Topic: The Polish Cause in the Policies of the Big Three

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XXXIII. World War II and its stages. Student:

4. lists the main decisions of the big three conference (Tehran, Yalta, Potsdam);

5. presents the immediate effects of World War II, including the problem of changing borders and population displacement.

General aim of education

The student will learn about the role of the Polish cause in the politics of Western countries.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• what issues in the Polish case were raised at the Big Three conferences;

• how the superpowers shaped the post‑war borders of Poland;

• what were the political arrangements for Poland at the Big Three conferences;

• why TRJN was recognized as a legal Polish government.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. The teacher asks the students to repeat the information from the previous lesson. He also recommends them to collect illustrations, photos, drawings, symbols, press clippings that they associate with the topic of the planned lesson.

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. Lesson is conducted using the Oxford debate method on the The Polish case was one of the most important topics of the arrangements during the Big Three conference. At one of the previous meetings, the teacher should introduce the students to the topic, assign them appropriate roles and, if necessary, explain the method. During the preparation for the debate, students should use the information contained in the abstract and other sources, as well as collaborate in the preparation of arguments.

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. Students display interactive crosswords on the interactive board. The task of the others is to guess individual passwords. After each crossword, students assess the questions based on the technique of lights (whether they are clear, logically formulated). The teacher assesses questions in terms of language and provides feedback.

3. The teacher invites students to the debate. At the beginning, he asks them to prepare a room, that is, arrange the chairs and tables in a proper way. He writes down the subject of the debate on the board and invites the students to take appropriate places according to the roles assigned: Marshal, Secretary, four speakers of the Proposition, four Oppositions and the audience.

4. Pupils discuss, and the teacher watches over the course of the debate and supports the marshal and secretary if necessary.

5. The teacher discusses the results of the debate with the students. He/she asks about their impressions, evaluation of arguments and speeches.

6. Students analyze the illustration and execute Task 2 (they reflect on the meaning of the monument to the Big Three). 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.

7. Students get acquainted with the source text (excerpt from the agreements of the Potsdam conference) and perform Exercise 1. The teacher verifies the correctness of their answers.

8. Students in pairs solve the Exercise 2. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and provides feedback.

Summary

1. The teacher discusses the course of the lesson, indicates the strengths and weaknesses of students' work, thus giving them feedback.

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. Students solve exercises that were not completed during the lesson.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The Polish Cause in the Policies of the Big Three

From the beginning, the Polish cause was a problematic question in the policies of the world powers, which manifested in, among others, their passivity in September 1939, despite the agreements between Poland and other states remaining in force. After Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the situation became even more complicated – suddenly, one of the aggressors came into the anti‑Hitler camp. This caused the Government‑in‑Exile’s expectations of preserving the pre‑war Eastern border of Poland and her diplomatic position to go unfulfilled.

Poland’s postwar future was decided during the three conferences of the Big Three that took place in Tehran (1943), Yalta, and Potsdam (1945). The leaders of the three powers – the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union – established the new Polish borders between the Oder and the Curzon Line (Tehran and Yalta), agreed for Poland to join the Soviet sphere of influence, and agreed that a coalition government would be appointed, with the preparation of free, unrestrained parliamentary elections as its task (Yalta, Potsdam).

Those decisions were confirmed in Potsdam, where the Big Three accepted the Communist‑controlled Provisional Government of National Unity, created in June 1945. The shape of the Oder‑Neisse border was determined as well, leaving the post‑German territories under the Polish administration (Silesia, Pomerania, East Prussia). Unfortunately, the territories lost to the USSR in the East (Kresy) were never returned to Poland.