Topic: The beauty and the ugliness of the late 19th century

Target group

7th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XXIII. Europe and the world in the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Pupil:

4 ) lists new political ideas and cultural phenomena, including the beginnings of mass culture and moral change.

31.3. identifies the most important inventions and discoveries of the nineteenth century and explains the economic and social consequences of their application

General aim of education

Students get acquainted with the most important inventions and discoveries of the 19th century in the field of medicine, hygiene and related sciences as well as social consequences of their application.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• characterize achievements in the field of medicine and hygiene in the nineteenth century;

• to perceive the social consequences of the development of medicine, hygiene and related disciplines;

• exchange the most important achievements of Polish and foreign scientists in these fields;

• to notice the relationship between hygiene and fashion.

Methods/techniques

• activating

  • discussion.

• expository

  • talk.

• exposing

  • film.

• 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

Before classes

1. The teacher asks to listen to the lecture in the e‑textbook on the doctor‑patient relationship in the 19th century. He asks students to familiarize a vocabulary describing the medics presented in the illustrations (pictures from the era). He also recommends reading the subsection: Karol Darwin i nowe spojrzenie na człowieka.

Introduction

1. The teacher explains the students the subject, purpose of the lesson and the criteria for success.

2. The teacher explains the students how the perception of man has changed (Darwin) and how the fight against diseases was undertaken in the 19th century. Explains to students what the epidemics of cholera have played in these struggles. Students do Task 1 - describe the figures of the medics immortalized in the paintings in the gallery.

Realization

1. The teacher divides the class into three groups of „experts”. Each of them together, using laptops (possibly a sheet of gray paper and colored pens), prepares a presentation on the progress of medicine, hygiene and related sciences in the nineteenth century based on foreign language materials on the Internet. Group I - using the teacher's guidance - collects information on the most important discoveries of European scientists: Robert Koch, Joseph Lister and Louis Pasteur. The teacher draws attention to the social effects of these discoveries. Group II - on the basis of Task 2 - students collect information about Polish scientists and their contribution to European and global science. Group III prepares to present information on the impact of hygiene progress on fashion and daily life. To this end they do Task 3 and Task 4 (based on the text and a drawing joke characterizing men's and women's fashion). The teacher provides feedback and checks the correctness of completed tasks..

2. While working on exercises and instructions, the teacher uses a method or a set of cards in three colors: green, yellow and red. Thanks to the cards, the students signal to the teacher if they have difficulties with carrying out orders (green - I'm doing great, yellow - I have doubts, red - please help).

3. After the time appointed by the teacher, representatives of particular groups present the results of their work to their colleagues.

Summary

1. The teacher sums up the lesson. Evaluates the work of groups, points to the achievements and possible mistakes of students. For this purpose, he may prepare an evaluation questionnaire for self‑assessment and evaluation of the teacher's work and other students.

2. Then he asks the whole class to see the postcard from 1912 and to do Exercise 1. Students justify their choice using the „expert” knowledge gained during the lesson, when preparing / viewing the presentation. The teacher listens, verifies the correctness of the answers / justifications.

Homework

1. The teacher sets homework (it is not an obligatory part of the script): he proposes to do exercise at home. The student arranges a puzzle and follows the story of John Singer's painting. They can use auxiliary questions. What did viewers see when visiting the famous Paris Salon in 1884? Are the hopes of a young artist - portrait contractors - for a brilliant career in Paris and subsequent orders fulfilled? Who was Madame X? How did the portrait change her life?.

2. Students interested in the subject can write a short essay titled „Lights and shadows of nineteenth‑century fashion”. For this purpose, they can use the time capsule (Task 8) of the e‑textbook, as well as information on the achievements of Sigmund Freud.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The beauty and the ugliness of the late 19th century

In the 19th century, there was a breakthrough in the field of medicine and hygiene. Surgical instruments became standard equipment and wounds were no longer touched with bare hand. The discovery of bacteria that cause tuberculosis and Cholera, made by the German physician Robert Koch, allowed to fight the epidemics of these diseases. The breakthrough, however, was the discovery that microbes are ubiquitous in the air. This was made possible by research carried out by the French chemist Louis Pasteur. Science owes him the groundbreaking discovery of the microorganisms responsible for fermentation and decay. Pasteur did not stop at theoretical considerations, but developed the world's first vaccines for rabies, anthrax and cholera.

In medical prophylaxis, the stethoscope and x‑ray radiography, discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm von Roentgen, started to be used. The public attitude to hygiene has changed. People began to notice the connection between obeying the rules of hygiene and health.

In 1859, the British botanist Charles Darwin announced his theory of evolution. It proclaimed that individual species in the animal world develop due to natural selection. By the end of the 19th century, the theory of the causes of mental illness became famous, the author of which was the Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. It was based on the assumption that man is primarily a biological being, which exposes him to conflict with culture and civilization.

The development of factory production of fabrics and tailoring accessories led to a significant reduction in production costs and clothing prices during the 19th century, thus also increasing its availability. Fashion, which until recently — because of the extremely high cost of outfits — could only yield to representatives of the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie, began to spread among the middle and lower strata of society. In the production of clothes, the utility, comfort and respect for rules of hygiene became increasingly important. However, this tendency was much faster reflected in the cut and styles of men's rather than women's clothing. It was not until the year 1900 that ready‑made clothing appeared on sale, and fashion for an athletic silhouette began to spread.