Title: The Age of Reason (or ‘an enlightened Europe’)

Lesson plan elaborated by: Katarzyna Maciejak

Topic:

The Age of Reason (or ‘an enlightened Europe’).

Target group:

1st‑grade students of a high school.

Core curriculum

I. Literary and cultural education.

1. Reading literary works. Student:

9) recognises the subject and issues of the texts learned and its relation to the programs of the literary era, social, historical, existential and aesthetic phenomena; he reflects on it;

2. Receipt of cultural texts. Student:

5) characterises the main philosophical trends and determines their influence on the culture of the era;

6) reads non‑literary texts of culture, using a code specific to a given field of art;

6) reads philosophical views contained in various works; ZR

II. Language education.

2. Differentiation of language. Student:

7) recognises the valuing vocabulary; distinguishes neutral vocabulary from the vocabulary with an emotional color, official from colloquial.

III. Creating statements.

1. Elements of rhetoric. Student:

1) formulates theses and arguments in oral and written speech using appropriate syntax structures;

6) understands what the logic and consistency of reasoning in argumentative statements are and uses them in his/her own texts;

7) distinguishes the discussion from the dispute and quarrels.

2. Speaking and writing. Student:

1) agrees with other people's views or polemicizes with them, substantively justifying their own opinion;

2) builds a statement in a conscious manner, with the knowledge of its language function, taking into account the purpose and the addressee, keeping the principles of rhetoric;

4) in accordance with standards - formulates questions, answers, evaluations, edits information, justifications, comments, a voice in the discussion;

10) in the interpretation presents a proposal to read the text, formulates arguments on the basis of the text and known contexts, including personal experience, and carries out a logical argument for the validation of formulated judgments.

IV. Self‑study. Student:

1. develops the ability of independent work, inter alia, by preparing various forms of presenting their own position;

2. organises information into the problematic whole by valuing it; synthesizes the learned content around the problem, topic, topic and uses it in your statements.

General aim of education

Students learn about Enlightenment ideological ideas.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Learning outcomes

Student:

• knows the time frame of the era and the most important historical events;

• defines the etymology of the name of the epoch;

• characterises the enlightened absolutism;

• considers the Enlightenment attitudes towards God and understands the differences between them (atheism, deism, theism);

• characterises the main philosophical current of the epoch and determines its influence on the culture of the era;

• justifies his opinion in the dispute about tolerance.

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;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. Students are looking for information about the French Revolution and the slogans: Freedom, equality, brotherhood!

Introduction

1. The teacher determines the purpose of the class. Together with students, sets the criteria for success.

2. Selected students report information prepared before the lesson. The students together with the teacher wonder what significance for the discussed events may have for social, political and cultural life. How can the slogans of the Great Revolution be implemented in practice?.

Realization

1. Students write their associations related to the enlightenment / enlightened words on the interactive board in the abstract. Discussing students' associations. During the lesson, participants should be able to add new words or phrases to the board.

2. Reading Kant's text „Odpowiedź na pytanie: Czym jest Oświecenie?” and explain what - according to the philosopher - is immaturity. They are also looking for synonyms that could replace this word.

3. The teacher begins a conversation about enlightened absolutism. He asks students about their knowledge of history about this political system. Asks questions, e.g.
   - What is the position of the king in this political system?
   - Do subjects have any privileges? What it comes from?
   Students write on the interactive board the pros and cons of the Enlightenment absolutism.

4. The teacher initiates a discussion: is enlightened absolutism a form of government that can be introduced nowadays? It is worth dividing students into two groups: supporters and opponents of this system.

5. Students get acquainted with the content of an interactive scheme presenting various attitudes towards God (theism, deism, atheism). Then they perform exercise 2, checking their understanding of these terms.

Summary

1. The teacher asks the chosen student to answer the question which achievements of the Enlightenment he considers to be the most important from the point of view of the contemporary man. The student should indicate and justify it so that the rest of the class can comment on it and supplement it.

Homework

1. Enlightenment gave us not only new ideas, but also inventions. Using the available sources, make a note about the three selected inventions of the Enlightenment day. Evaluate which one you consider the most important.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The Age of Reason (or ‘an enlightened Europe’)

Search for any information on the French Revolution and its motto: Liberty, equality, fraternity!

The Enlightenment followed the Baroque period. France is considered the motherland of the Enlightenment, where as early as in the 17th century (political, social, artistic) ideas emerged, which spread across Western Europe. The cultural centre of gravity shifted to the river Loire, thus forcing Italy to cease being Europe’s cultural hub.

The name enlightenment suggests that darkness prevailed beforehand. It also suggests that those who lived in the darkness could not „see” the real light. It finally suggests that the Europeans were doomed to such a fate in the Baroque period. So what does enlightenment mean? Immanuel Kant was one of the greatest philosophers from the Enlightenment who defined it.

Before the name enlightenment was eventually established, people from those times described the era in various ways, e.g. the age of reason.

A trend that originated in France, it engulfed almost the entire continent. It was also in France where the model of power known as – enlightened absolutism prevailed, which turned out to be of paramount importance in that era. It was a state system, where a king (emperor) ruled single‑handedly over the administration of the state, but at the same time granted certain liberties to the society, e.g. religious tolerance. The centralisation of power was accompanied by the expansion of the state apparatus, which fell under the authority of a ruler.

A Letter Concerning Toleration, published in 1689, by English philosopher John Locke heralded the era. Tolerance is one of the most important values of the Enlightenment. Locke claimed that forcing religion upon the people is pointless since nobody can truly believe when ordered to do so.

Three different attitudes towards God's existence emerged in the Enlightenment. Study them by reading the information in the following picture.