Topic: The origins of the Second World War

Target group

7th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XXXI. Road to war. Pupil:

1. discusses Japanese aggression in the Far East;

2. depicts Italy's expansion and civil war in Spain;

3. describes the policy of Nazi Germany - breaking up the Versailles‑Lokario system: from remilitarization of the Rhineland to the Treaty of Munich;

4. characterizes the policy of Western concessions to Hitler's Germany;

5. lists the consequences of the Ribbentrop‑Molotov Pact.

General aim of education

The student will learn about the genesis of the World War II.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• why and where the crisis of democracy had occurred;

• what policy Japan pursued in the 1920s and 1930s.;

• why the civil war in Spain broke out and how important it was;

• the importance of the arms race for the situation in Europe;

• what influence Adolf Hitler and the Nazis regime had on German politics;

• what the Molotov‑Ribbentrop Pact was and why it was important for the outbreak of 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

Introduction

1. 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.

2. 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

1. 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.

2. Discussing information presented on the timeline. The teacher then divides the class into groups - as many as there are events on the axis. Each team works on one assigned issue, deepening the information contained in the abstract. Then the students present their discussions.

3. The teacher together with the students sums up the current course of classes.

4. The teacher displays the map from Exercise 1. He reads out the task and, if necessary, helps student work out the answers.

5. Students analyze the illustration and execute Exercise 2. To answer the question, they can use Internet sources or other publications. The teacher checks the correctness of the answer and provides feedback to the students.

6. Students in pairs solve the Exercise 3.

7. Students perform Exercise 4, Exercise 5, Exercise 6, Exercise 7, Exercise 8 and Exercise 9,. They prepare their answer in writing. The teacher controls the correctness of their statements, supplementing it with additional information if necessary.

Summary

1. 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.

2. 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

1. Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

2. Write a short note about the topics covered in the lesson.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The origins of the Second World War

The 1919 Versailles Conference did not take into account all the forces in Europe. This became one of the causes of a conflict, the first signs of which date back to the early 1930s. The crisis of democracy, authoritarian regimes and the development of totalitarianism became one of the threats to security in Europe and the entire world. The Third Reich's rejection of the Versailles arrangements turned out to be a threat to peace as well, along with the development of Japanese militarism which sought to solve economic problems by way of conquests.

Aggressive politics in the Far East and the development of countries in Europe naturally brought Japan, Italy and Germany closer together. They formed alliances against Western countries (the Pact of Steel) and activities of communist parties (Anti‑Comintern Pact).

The outbreak of the conflict in Spain (1936) was not without significance for the aggravation of the situation in Europe. The civil war between the left‑wing forces of the Popular Front and the right‑wing Falanga, led by General Francisco Franco, became a testing ground for the German army. Particularly famous for its bloodshed in this war was the Condor Legion, whose actions showed the brutality aimed not only at the forces of the opponent, but also at the civilians.

The successes of fascist Italy in Africa and the German army in Spain, as well as the conquest of China by Japan, clearly showed that the arms race that had started in the early 1930s would inevitably have to end in a European conflict.