Topic: The European Union

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

8th‑grade primary school student.

Core curriculum:

XII. International affairs.

The student:

2) lists the objectives of the European Union's operations; looks up information about the political biographies of the Founding Fathers of the European Union and of Polish citizens performing important functions in EU institutions.

The general aim of education:

The student has some basic knowledge on selected international issues.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• explains the long‑term and immediate objectives that brought about the creation of the European Union.

• explains what integration is and lists the fields in which countries integrate.

• presents the Founding Fathers of the European Union and their role in the EU's formation.

• presents the process of enlarging the European Communities (and the European Union) and of strengthening the integration.

• explains the two most important principles of the European Union: subsidiarity and solidarity.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences.

Teaching methods:

• discussion,

• drama,

• fishbone diagram,

• snowball method,

• WebQuest,

• teaching conversation using interactive scheme, interactive board, interactive exercises.

Forms of work:

• self‑learning,

• work in pairs,

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will analyse the most important issues related to the process of European integration.

2. The teacher asks the students to imagine that they are participants of the Congress of Europe in the Hague in 1948 – a congress that became a panel discussion on how to unite Europe. The students' task is to present arguments in favour of integration, taking into account the specific historical moment and the real political circumstances in Europe immediately after the second world war. The students can speak both on behalf of the societies of individual European countries and in general. The teacher informs the class that they will use a fishbone diagram and explains what it is, if necessary. The teacher draws a fish skeleton on the board. In the „head” of the fish, the teacher writes the exercise subject: „Causes of Western European integration after World War II”. The teacher sets a time limit for this task and appoints a moderator who will write down the students' ideas next to the main and smaller fish bones. At the end of the exercise, the teacher asks one of the students to summarize it.

Implementation:

1. The teacher asks the students to read a fragment of the Schuman's declaration contained in the abstract and in pairs to consider whether they can use this as a basis for completing the diagram they had created in the previous exercise. Willing/selected students present their suggestions. If necessary, the teacher corrects and completes the students' answers.

2. The teacher informs the students that they will use the snowball method in order to come up with a definition of the term “integration” and, if necessary, explains this method. First, each student writes the definition on a sheet of paper. Then the students form pairs and agree on one definition. In the next part of the exercise, the students form groups of four and more, and the procedure for coming up with a definition is repeated each time until the whole class agrees on one definition. This definition is then written on the board.

3. The teacher divides the class into four groups and assigns a different Founding Father of the European Union to each group: Robert Schuman, Jean Monnet, Konrad Adenauer and Alcide De Gasperi. The teacher informs the class that they will use the WebQuest method and explains it, if necessary. The students' task is to search the Internet for information about each of the Founding Fathers of the European Union:

• a few photos of the person which will be displayed on an interactive whiteboard during his presentation,

• the person's most important biographical information (especially the information that may have contributed to his pro‑integration approach),

• information on the views and proposals on how to unite Europe,

• the person’s greatest achievements in the field of European integration.

The students then select group moderators and writers and together they prepare a short speech by the Founding Father assigned to them (drama), in which he presents himself, his views, and his achievements. The task of the moderator is to ensure that each member of the group proposes something to be included in the speech at least twice. The writer writes down the group's speech.

The teacher specifies the amount of time that is given to complete the task.

4. When the time is up, the group representatives present the results of the group's work (as Founding Fathers). After each speech, the teacher asks a willing/selected student to briefly summarize the most important information about a given person.

5. The teacher asks the students to do Exercise 1 in pairs. Then the teacher asks willing/selected students to specify the groups of countries that joined the European Communities (EU) in the following years. After each group of countries, the teacher initiates a short discussion by asking the students:

• Why did these countries want to join the integration process?

• What were the benefits of more countries joining for the existing member states?

• Why did these countries join at this very moment (why not earlier)?

At the end of the exercise, the teacher asks a willing/selected student to summarise the exercise.

6. The teacher asks the students to explain the most important principles of the functioning of the European Union – the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity – which are contained in the abstract. The teacher asks the students how they understand these terms and how these principles are implemented. The teacher initiates a brief discussion on the importance of these principles for the process of European integration. At the end of the discussion, the teacher asks a willing/selected student to summarize it.

7. The teacher asks the students to complete the interactive board from Exercise 2 together. The teacher informs the students that their task will be to present information about the European integration on the basis of the abstract and other sources. At the end of the work, the teacher asks one student to summarise the task.

8. The teacher asks the students to solve Exercise 3 as a way to summarize the information from the previous task. The students discuss their answers with the teacher.

Summary:

1. At the end of the class, the teacher asks the students the following question: What do you think you still have to learn about the European integration to be satisfied with your knowledge and skills? What else would you like to know?

Willing/selected students share their opinions.

2. Homework proposal:

a. Study the „Three pillars of the European Union” interactive scheme and specify three concrete examples of the integration measures that the member states of the European Union had taken in each of the three pillars established by the Maastricht Treaty. In what way has each of these activities contributed to greater integration?

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The European Union

The term “integration” is derived from the Latin word “integrare”, which means “to merge”. Integration can take place between people, social groups, national minorities or states. After the second world war a number of organizations that integrate states in political, military and economic terms were created in Europe. The Western European states were first and foremost integrated within the European communities and – together with the United States and Canada – within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The European communities played the most important role in the process of economic integration of the Western European states.

Founding fathers

It is difficult to imagine the creation of European communities without the involvement of people who, with determination and perseverance, sought to build integration structures. People who contributed to the construction of a peaceful, united Europe after the second world war, are referred to as the founding fathers of a united Europe. These were, among others:

• Robert Schuman, French Minister of Foreign Affairs,

• Jean Monnet, French politician and economist,

• Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,

• Alcide De Gasperi, Prime Minister and MInister of Foreign Affairs of Italy.

European communities

The communities established in the 1950s – ECSC, EEC and Euratom – were the first ever international organizations of a supranational nature. The supranationality manifested itself above all in the possibility of creating legislation directly applicable in the member states.

Initially, the communities had six members. The economic benefits in the countries participating in the integration process have made other states interested in membership.

Currently, the European Union brings together 28 countries, and more states declare their willingness to join this organization. The official candidates for membership are Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Iceland, Serbia and Turkey.

From European Communities to the European Union

The successful process of economic integration within the communities has led to attempts to deepen political integration. As a result, on February 7, 1992, the Treaty on European Union was signed, called the Maastricht Treaty (from the name of the city in the Netherlands, where it was signed), which came into force on November 1, 1993.

The European Union was created on the basis of the Maastricht Treaty. It is worth noting that the European Union did not replace existing communities: ECSC, EEC, Euratom. It served as a way to deepen the integration process by including new issues, such as common foreign and security policy and judicial and police cooperation. The Treaty of Maastricht also changed the name of the European Economic Community to the European Community.

The Treaty of Maastricht established European citizenship, which complements national citizenship. Every citizen of a member state is also a citizen of the European Union.

The rules of functioning of the European Union

The member states of the European Union signed the Treaty of Lisbon on December 13, 2007, which came into force on December 1, 2009. On this basis, the competence of the European Community was taken over by the European Union, which became a single international organization and received legal personality.

The principle of subsidiarity

This principle means that the EU is only entitled to take action if the objectives cannot be achieved by the member states alone (central or local authorities). The European Union should not seek to replace member states, but complement their efforts to solve problems effectively. All measures and actions taken by the Union and the member states should be as close to the citizen as possible.

The principle of solidarity

This principle means that the member states of the European Union act jointly to implement the tasks enshrined in the treaties. It results in the obligation for member states to take measures to implement the EU law. States should refrain from actions that would hinder or jeopardize the Union's objectives. They should respect the interests of other member states.

The process of building European communities began in the 1950s. Over the next decades, not only the integration structures, but also the membership composition were changing. As a consequence, the European Union was created, which is not a state but has introduced its citizenship. There is no other international organization with such a wide legislative competence.