Topic: White Man’s Burden - colonialism in the 19th century

Author of the script: Marcin Dyś

Target group

7th grade student of elementary school

Core curriculum

7th grade of elementary school

XXIII. Europe and the world in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries: Student:

3. explains the reasons, range and consequences of colonial expansion of European cities in the 19th century.

The general aim of education

Students learn about the meaning of colonies to European cities in the 19th century.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in foreign languages;

• learning to learn;

• social and civic competences.

Learning outcomes

Student:

• specifies which countries took part in geographical discoveries;

• describes what the gold rush was and its significance;

• explains what colonialism is and which countries took part in it;

• Characterises what the colonial policy was and what consequences it had.

Methods / techniques

• exposing methods: talk, explanations and comments from the teacher;

• programmed methods: using e‑textbook; using multimedia;

• problematic methods: activating methods: discussion;

• practical methods: exercises concerned, working with text, working with map.

Forms of work

• activity in pairs or in groups;

• individual activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• interactive whiteboard or traditional blackboard;

• tablets/computers;

• notebook and crayons/ felt‑tip pens.

Before classes

The teacher asks the students to recall which countries took part in colonial discoveries and held overseas territories since the 16th century.

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Introduction

1. The teacher explains the students the lesson objective and the criteria for success.

2. Referring to the homework, the teacher asks students when the great conquests and conquering new territories by the Europeans started. Then, the teacher asks why did the European countries wish to broaden their territory with the overseas countries that were located thousands of kilometers away? What was the purpose? Asking the questions, the teacher remembers to formulate them as key questions.

Realization

1. The teacher explains what colonialism was and why European countries competed with each other to gain as much territory as possible. The teacher explains its purpose – extending what they have already mentioned in the introduction – and what opportunities having a colony and other overseas territories offered.

2. The teacher explains that the process, which began at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, continued until the 20th century, and that other countries had been gaining imperial positions over the centuries. Students do Instruction 1, talking about changes in domination of specific countries in the world in the given century. They list the largest colonial empires at the beginning of the 19th century (Exercise 1), countries which lost this position at that time (Exercise 2) and the ones that broadened their territorial possession (Exercise 3). They indicate the new colonial country (Exercise 4) and the largest empire among them (Exercise 5) and the most intensively colonized continents at that time (Exercise 6). The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.

3. Then the teacher divides the students into 6 groups and assigns them the following countries (students can also draw them): 1 – Great Britain; 2 – France; 3 – Spain; 4 – Germany; 5 – Portugal; 6 – Belgium and the Netherlands. The task of the groups is to search the Internet for information about the colonies whose metropolises were the countries mentioned and to make a short presentation about them. They are supposed to include there information about: colonial properties, the main economic benefits that these lands brought (crops, raw materials, etc.), the purpose for which the particular colonies were used, and the most serious conflicts that occurred there.

4. Students read the content of an interactive diagram of the British colonial empire in 1886.

5. Students perform Exercise 7 concerning the result of colonization, and then present their works. The teacher takes care to provide the students with feedback when they do exercises and instructions. At this point, the teacher mentions the Berlin Conference of 1884/1885 and its importance for the history of Africa. The teacher points out that the colonial countries divided African territories, not respecting the population living there, the belonging of lands to the indigenous peoples, etc.

Summary:

1. At the end, the teacher summarizes the development of European colonies by displaying the map „The colonial world at the end of the 19th century” from Instruction 1.

2. The students do Exercise 8, choosing the correct terms referring to the colonial era.

3. The teacher assesses the students’ work during the lesson taking into account their contribution and involvement. For this purpose, the teacher can prepare an evaluation questionnaire both for self‑assessment and for the assessment of the teacher’s and other students’ work.

4. The teacher gives homework for volunteer students: Colonialists often thought that they would provide a civilisational mission to the conquered countries. However, most of them were not concerned with the needs, traditions or culture of the conquered lands. They were supposed to be profitable, and the conquered population was supposed to serve and work for the development of the metropolises and colonies. Think about the dark side of colonialism and the sins committed by the colonial countries.