Topic: What does the „state” mean? Basics of the contemporary political division of the world. Changes in Europe.

Target group

6th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

VII. Geography of Europe: location and boundaries of the continent; political division of Europe; main features of the natural environment in Europe.

Student:

2) presents the political division of Europe and the role of the European Union in the social and economic transformation of the continent.

General aim of education

The students will discuss the basics of political division of the world and changes on the political map of Europe

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• explain what the state is;

• discuss changes in the state structure on the political map of the world created after 1989 and the reasons for these changes;

• characterize changes on the political map of Europe.

Methods/techniques

• activating

  • discussion.

• expository

  • talk.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Introduction

• The teacher explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

• The teacher asks students to associate with the concept of the state. Students use brainstorming to give associations that are written on a mental map created on an interactive whiteboard. Every information is interpreted in detail by the author / student.

• 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

• The teacher asks a question, what decided about the contemporary political division of the world? Conversation. The teacher refers to historical events that decided about the political division of the world. The teacher displays from the e‑textbook maps Political division of Africa in 1913 and Decolonization of Africa. Map analysis by the whole class team. Draw conclusions.

• The teacher uses the map. He gives an example of the unification and division of countries after the fall of the „Iron Curtain”. Students analyze and draw conclusions. Students indicate the Czech Republic and Slovakia on the map of Europe. Once these countries were one country - Czechoslovakia. Students are looking for information about the reasons for this disintegration in the Internet. The teacher gives an example of Germany, which in turn during the great political changes merged. Students search on the Internet for information on the reasons for German reunification. Discussion.

• The students consolidate the acquired information, discussing it with their nearest neighbors („tell your neighbor” method).

• The teacher uses the text of the abstract 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.

Summary

• The teacher asks students to carry out the recommended interactive exercise themselves.

Homework

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

• Make at home a note from the lesson using the sketchnoting method.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

What does the „state” mean? Basics of the contemporary political division of the world. Changes in Europe.

A political map shows the distribution of countries around the world – this is basic knowledge. A more detailed analysis reveals that the subject is slightly more complex. A state should have territory, population, sovereign power, it should be recognised by other countries (de iure, i.e. officially, or de facto – unofficially, e.g. through trade contacts).
However, there may be certain complications, e.g. as a result of the civil war in the internationally recognised Somalia, there has been no government that could exercise power over the entire territory of that country since 1991. Somaliland which exists within the borders of Somalia meets the first three criteria, but is not recognised by any independent state. The situation is slightly better in the case of the Republic of China, better known as Taiwan, which lost its political importance in 1971 when the United States recognised the People's Republic of China.However, it is still very important in economic terms. Another example is Kosovo, which is not even recognised by some EU countries and many UN Member States.
Some territories are not states, but dependent territories or non‑independent territories. In Europe, for example, it is Gibraltar which is dependent on Great Britain. In the Caribbean, it is Martinique which belongs to France or Dutch Aruba. In the Pacific, there are Northern Mariana Islands which are dependent on the United States.

The long and complex historical and political processes have complicated even the issue of borders of recognised territories. The Kaliningrad region, which represents 0.0009% of the territory of the Russian Federation and is separated from it by Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus, is an example of an exclave. Cabinda is separated from the mainland of Angola by the Democratic Republic of Congo
Meanwhile, San Marino is an enclave on the territory of Italy and Lesotho is an enclave on the territory of the Republic of South Africa.

The following maps show the changes in Europe.

At the end of the 19th century, the world's most powerful countries finally divided the lands (Berlin Congress). Hence, for example, we can notice the geometric borders in Africa.

Both World Wars resulted in significant shifts in borders, especially in Europe. In the 1960s and 1970s, numerous colonies declared independence in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific. In the 1980s there were few of them left.
When it seemed that the borders around the world had been determined (the documents on the Law of the Sea were also being worked on at the time), changes began in the most politically stable continent - in Europe.

After the Second World War, after defeating Nazi Germany, the leaders of the victorious empires agreed that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, would be subordinated to the USSR (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Germany was also fragmented. At first, Germany was divided into occupation zones, but in 1949 two separate states were established. The eastern part – German Democratic Republic – was under the custody of the Soviet Union, while the western part – Federal Republic of Germany – was under the influence of the western empires (the United States, Great Britain and France).

In the 1980s, the nations dominated by the Soviet Union in the central‑eastern part of the continent began their march towards sovereignty. The first changes took place in Poland and triggered changes in the political map.
On the one hand, the reunification of Germany, divided in 1945 by decisions of the leaders of the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, took place. On the other hand, the federal states, which mostly included nations with a strong sense of being different from each other or economically exploited, collapsed.
The Velvet Revolution led to the division of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czechs believed that Slovaks' development was at their expense, while Slovaks aspired to create an independent state.

• States should have territory, people, sovereignty and international recognition.

• The number of states in the world is growing.

• Decolonisation is a process of gaining independence by dependent territories.

• The independence of a state does not always guarantee its development, as sometimes state independence may involve socio‑economic problems.