Lesson plan (English)
Topic: How to solve them? Problems in modern Poland
Target group
8th‑grade students of elementary school
Core curriculum
Civic studies
IX. Participation of citizens in public life - civil society. Pupil:
5) justifies the need to comply with ethical principles in public life; he recognizes the symptoms of breaking them and gives the results of such actions.
X. Mass media. Pupil:
2) finds in the media messages on the indicated topic; distinguishes information about facts from comments and opinions; explains what the integrity of journalists should be;
5) demonstrates the importance of public opinion; finds public opinion messages on the Internet and reads and interprets simple results of such research.
History
XLI. The birth of the Third Polish Republic. Pupil:
2. characterizes socio‑political, economic and cultural changes of the 1990s;
3. explains the causes of social tensions.
General aim of education
Students learn about the most important problems of contemporary Poland
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
to list what problems contemporary Poland and its citizens have;
to explain what emigration is and why Poles are still leaving the country;
to explain how to analyze problems and look for methods to solve them.
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
Students should recall what were the most important problems of Poland and Poles before 1989.
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.
Referring to the homework task, the teacher asks the students what problems did the People's Poland have. Then he asks whether they still exist or whether they have changed.
Realization
To help the students analyze the problems of the PRL and contemporary Poland, the teacher shows them the interactive board (**Task 1**) on which he puts students' answers, supplementing them with his knowledge. He divides them into: PRL problems, RP problems..
Students together with the teacher analyze the board. The problems of modern Poland should include: poverty, unemployment, emigration of Poles, corruption, low birth rate, road safety (road accidents), lack of respect for the law. The teacher draws attention and explains the differences in problems between the „two” Polands, for example unemployment, which only theoretically did not exist before 1989, being hidden by the authorities.
Students are divided into groups and each group receives (randomly) one of today's problems. The number of groups and problems is up to the teacher. Then their task is to create a metaplan according to the formula: How is it? How it should be? Why its not how it should be? Ideas for a solution.
Students analyze their answers and discuss solutions that will help solve these problems. The teacher takes care of the feedback provided to the students during the exercises.
Summary
To summarize the lesson, the teacher focuses on the subject of Poles leaving the country. He explains the reasons for the emmigration to students and complements students' statements. This problem may not be a part of the previous group exercise, so that it can be presented in a wider sense by the teacher. Students get acquainted with the information and the map in **Task 2**, and then execute **Exercise 1**, matching the definitions to the types of unemployment.
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: One of the most serious problems of modern society is the problem of corruption. Consider what consequences it brings to society, the state and the economy.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Konstytucja – inaczej zwana ustawą zasadniczą. Jest to akt prawny, który najczęściej jest najważniejszym i najwyższym dokumentem stanowiącym prawo w państwie.
Emigracja – wyjazd, opuszczenie kraju na jakiś czas lub na stałe, może być dobrowolna lub przymusowa.
Korupcja – negatywne zjawisko w życiu społecznym, którego celem jest uzyskanie osobistych korzyści wykorzystując swoją pozycję, wpływy lub stanowisko. Prowadzi do marnotrawienia środków publicznych, pozbawia obywateli poczucia bezpieczeństwa i hamuje rozwój kraju.
Nepotyzm – faworyzowanie członków własnej rodziny lub znajomych przy obsadzaniu stanowisk. Najczęściej wiąże się również z brakiem wymaganych kwalifikacji.
Kumoterstwo – wzajemne popieranie się ludzi związanych z własnym środowiskiem, grupą i więzami towarzyskim w celu osiągnięcia pozycji społecznej lub korzyści materialnych, opierające się nie ma umiejętnościach i kwalifikacjach, a na fakcie znajomości.
Bezrobocie – dosłownie brak pracy, zjawisko polegające na braku zatrudnienia przez grupę ludzi posiadających kwalifikację i zdolności do jej wykonywania, a pragnących ją znaleźć.
Patriotyzm – umiłowanie ojczyzny, postawa uznająca ojczyznę za jedną z najważniejszych wartości człowieka oraz szacunek dla kultury, historii i dziedzictwa narodowego.
Texts and recordings
How to solve them? Problems in modern Poland
Modern Poland is troubled with many political, economic and social issues. They include: poverty, unemployment, emigration (millions of young Poles have already left the country to look for better jobs), low birth rate (fewer and fewer Poles decide to have children), corruption, waste of public resources by the authorities, imbalanced development of the country (big cities develop much faster than smaller towns and the countryside) and huge debt of the country and local authorities. The political scene is divided and in conflict.