Topic: World War II - a revision lesson

Target Group

8th grade primary school

Core curriculum

XXXII. Poland's defensive war in September 1939. Aggression of Germany (September 1) and the Soviet Union (September 17). Student:

1. characterizes the international location of Poland on the eve of the World War II outbreak;

2. describes and discusses the stages of defensive war and points on the maps the location of the fighting parties;

3. gives examples of the special heroism of Poles, for example, defense of the post office in Gdańsk, fight for Westerplatte, defense of the parachute tower in Katowice, battle of the Mokra and Wizna River, battle of the Bzura, defense of Warsaw, defense of Grodno, battle of Kock.

XXXIII. World War II and its stages. Student:

1. presents and situates in time and space groundbreaking events of World War II (political and military);

2. characterizes German policy in occupied Europe; depicts the extermination of Jews and Roma and the extermination of other nations; knows examples of heroism of Poles saving Jews from the Holocaust;

3. explains the causes of the disaster of the Axis countries;

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 displacing people.

XXXIV. Poland under German and Soviet occupation. Student:

1. compares the assumptions and methods of German and Soviet policy in occupied Poland;

2. lists examples of German and Soviet crimes (Palmiry, Katyn, execution of Lviv professors, Zamojszczyzna);

3. explains the causes and dimensions of the Polish‑Ukrainian conflict (Volhynia slaughter) in the Eastern Borderlands;

4. characterizes the political and military activities of the Polish underground state, including forms of resistance to the occupiers;

5. explains the causes and describes the consequences of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising and assesses the attitude of the Allies and the Soviet Union towards the uprising.

XXXV. Polish case during World War II. Student:

1. presents the circumstances of the uprising and discusses the activities of the government of the Republic of Poland in exile;

2. places in time and space the activities of Polish formations on various fronts and areas of the ongoing war;

3. presents the policy of the great powers to the Polish cause during World War II.

General aim of education

The students recall the most important events of the Second World War – the biggest armed conflict in the history of mankind.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to list the most important events of 1939‑1945;

• to describe the most important facts, names and dates;

• to characterize the consequences of the World War II;

• to explain how did the war influence the events in the world.

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 repeat information from previous lessons on World War II.

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 in the middle of the board writes down the slogan WORLD WAR II. Then he asks students to list the most important events related to the conflict, which are then written down on the blackboard by the teacher.

Realization

1. The teacher begins the discussion by referring to the slogans given by the students. He asks why the events given by the students were the most important and groundbreaking. Asking questions, he remembers to formulate them to be key questions.

2. Then he divides the students into 7 groups and assigns to each one of the following countries: Germany, USSR, USA, Great Britain, France, Japan or Poland. Students' task is - using the Internet - to search for the effects of World War II on the their state, for example Germany – division of the country into occupation zones, rule of 4Ds, etc..

3. While working on exercises and instructions, the students use a set of cards in three colors: green, yellow and red. Thanks to the cards, the students signal to the teacher if they have difficulties in carrying out the orders (green color – I'm doing great, yellow - I have doubts, red - I'm asking for help).

4. Students present the results of their work, the teacher writes them down, assigning them to political, social and economic effects. The results of students' work are the starting point for a discussion on the consequences of World War II. Students get acquainted with a graph showing civilian and military war victims (** Task 1 **) and then execute ** Exercise 1 **. The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.

5. The teacher presents students with the map – Europe after World War II (** Task 2 **). Then he asks students what border changes have taken place in Europe? What countries have disappeared and what have appeared? How have the borders and location of Poland changed? Does it border with the same countries as in 1939?.

Summary

1. Summing up the lesson, the teacher adds that one of the most important consequences of World War II was migration, repatriation and population displacement. Explains their consequences on the example of Polish territories (resettlement of Germans, repatriation and re‑emigration of Poles to the country, resettlement of Poles from the USSR area and internal migration, for example to Lower Silesia).

2. 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 a homework: The Second World War has left its mark on every aspect of life. Search for examples on how it affected culture, art and monuments.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

World War II - a revision lesson

Nearly 20 years after the Great War, peace in Europe was threatened again. Growing power of the Third Reich and its political and military activity, including The Anschluss of Austria and the invasion in Czechoslovakia caused the world to face war once again. World War II began on 1st of September 1939, when German army attacked Poland. On 17th September 1939, in accordance with the Ribbentrop‑Molotov pact, the USSR army joined the German army attacking Poland from the East. Until 1941, under German occupation and the occupation of their allies was nearly entire continental Europe. The USSR also had its armaments policy and expanded its territory by fighting against Finland and by invading the Baltic countries. A turning point of the conflict was the attack of Germany on the USSR, on 22nd of June 1941, which not only decided on changes in the alliances (the Soviets joined the Allies), but also forced the Third Reich to fight on two fronts. On the conquered and occupied territories, the Germans introduced the policy of terror and persecution, especially among the Jews and the Gypsies, persecuting and exterminating the enemies, e.g. in concentration camps. In 1941, the United States of America joined the war, as a result of the attack on their naval base in Pearl Harbor conducted by the Japanese air force. This extended the territory of military action nearly to the entire world. The anti‑Hitler coalition, which main force was the Big Three – the rulers of the USA - Roosevelt, the USSR – Stalin and of Great Britain – Churchill, played a vital role in military and political plans during the war, and also after it finished, while establishing the new order. The victories and the might of the German army was broken in the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk in 1943. Since then, the Allied forces started the offensive, forcing the German soldiers to retreat, and leading to the ultimate defeat in May of 1945. It was not the end of World War II. It lasted until 2nd of September 1945 – the capitulation of Japan, which was caused by the use of new type of weapons of mass destruction – the atomic bomb. The conflict of 1939‑1945 was the biggest war in the history of the world and took place in Europe, North Africa, Far East and all the oceans.