Lesson plan (English)

Title: Mother's will is sacred

Lesson plan elaborated by: Magdalena Trysińska

Topic:

Was it easier or harder in the old days?

Target group

6th‑grade students of an eight‑year elementary school.

Core curriculum

I. Literary and cultural education.

1. Reading literary works. Student:

1) discusses elements of the presented world, distinguishes poetic images in poetry;

7) discusses plot events, determines the order of events and understands their interdependence

9) characterizes the lyrical subject, the narrator and the characters in the works read;

10) distinguishes between the first‑person and third‑person narratives and indicates their functions in the work;

11) indicates the main and supporting characters in the work and determines their traits;

12) defines the theme and topic of the work;

16) defines the experiences of the literary characters and compares them with his/her own;

17) presents his/her own understanding of the work and justifies it;

19) expresses his/her own opinion about characters and events;

2. Reception of cultural texts. Student:

2) searches for information that is directly or indirectly expressed in the text;

3) determines the theme and the main thought of the text.

III. Creation of utterances.

1. Elements of the rhetoric. Student:

1) participates in a conversation on a given topic (...);

2. Speaking and writing. Student:

4) takes notes;

5) discusses the text he/she has read.

9) uses his/her language knowledge in his/her expressions.

IV. Self‑study. Student:

1) perfects reading quietly and aloud;

3) uses the information contained in various sources, collects information, selects information;

5) uses general dictionaries of Polish language, including special dictionaries, and a glossary of literary terms.

The general aim of education

Students search for information in the literary text and they practice the ability to read and analyse the text.

Key competences

communication in the mother tongue;
communication in foreign languages;
learning to learn;
social and civic competences.

Learning objectives

Student:

characterises the main character of the text “Małgosia contra Małgosia”;
distinguishes between first‑person and third‑person narration;
searches for the necessary information in the text;
describes the customs prevailing in Poland in the 18th century;
names the heroine's experience and compares them with his/her own.

Teaching methods/techniques

problematic: directed conversation, discussion;
programmed: using the computer, using an e‑textbook;
practical: exercises concerned, working with text.

Forms of work

individual activity;
collective activity;
activity in groups.

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Before classes

1. At home, students read the text “Małgosia contra Małgosia” by Ewa Nowacka in the e‑texbook. They pay attention to the incomprehensible words.

2. The teacher chooses a student or a group of students who will prepare the illustration material for the lesson. These are to be pictures depicting Polish costumes and customs from the 17th / 18th centuries – together, there should be 6‑10 examples to work in groups.

Introduction

1. The teacher defines the purpose of the course and gives students the criteria for success.

2. Checking the knowledge and understanding of the literary text. The teacher asks students questions about the text, e.g.

When and where is the action of Ewa Nowacka's novel taking place?
Who is the main character of the fragment?
Who is talking about events?
Why did Małgosia want to „wake up from sleep” at all costs?

Realization

1. The indication of the text narrator (exercise 3). Explanation and discussion around the definition of a concrete first person narrator in the abstract. The students give arguments based on the text confirming that it is a person directly involved in the events, speaking in the first person who is not omniscient or omnipresent (exercise 4).

2. Work in groups. The teacher divides the class into teams. Each group assigns one illustration prepared before class by colleagues. Students' task will be to prepare a description of illustrations in English in first person singular, as if the participant in the presented events or scenes told about it. Each group should be able to use a large Polish‑English dictionary.

3. Presentation of illustrations and their descriptions. A brief overview of what we learned about life in a given era?

4. The customs of the era described by the narrator. Work with the text, exercises 5, 6, 7 and 8. The teacher controls the correctness of the answers and gives feedback.

5. The teacher asks students to express their opinion on the customs prevailing in the 17th / 18th centuries (based on exercises 9 and 10 in the abstract). Free expression of students.

Summary

The teacher asks questions prompting students to summarize, e.g.

What features does the concrete first person narrator have?
Why it was so difficult for Małgosia to get used to the realities of life in old times?
Would Małgosia, who lived every day in the 17th century, have difficulties in adjusting to life in modern times? Why?

Homework

Write a short story in which you will talk about Małgosia's behaviour from the perspective of the chosen hero from the novel by Ewa Nowacka. Use first‑person narrative.

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