Topic: What we can and have to do? Rights and duties of the citizens of the Third Polish Republic

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

8th‑grade students of elementary school

IV. Human rights. Pupil:

1. justifies that human dignity is the foundation of various moral systems; explains that it is a source of universal, innate, inviolable and inalienable freedoms and human rights; analyzes the wording of the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

2. shows differences between human rights and freedoms; lists personal rights and freedoms contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland;

3. lists the political rights and freedoms contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland; shows that thanks to them, a person can influence public life;

4. presents examples of activities of non‑governmental organizations for the protection of human rights; justifies the need to counteract the phenomena of non‑tolerance towards different minorities.

VIII. National / ethnic communities and homeland. Pupil:

2. (...) lists the constitutional obligations of a citizen.

General aim of education

Students get acquainted with the rights and obligations resulting from the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to characterize and to enumerate the rights and duties included in the Constitution;

• to explain what human rights are and where they are enshrined in;

• to characterize the structure of the Constituion of the Polish Republic;

• to explain why we should abide by the law enshrined in the Constitution.

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. Students should know what a democratic state is characterized by.

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 starts a brainstorming session, asking students what civil rights and duties are. Then, he writes down the students' answers on the board.

Realization

1. Students an the teacher develop a definition of civil rights and civic duties. Then they discuss why abiding to them is extremely important and what can happen when they are broken by citizens (duties) and the state (law).

2. Referring to the results of the discussion, the teacher asks students if they know the history of countries in which such situations occurred. Students should mention eg PRL (Polish People's Republic), other totalitarian countries. The teacher asks for examples and also complements students' answers.

3. The teacher asks the students to find the Chapter II of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997, in which the rights and duties of citizens are written, and then count how many articles talk about rights and how many about citizens' obligations to the state (law: Articles 30--81 responsibilities: 82--86). Then he asks the students what such a significant difference can mean. The students describe in their own words the laws discussed in ** Exercise 1 **, they also write down the duties of Polish citizens in ** Exercise 2 **.

4. The teacher explains to the students that, in addition to the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997, every human being also has natural rights, which were wrtitten down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. Students get acquainted with information about it in ** Task 1 **.

Summary

1. In summary, the teacher asks the students what is the difference between rights and civil duties. Asking the questions, the teacher remembers that they are to be formulated as the key questions.

2. Students carry out Exercise 3 **, and in ** Exercise 4 ** match words to create descriptions of civil rights and duties.

3. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare a self‑assessment questionnaire.

Homework

1. The teacher tasks willing students with homework: Look for examples of activities of non‑governmental organizations whose aim is to protect human rights. Consider if and why the existence of such organizations is needed.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

What we can and have to do? Rights and duties of the citizens of the Third Polish Republic

Rights and duties of the citizens are regulated by the Constitution of the Polish Republic. Poland provides freedom of speech, opinion, religion and association, personal and material integrity, the right to health care and education. Citizens are obligated to the loyalty to the country, to defend it in case of a threat and to pay taxes.