Topic: Military technology. Modernisation transformations.

Target group

7th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XXV. First World War. Pupil:

4) characterizes technical progress during World War I;

5) describes the revolution and civil war in Russia.

General aim of education

Students learn about new technical measures implemented in the course of World War I and the negative and positive effects of technical modernization during World War I.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• about the most important combat assets at a time of World War I;

• to point negative and positive effects of technology modernisation developed for the purposes of war;

• about differences in the economic level and the industrial production level of the countries involved in the war.

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 overview

Before classes

1. The teacher asks students to watch the e‑textbook film of prof. dr hab. Andrzej Chwalba talking about arming during the World War I.

Introduction

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

2. The teacher talks with students about new types of weapons. Supplements information. He asks students questions that they will try to answer in the course of the lesson: Has modernization of military equipment and techniques accelerated the end of the war?.

Realization

1. The teacher asks students to do Exercise 1 and analyze the war expenditures of individual countries. He checks the correctness of the answer, comments on the students' choices. Explains the students the relationship between the duration of the war and the fiscal actions of governments. He gives examples. He explains that the fact that governments issued loans and effectively collected taxes for war purposes, meant that the war could last longer. Together with students, they evaluate and compare the financial commitment of states.

2. Students pay attention to the negative aspects of the modernization of warfare equipment and techniques. They do Exercise 2. Then, in pairs, they look at the photographs from Task 1 and present their conclusions. The teacher complements them, telling about the reasons for engaging societies in co‑financing the war, as well as the difficulties caused by the activities of the army, food problems, requisitions, etc..

3. The teacher goes into positive aspects of the modernization of the war era. He tells that the improvements that were then applied on the battlefield, later served for peaceful purposes, especially in the field of communication. Thanks to this, in the post‑war period, the car and radio became popular. Then the students do Exercise 3. They listen to the program and note in the notebooks information about medical discoveries from the World War I, which reduced the mortality of soldiers.

4. The teacher takes care of the feedback provided to the students during solving exercises and executing tasks.

Summary

1. The teacher divides the students into two groups and asks them to think about two issues. Group 1: The modern war required more patience than courage from the soldier, as one of the Poles who took part in it warned. Justify this statement. Group 2: Think about why human skills, bravery and persistence remain important despite the use of advanced technology.

2. Students present the results of their thoughts on the lesson or write them in the form of short written statements at home.

3. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare an evaluation questionnaire for self‑assessment and evaluation of the teacher's work and other students.

Homework

1. The teacher sets homework (it is not an obligatory part of the script): prepare a presentation on the uniforms of soldiers participating in the World War I. What changes were made to it in the course of the war? Refer to the formulation that the war administration was displaying more and more pragmatism. What did it relied on?.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Military technology. Modernisation transformations.

The war staff of European countries had developed plans of military actions. However, they did not predict that by equipping their armies with modern cannons and machine guns of different types, they would “push” them into the trenches for years, from which it will be impossible to get away under artillery fire of the enemy. Old‑style fighting, in tight formation of the soldiers became impossible. Difficulties in breaking the deadlock of trench and determination in striving to win, resulted in looking for new, more effective than the artillery, means of mass killing of the enemies. It led to the introduction of deadly nerve gases. Mobilization of a total character (without looking back at the well‑being of their own societies) was a result of an exponentially growing number of victims. That is why, the end of the war depended not on the old‑style diplomacy anymore, yet total defeat of the enemy. Eventually, it was the industrial potential, as well as social resources and mental strength of the fighting parties, that turned out to be more important than technological inventions. Only the fighting party which had the biggest military forces and equally strong industrial and technical background could win.