Lesson plan (English)
Topic: Countries of people’s democracy
Target group
8th‑grade students of an elementary school
Core curriculum
XXXVI. World after World War II. Student:
explains the causes and consequences of the collapse of the anti‑Hitler coalition and describes the beginnings of the Cold War;
discusses the situation in the USSR and countries in its sphere of influence, including events in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968;
describes the most important cultural and social changes after the Second World War.
General aim of education
The student will learn about the countries of people's democracy.
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
how the communists took power in Central and Eastern Europe;
what ‘people’s democracy’ and countries of people’s democracy were;
who the communist leaders of the Eastern Bloc countries were;
when and where social and political riots against the authorities took place;
about the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 and the Prague Spring of 1968, and how these were suppressed.
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 review
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.
The teacher displays the map from Task 1. He reads out the task and, if necessary, helps student work out the answers.
On the basis of information presented on the timeline and news from available sources, students in pairs prepare a discussion on the conclusions of the investigation they carried out. They have to show causal relations among the events presented on the axis. Then the students present their discussions. Colleagues evaluate their work, taking into account the manner in which conclusions are presented and the clarity of justification.
The teacher together with the students sums up the current course of classes.
Students in pairs solve the Exercise 1. The teacher checks if the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback to students.
Students analyze the illustration and execute Task 3. 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.
Summary
The teacher asks the students questions:
What did you find important and interesting in class?
What was easy and what was difficult?
How can you use the knowledge and skills you have gained today?
Willing/selected students summarize the lesson
Homework
Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.
Write a short note about the topics covered in the lesson.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Demoludy – potoczne określenie krajów „demokracji ludowej” w bloku wschodnim. Były one podporządkowane ZSRS, a ich ustrój zmieniono na wzór radziecki. Określenie „demokracja ludowa” miało wskazywać na rzeczywistą władzę ludu.
Gospodarka planowana – system gospodarczy, w którym decyzje dotyczące produkcji i inwestycji podejmowane są przez władze centralne w postaci planów gospodarczych. Najczęściej występuje w okresie wojny oraz w krajach socjalistycznych. Jest przeciwieństwem wolnego rynku.
Nacjonalizacja – inaczej upaństwowienie, przejęcie przez państwo majątków, przedsiębiorstw i kapitału prywatnego.
Cenzura – kontrola i ograniczenie wolności słowa polegające na weryfikacji i przekazywaniu tylko zgodnych z punktem widzenia władzy informacji. Występuje najczęściej w krajach niedemokratycznych i w czasie konfliktu zbrojnego.
Represje – niesprawiedliwe kary nakładane przez państwo wobec obywateli lub prześladowania w formie odwetu na jakiejś grupie.
Rada Wzajemnej Pomocy Gospodarczej (RWPG) – międzynarodowa organizacja gospodarcza państw socjalistycznych istniejąca w latach 1949‑1991.
Układ Warszawski – sojusz polityczno‑wojskowy utworzony w 1955 r. przez blok wschodni. Dominującą rolą odgrywał w nim ZSRS. Oficjalnie miał charakter obronny, w rzeczywistością był odpowiedzią na rozszerzenie NATO o RFN i przeciwwagą dla zagrożenia z jego strony Paktu. Istniał do 1991 r.
Wysiedlenie – przymusowy nakaz opuszczenia miejsca zamieszkania. Często jest związany ze zmianami granic w wyników konfliktów.
Taktyka salami – potoczne określenie stopniowego eliminowania przedstawicieli partii opozycyjnych do komunistów oraz przejmowanie przez nich władzy. Odnosiła się do krajów demokracji ludowej.
Kominform – Biuro Informacyjne Partii Komunistycznych i Robotniczych; utworzone w 1947 r. w Szklarskiej Porębie celem „koordynowania walki z imperializmem” oraz wymiany doświadczeń między partiami komunistycznymi oraz wzajemna pomoc krajom demokracji ludowej.
Indoktrynacja – systematyczny proces wpajania społeczeństwu określonych treści i ideologii politycznych, religijnych lub społecznych. Wykorzystywano w tym celu propagandę w środkach masowego przekazu i systemie nauki szkolnej.
Praska Wiosna – okres politycznego odprężenia i liberalizacji w 1968 r. stłumiono przez inwazję wojsk Układu Warszawskiego.
Texts and recordings
Countries of people’s democracy
The new division of Europe, after the end of the Second World War, was the result of the arrangements made by the Big Three at inter‑allied conferences. Central and Eastern Europe found itself in the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. Its representatives, with the help of the Red Army, quickly began to make dependent and transform the countries of the region (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania) – the so‑called people’s democracies. This process was similar in all the countries. It began with the systematic liquidation of political opposition accused of conspiring and preparing for coups (salami tactics), followed by the holding of a fraudulent election, in which the communists gained full power, and then the adoption of a new constitution. In the meantime, the economy would be transformed (nationalization of industry, land reform) and all forms of resistance by any kind of opposition – gradually eliminated. Another common feature was the ubiquitous indoctrination of the society, repressions against the Church, and the monopoly of the authorities over information. In later years, also the required membership in the structures of Cominform (1947) as well as the common economic organization – Comecon (after 1949) and military organization – the Warsaw Pact (after 1955).
In the Eastern bloc, the only exceptions were Albania and Yugoslavia. Albania, after the communists took full power and succumbed to the will of the USSR, withdrew from the socialist economic and military arrangements in 1961 and became isolated from the world. In Yugoslavia, after Josip Broz Tito, a hero of the communist resistance movement, assumed full power, a conflict with Stalin ensued. Condemned and excluded from the communist structures, the country turned to Western countries, concluding economic agreements with them (the US and UK), which positively influenced its development. However, it remained a socialist state until its disintegration in the 1990s .
Despite the full power and subjugation of the societies of the Eastern bloc, there were many social protests and riots against their difficult economic situations, lack of basic freedoms, and the presence of the Red Army troops. These were brutally suppressed (Berlin 1953, Poland and Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia 1968).