Lesson plan (English)
Topic: Social mosaic of Poland of the late Middle Ages
Target group
6th‑grade students of elementary school
Core curriculum
IX. „Golden Age” in Poland on the European background:
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
The student will learn about the social mosaic of Poland in the late Middle Ages.
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
how the gentry was formed;
how the bourgeoisie changed;
what economic changes occurred in Europe at the turn of the 14th and 15th century;
why the manorial and serfdom economy developed in Poland;
what the gentry democracy in Poland was about.
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
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 plays the recording of the abstract. Every now and then he stops it, asking the students to tell in their own words what they have just heard. This way, students practice listening comprehension.
Realization
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.
Students carry out Task 1. They become familiar with the timeline of passing further privileges and reflect on the effects that could have had on the state.
Work with text. The teacher asks students to read the given fragment of the abstract and try to remember its content. Then the participants, working in pairs, ask each other about the knowledge of the fragment.
Students in pairs solve the Exercise 1. The teacher checks if the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback to students.
Students in pairs solve the Exercise 2.
Students, working individually or in pairs, carry out interactive exercises to check and consolidate knowledge learned during the lesson.
Selected people discuss the correct solutions for interactive exercises.
The teacher completes or straightens the statements of the proteges.Students in pairs solve the Exercise 3.
Students perform exercises and commands. The teacher complements them with a historical context, providing students with the necessary information. Checks if the tasks have been correctly completed and gives feedback to students.
Summary
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.The teacher briefly presents the most important issues discussed in class. He answers the additional questions of the proteges and explains all their doubts. Students complete notes.
Homework
Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.
Prepare 5 questions about the area that could be found on the test of the lesson.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Przywilej – prawa nadawane przez władcę określonej grupie społecznej (szlachcie, duchowieństwu) obowiązujące na danym terenie lub w całym kraju.
Ratusz – reprezentacyjny budynek będący siedzibą władz miejskich, mieszczący się najczęściej w centrum miasta.
Szlachta – wyższy ze stanów społecznych wykształcony w XIV‑XV w. Przynależność do niej określało urodzenie i posiadanie nazwiska rodowego. Posiadała szereg przywilejów i łączyły się z obowiązkiem służby wojskowej.
Cech – związek zawodowo‑społeczny skupiający rzemieślników wykonujących ten sam zawód w danym mieście.
Partacz – w średniowieczu rzemieślnik nie należący do cechu, mimo jego istnienia. Prowadzili oni swoje warsztaty nielegalnie, bez nadzoru cechu, sprzedając najczęściej wyroby gorszej jakości, ale po niższej cenie.
Folwark – duże gospodarstwo rolne, którego celem była masowa uprawa zboża przeznaczonego na sprzedaż. Upowszechnił się w XVI wieku. Wykorzystywano w nim pańszczyźnianą pracę chłopów. Kmieć – peasant – zamożny chłop posiadający własną chatę i pole.
Czynsz – w okresie feudalizmu stałe świadczenie (opłata) wnoszone przez chłopów na rzecz właściciela gruntów w zamian za ich użytkowanie.
Pańszczyzna – forma renty feudalnej (świadczenia chłopów na rzecz swoich panów) polegająca na obowiązkowej i bezpłatnej pracy na gruntach należących do pana (właściciela).
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.
Możni, możnowładcy – członkowie zamożnego rodu, elity mający wpływ na rządy kraju. W średniowiecznym społeczeństwie była najwyższą warstwą społeczną.
Demokracja szlachecka – panujący na ziemiach polskich od końca XV w. 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.
Texts and recordings
Social mosaic of Poland of the late Middle Ages
Just like in Western Europe, Polish society at the end of the Middle Ages was divided into classes. One difference, however, was a specific society formed in the Kingdom of Poland at the end of the 15th century, having a very strong political and economic position of the gentry and other social groups subordinated to it. It was formed as a result of different economic changes (manorial and serfdom economy), ethnic diversity of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Poland and the unique position of the upper social class.
The knights and the mighty, who became a gentry
class over time, were at the top. Their obligation to defend the country and their right to elect an heir to the throne made successive rulers grant them numerous privileges – special powers. It made them a unique social group as the only one holding political rights. Consequently, an unprecedented state system, known as the gentry democracy, was formed at the turn of the 15th century.
The Polish bourgeoisie was also different from that in Western Europe. No political ambitions and gentry privileges, which were granted by successive rulers, contributed to the gradual marginalisation of its legal position. As a result, the bourgeoisie could not become the knights (and the gentry later) and had no influence on the country's political life, being responsible for only local affairs regarding the current functioning of towns.
The position of the next class represented by villagers was closely related to processes taking place in the state. As a result of economic (increase in grain prices) and political changes (dependence of peasants upon their lords), the {rent} paid by peasants was replaced by serfdom, contributing to the development of the manorial and serfdom system based on work on the land of owners as a form of rent. Later, it became a characteristic element of the native economy until the fall of the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century.