Topic: New ideas in social life

Target group

6th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XII. Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Pupil:

3. is characterized by the principle of the division of power of Charles Montesquieu and the principle of social contract Jakub Rousseau.

General aim of education

Students learn the most important concepts of the Age of Enlightenment, as well as the values that guided them

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• o characterize the most important ideas and values of the Age of Enlightenment;

• to explain the Charles Montesquieu's separation of powers and Jean‑Jacques Rousseau's principle of social contract;

• to describe the ways of spreading the ideas of Enlightenment that were practised in the 18th century.

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 sudents to recap information on views of Kant, Descartes and Locke.

Introduction

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

2. The teacher asks to do Task 1. The students compare the definitions of the Enlightenment, they look for common points.

Realization

1. The teacher explains the phenomenon of the „republic of philosophers” in the Age of Enlightenment. He explains briefly the ways of spreading new cultural trends in Europe. Then, the students do Task 2 and Exercise 1. They analyze the phenomenon of the Encyclopedia. They are looking for analogies in modern times. They point to similarities and differences. They justify their conclusions.

2. The teacher divides the students into two groups. The task of Group I will be to find on the Internet information on the principle of the division of power of Charles Montesquieu and quotes; group II task - find texts discussing the principle of Jacques Rousseau's social contract and quotes. Each of the groups tries to structure the effects of their searches as a metaplan: Why Monteskiusz / Rousseau recommended ... [here is the most important postulate]. Left column: How was it? Right column: How should it be? A row situated below the right and left columns: Why was not it like it should be? Row below with a summary: Applications. Metafiles are saved on a sheet of paper or in a computer.

3. 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).

4. The teacher, pins on the board / displays on the multimedia board, ready metaplans saved on sheets of paper. The students read them and - after setting the assessment criteria with the teacher - jointly evaluate the next metaplan. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.

Summary

1. Students do Exercise 3 - match the quotes given to one of the two famous thinkers of the Enlightenment.

2. 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, evaluation of the teacher's work and other students.

Homework

1. The teacher sets homework (it is not an obligatory part of the script), which is the preparation of an essay and the answer to the question: Why from the point of view of modern times the theory of the tripartite authorities created by Montesquieu is the greatest achievement of Enlightenment in the field of political thought?.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

New ideas in social life

During enlightenment, concepts and values that are close to the current aspirations of mankind have crystallized: freedom of society and individual, the emancipation of man (e.g. child, woman) or social groups (middle class, Jews, religious minorities), equality of individual people, brotherhood, solidarity. The basic idea of enlightenment is freedom. Other important terms are reason, law, nature. The most important philosophical concepts were empiricism represented by the English thinker John Lock and rationalism, represented by Voltaire and Denis Diderot. The most important achievement of the French theory of political thought were the views of Montesquieu who formulated the rule of the separation of power into legislative, executive and judiciary.