Lesson plan (English)
Topic: What Autumn of the Middle Ages?
Target group
7th‑grade students of elementary school
Core curriculum
III. Medieval Europe. Pupil:
3. explains the causes and consequences of the split in the Church in the eleventh century and describes the relationship between the imperial and papal authorities.
IV. Society and culture of medieval Europe. Pupil:
1. presents the institutions of the fiefdom system, explains the concept of state and characterizes social divisions in the Middle Ages.
General aim of education
Students will learn about the situation of Poland during the district breakdown.
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
what the term ‘Autumn of the Middle Ages’ means;
why the position and importance of popes and emperors changed;
about the fate of the church in the last centuries of the Middle Ages;
how the perception of the state and nation by the inhabitants of medieval Europe changed;
why new trends and ideas came to the fore, which led to a new era – the Renaissance.
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
Introduction
The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.
The teacher plays the recording of the abstract. Every now and then he stops it, asking the students to tell in their own words what they have just heard. This way, students practice listening comprehension.
Realization
Reading the content of the abstract. The teacher uses the text for individual work or in pairs, according to the following steps: 1) a sketchy review of the text, 2) asking questions, 3) accurate reading, 4) a summary of individual parts of the text, 5) repeating the content or reading the entire text.
Work with literary text. Students get acquainted with the poem in the abstract. They pay attention to the time and place of the action and the type of narration.
SWOT analysis. The teacher divides the class into four groups and informs that the task of each of them will be to carry out a SWOT analysis of a certain situation. The teacher describes the students the problem situation and the idea of solving the problem. Then he or she asks students to prepare an answer, what advantages and disadvantages would such a solution have. What chances and risks would it bring?
After completing the task, the students present their analyzes and discuss them with the teacher.The teacher together with the students sums up the current course of classes.
Students analyze the illustrations and execute Exercise 2, Exercise 3, Exercise 4, Exercise 5, Exercise 6, Exercise 7 and Exercise 8. To answer the questions, they can use Internet sources or other publications. The teacher checks the correctness of the answer and provides feedback to the students.
Students perform exercises and commands. The teacher complements them with a historical context, providing students with the necessary information. Checks if the tasks have been correctly completed and gives feedback to students.
Summary
The teacher asks a willing student to summarize the lesson from his point of view. He asks other students if they would like to add anything to their colleague's statements.
The teacher asks: If there was going to be a test on the material we have covered today, what questions do you think would you have to answer?
If the students do not manage to name all the most important questions, the teacher may complement their suggestions.
Homework
Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.
Students solve exercises that were not completed during the lesson.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Jesień średniowiecza – potoczne określenie ostatnich wieków epoki średniowiecza (XIV‑XV w.) wprowadzone przez holenderskiego historyka Johana Huizinga na początku XX wieku.
Cesarz – najwyższy tytuł panującego władcy, którego ranga jest wyższa od króla.
Monarchia – forma rządów oparta na władzy stojącego na czele państwa monarchy (króla, cesarza itp.).
Dynastia – ród, z którego pochodzą panujący władcy, np. królowie. Dynastie uznaje się za panującą jeśli co najmniej jej dwaj przedstawiciele panują bezpośrednio po sobie lub z niewielkimi przerwami.
Sobór – zebranie biskupów Kościoła katolickiego pod przewodnictwem papieża mające na celu ustanowienie nowych praw kościelnych i uregulowanie doktryny wiary.
Schizma – rozdział, podział między wyznawcami jednej religii. W średniowieczu doszło do wielkiej schizmy wschodniej (rozłam na Kościół wschodni i zachodni) zapoczątkowanej w 1054 r. i wielkiej schizmy zachodniej z lat 1378‑1417 (podział w łonie Kościoła zachodniego).
Stan – w feudalizmie grupa społeczna posiadająca ustalone prawa i obowiązki. Każdy ze stanów spełniał inne funkcje społeczne i ekonomiczne.
Szlachta – wyższy ze stanów społecznych wykształcony w XIV‑XV w. Przynależność do niej określało urodzenie i posiadanie nazwiska rodowego. Posiadała szereg przywilejów i łączyła się z obowiązkiem służby wojskowej.
Sukcesja – zasada przekazywania, dziedziczenia władzy monarszej następcy w przypadku śmierci, abdykacji lub innych okolicznościach.
Elekcja – wybór poprzez głosowanie na wysokie stanowisko. W dawnej Polsce oznaczała wybór króla poprzez szlachtę.
Sejm walny – nazwa najwyższego organu przedstawicielskiego – parlamentu – najpierw w Królestwie Polskim, a od 1569 roku w Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodów, decydujące o ważnych sprawach w państwie. Składał się z dwóch izb – senatu i izby poselskiej oraz trzech stanów sejmujących króla, posłów i senatorów.
Sejmik ziemski – lokalne zgromadzenie zwoływane w Polsce od XIV wieku w każdym województwie. Zajmował się sprawami administracyjnymi i prawem.
Unia personalna – związek dwóch lub więcej państw posiadających wspólnego władcę przy zachowaniu odrębności państwowej.
Texts and recordings
What Autumn of the Middle Ages?
Late Middle Ages was a time of change, which could be seen throughout Europe and which affected practically every aspect of life at that time. The role of popes and emperors changed, who lost their position and authority as a result of conflicts and divisions. The political fall of the Church, expressed in the Great Western Schism (1378‑1417), was also accompanied by a moral crisis. It led to an intensification of movements demanding a reform of the Church, the best example of which was the Czech Hussitism and its enormous influence on politics in Central Europe at the beginning of the 15th century. Another thing which changed was the perception of the world by subjects, and the views on God’s influence on the life on Earth (the views of St. Thomas Aquinas), which was the first step toward a new era.
The time of harmony and universalism, as the Middle Ages were often called, was slowly becoming a thing of the past, giving way to a sense of belonging to nations and emerging countries. The disappearance of feudal dependencies, and a change in the way wars were being waged, brought about a definitive end to the perception of states as the property of the ruling dynasties, thus contributing to an increasing national awareness. The medieval ideas about the realization of Christian universalism collapsed over time, preparing the way for the changes that eventually led to the development of humanism and a new era – the Renaissance.