Topic: My place on Earth

Lesson plan elaborated by: Katarzyna Kuczyńska

Target group

4th grade students of an elementary school.

Core curriculum

I. Elements of family and regional history. Student:

1. collects information on the history of his/her family, collects family memorabilia and tells about them;

2. learns about the history and traditions of his/her area and the history of its men of merit; he/she knows local monuments and describes their history.

II. The most important elements of Polish cultural heritage. Student:

1. knows national symbols (colors, emblem, national anthem), the most important national and state holidays, can explain their meaning;

2. knows legends about the beginnings of the Polish state;

3. links the most important monuments and symbols of Polish culture with the relevant regions.

The general aim of education

Students get to know the concept of “small homeland”, they can define it and point out its elements.

Key competences

• communicating in the mother tongue;

• communicating in foreign languages;

• learning to learn;

• social and civic competences.

Learning outcomes

Student:

• explains why certain places are of particular importance to people and indicates the reasons why and to what extent they are important to him/her;

• talks about the concepts of homeland and “small homeland”;

• characterizes his/her homeland and “small homeland”, mainly within the scope of important cultural and historical events and outstanding characters; indicates how he/she can develop his/her knowledge;

• talks about the main regions of Poland and is able to show them on the map.

Methods / techniques

• programmed methods: using e‑textbook;

• problematic methods: activating methods: creation of “Map of Important Places”, discussion; indication of criteria (reasons why certain places become important for people);

• practical methods: exercises concerned, working with text;

Forms of work

• collective activity;

• activity in groups;

• individual activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons or felt‑tip pens,

• interactive whiteboard,

• tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Introduction

1. The teacher defines the purpose of the class: students learn about “small homeland”. He/she gives the students the subject and the success criteria.

2. The teacher makes an introduction to the main part of the lesson – asks the students a question: Are the different places in the world equally important to us? The teacher asks the students to prepare a “Map of Important Places”: each student individually prepares his/her map of important places - selects the contours of such a map (e.g. outline of his/her figure, heart, shape of the globe) and marks at least 5 important places on it, creates or matches a symbol for each place (e.g. for the favorite place where he/she spends his/her holidays, a student selects a symbol of a grain of sand).

Realization

1. In groups of three, the students show their “Maps of Important Places” to each other. Then, based on their works, they develop a list of reasons for which certain places are extremely important for people. After finishing the work in groups of three, the effects of work are presented to the whole class – the whole class works together to develop a list of reasons why certain places are extremely important for people.

2. The teacher asks the students to fulfill Task 1, introduces the concepts of “homeland” and “small homeland”, the students perform selected exercises. The students’ “maps” are supplemented by them with a small and large homeland. The teacher makes the students aware of the fact that Poland is also home to representatives of other nations and that Poles also emigrate from their own country.

3. The teacher asks the students about the symbols with the use of which they have marked their territories on the “Map of Important Places”: why have they chosen them, how do they help them think about and recall their important places? Then, using the e‑textbook, the teacher discusses the issue of national symbols, the students perform Exercise 1 - they must, with the teacher's support, chronologically rank the symbols of Poland and the dynasties that ruled it. The teacher explains to the students that dynasties changed over the centuries. Students color the emblem of Poland on computers/tablets (Exercise 2) or perform Exercise 3 – make the first verse of the anthem out of the jumbled sentences. The teacher makes sure that the tasks have been correctly completed and gives feedback. The teacher discusses national holidays (he/she may base on an e‑textbook).

Summary

1. The teacher asks the students to look at interactive illustration of the flag types (Task 2).

2. The lecturer summarizes the lesson. Then he can give the students the evaluation questionnaire prepared by him with the assessment of lessons, own work and class work.

3. The teacher asks the students to do the homework “Heroes of My Important Places”, i.e. to complete a “Map of Important Places” with persons (e.g. sticking pictures, drawing portraits) who, according to the students, played an important role in particular places.

Summary of the most important contents of the lesson

1. Presenting the homeland and the “small homeland” as important places for students; reconstructing the reasons for which people feel connected with particular places.

2. Indication of the importance of symbols and learning about history in building a sense of connection with one's homelands.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

My place on Earth

The Republic of Poland is a country located in Central Europe. The Baltic Sea forms its northern border. Poland’s western border runs along two rivers: the Oder and the Lusatian Neisse. Its eastern border follows the Bug River. In the south, Poland’s border is a mountainous barrier formed by the Sudetes and the Carpathians. Poland’s neighbouring countries are: Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russia. Poland is divided into 16 administrative units called voivodeships, which roughly correspond to the English provinces or regions. Poless make up the vast majority of Poland’s population. However, other nationalities – such as Germans, Belarusians and Ukrainians – are also represented. Many Poles took up permanent residence in countries other than Poland, e.g. the United States of America or the British Isles. The symbols of Poland are: a white eagle wearing a gold crown and depicted against a red background, and a white‑and‑red flag. Dąbrowski’s Mazurka (Pieśń Legionów Polskich we Włoszech) is the national anthem of Poland. The Republic of Poland is a democracy, where a president is a head of state.