Topic: With Fire and Sword

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XI. The Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth and its neighbors in the 17th century. Student: 2) explains the reasons, goals and consequences of the uprising of Bohdan Chmielnicki in Ukraine;

General aim of education

The student will learn about the causes, course and consequences of Chmielnicki's uprising.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• who were the Cossacks;

• what was the situation of Cossacks in the 17th century;

• who was the head of the greatest Cossack rebellion;

• how the Polish‑Cossack conflict ended.

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. Students, using the resources of the Internet and other source materials, gather general information and curiosities regarding the thematic scope of the planned lesson.

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.

Realization

1. Reading the content of the abstract. The teacher uses the text for individual work or in pairs, according to the following steps: 1) a sketchy review of the text, 2) asking questions, 3) accurate reading, 4) a summary of individual parts of the text, 5) repeating the content or reading the entire text.

2. Students display interactive crosswords on the interactive board. The task of the others is to guess individual passwords. After each crossword, students assess the questions based on the technique of lights (whether they are clear, logically formulated). The teacher assesses questions in terms of language and provides feedback.

3. The teacher writes the word rise in the middle of the board, and then, using a mind map, he adds: coup, revolution, fight, dropping the yoke. After writing each expression he asks the students to explain, what they think the expression means. The willing/chosen students write their explanations on the mind map. The teacher corrects their answers if necessary.
   In the next stage of the class the teacher informs the students their task will be to find out Cossacks. He says that the students will work using a snowball method, and explains the method if necessary:
   The students write their own answers on pieces of paper together with justification for these answers. Then they compare their suggestions in pairs and write a new, joint list on a new piece of paper. The the students gather in fours and confront their ideas in a similar manner, creating another joint list of the solutions. Then the students form even larger groups, until the whole class has cooperated on finding a solution. As a result the students will jointly find out the solution to the problem. All the agreed ideas together with arguments are written on the board..

4. Students analyze the gallery of illustrations and execute Task 2. To answer the question, they can use Internet sources or other publications. The teacher checks the correctness of the answer and provides feedback to the students.

5. The teacher displays the map from Task 3. He reads out the task and, if necessary, helps student work out the answers.

6. Students in pairs solve the Exercise 1. The teacher checks if the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback to students.

Summary

1. The teacher asks: If there was going to be a test on the material we have covered today, what questions do you think would you have to answer?
   If the students do not manage to name all the most important questions, the teacher may complement their suggestions.

2. The teacher discusses the course of the lesson, indicates the strengths and weaknesses of students' work, thus giving them feedback.

Homework

1. Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

2. Make at home a note from the lesson, for example using the sketchnoting method.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

With Fire and Sword

Zaporizhia, called the ‘Wild Fields’ in the 17th century, is an area in southeastern Ukraine, which used to be inhabited by the Cossacks. These were often fugitives prosecuted by law, peasants seeking freedom, adventurous townspeople, or noblemen deprived of their property. They were led by an ataman.

The Polish king Sigismund II Augustus appreciated the combat value of the Cossacks, and issued the so‑called Cossack register. Registered Cossacks, in return for their service and struggle in defense of the Polish borders, were to receive pay. However, many of them found themselves outside the register which, among other things, led to revolts.

The biggest of them was the uprising which broke out in 1648 and was led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Taking advantage of the growing dissatisfaction among the Cossacks, he attacked Poland. He received help from the Tatars under the command of Tugay Bey, and together with them he won in the Battles of Zhovti Vody and Korsuń. Another defeat of the Poles happened in the Battle of Pyliavtsi. Khmelnytsky managed to reach Lviv and Zamość.

The breakthrough moment for the Poles was the heroic defense of Zbarazh under the command of Jeremi Wiśniowiecki. Next, the Polish army led by King John II Casimir defeated the Cossacks in the Battle of Berestechko. However, this did put an end to the conflict with the Cossacks. In 1654, by virtue of the Cossack‑Russian settlement in Pereyaslav, Ukraine came under the rule of the Tsar. This decision triggered a war between Poland and Russia. It was ended by the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, under which Ukraine was divided into the Polish part (on the right bank of the Dnieper River) and the Moscow part (on the left bank of the Dnieper River). Poland also lost Smolensk and Kiev.