łączącego kraje między Morzem Bałtyckim i Morzem Czarnym.
Pakt antykominternowski – układ zawarty w listopadzie 1936 w Berlinie przez Niemcy (III Rzeszę) i Japonię pod hasłem walki z Międzynarodówką Komunistyczną (Kominternem)
Pakt wschodni – (nazywane też wschodnie Locarno – według tego pomysłu Polska, Niemcy, ZSRS i Czechosłowacja oraz kraje bałtyckie miałyby oficjalnie uznać swoje granice, zapewnić sobie pomoc w wypadku agresji, a także wszystkie państwa obiecałyby nie udzielać wsparcia agresorowi. Wzajemne animozje ewentualnych sygnatariuszy, niechęć Niemiec oraz obawy Polski, że ZSRR stanie się dominującym sojusznikiem francuskim w Europie Środkowo‑Wschodniej, unicestwiły ideę paktu.
traktaty lockarneńskie – międzynarodowe porozumienia opracowane i parafowane w X 1925 na konferencji w Locarno, z udziałem Belgii, Francji, Niemiec, Wielkiej Brytanii i Włoch (Czechosłowacja i Polska jedynie asystowały obradom), podpisane 1 XII 1925 w Londynie;
Układ w Rapallo – umowa międzynarodowa zawarta w kwietniu 1922 pomiędzy Republiką Weimarską a Rosją Sowiecką we włoskim mieście Rapallo.
Texts and recordings
The foreign policy of the Second Republic of Poland 1922‑1936
After regaining independence, Poland tried to carry out a policy of supporting national groups living in the East to hit USSR. There were also efforts to create the Intermarium. It was proposed by Józef Piłsudski and its objective was to form an alliance of countries situated between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. The relations with Lithuania were determined by the issue of the occupation of the Vilnius area, and with Czechoslovakia – by the dispute about Zaolzie. Poland had friendly relations only with Latvia and Romania. The Republic of Poland would like to see France as a major political ally. In the mid‑1920s, the alliance with France weakened after Paris signed a treaty, which was not favourable to Poland, in Locarno, in 1925. Not a believer in collective solutions in international politics, Piłsudski arrived at a conclusion that the best idea was to pursue a policy of keeping equal distances (or balance) from both Moscow and Berlin. In 1932, the Soviet–Polish Non‑Aggression Pact was signed in Moscow. The German‑Polish Declaration on Non‑Aggression in Mutual Relations was signed in 1934.