Topic: Napoleon's Empire

Author of the script: Monika Piotrowska‑Marchewa

Target group

Students of the 6‑th grade of elementary school

Core curriculum

XVIII. Napoleonic epoch. Pupil:

1) characterizes political changes in Europe in the Napoleonic period and socio‑economic changes.

General aim of education

Students learn about the most important events of the Napoleonic era and the changes that Napoleon introduced in Europe

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• indicate on the map countries that are part of Napoleon's Empire and its allies;

• describe the course of Napoleon's career and assess his political achievements;

• explain what the reasons for Napoleon's fall were.

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 students to get acquainted with the life of Napoleon. On the basis of English‑language materials found on the Internet, students prepare a short biography of the ruler.

Introduction

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

2. Group work: on the basis of prepared biograms, pupils do Exercise 1. They organize selected moments of Napoleon's life in chronological order. Then the teacher makes sure that it is done correctly and gives feedback to the students.

3. The teacher explains what the lesson will be and what success criteria should be achieved by the students.

Realization

1. The teacher asks to do Task 1, that is familiarizing with the axis of time presenting the most important battles and treatises of the Napoleonic era and their meaning. Then, using the in‑text maps and methods of a talk, the teacher discusses the directions and goals of Napoleon's conquests with the students.

2. In the next step, students work with the map - they do Exercise 2 and indicate which European countries have been influenced by Napoleon. The teacher discusses the task by making sure that they have been done correctly.

3. The teacher divides the students into two groups and gives them instructions based on two texts. Group 1 does Task 2. They note the facts that Napoleon united Europe under his rule. Group 2 at the time does the Task 3. They notice the differences between the French and English empire in Napoleonic Europe. At the end of this lesson, students present the main sides of the conflict in Europe and discuss their arguments. At the end, the teacher makes sure that the instructions have been carried out correctly and gives feedback to the students.

4. Students perform Exercise 3. They match the socio‑economic effects with Napoleon's legal and political decisions. The teacher makes sure that the exercise has been correctly completed.

Summary

1. At the end of the lesson, the teacher discusses the lessons and lessons learned from the lessons. It makes them aware of the existence of Napoleon's „white” and „black” legends and different criteria for assessing his political achievements (he can use the book of Andrzej Niepachnikne My with Napoleon).

2. The teacher gives students evaluation surveys in which they evaluate their own work during the lesson, the work of the teacher and colleagues.

Homework

1. The teacher suggests supplementary reading and homework for those interested (homework is not an obligatory part of the script): he asks for Exercise 4, that is, creating a mind map on a multimedia board. The task can be photographed and sent to the teacher with a brief justification.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

A tyrant or a genius. Napoleon's Empire

In 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte received the supreme command of the French army in Italy. He soon broke up the Austrian army stationed there and gave France control of this area. His popularity allowed him to take over power and remove the disgraced politicians of the Directory. During his reign, Napoleon waged wars against further anti‑French coalitions. He won at Austerlitz (1805) and Jena and Auertstedt (1806), among others. After losing the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), he announced a continental blockade to weaken the position of England. In 1812, the French emperor went to war against Russia. The Great Napoleon's Army was completely crushed. After the defeat, Napoleon was sent to the island of Elba. He tried to regain the throne of France, returning in the spring of 1815 to the country. This event was named „one hundred days of Napoleon” in history. In June 1815 he lost the battle of Waterloo, during which he had Prussia and England as his opponents. After the defeat, he was interned for life on the Helena island.