Topic: Let’s talk about the authorities

Addressee

8th‑grade students of elementary school.

Core curriculum

XI. Democracy in the Republic of Poland.

The student:

3) explains the principle of representation (indirect democracy); presents the rules of elections to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and the Senate of the Republic of Poland as well as the rules of operation and the most important competences of chambers of the Parliament;

5) explains the principle of the republican form of government; presents the election method and fundamental competences of the President of the Republic of Poland; finds information about the political life of former presidents elected in the general election, and about the activities of the incumbent President of the Republic of Poland.

6) explains the principle of the rule of law, including the principles of independence of courts and independence of judges; explains the division into common and administrative courts and the principle of two‑instance court proceedings; presents the cases in which the district court rules.

8) explains the rule of the separation of powers; explains the necessity for the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland (or its activities) to have the support of the Sejm majority; presents the basic competences of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland; gives the names and surnames of the Prime Minister and his deputies; shows that decisions made in a selected ministry influence the life of his family.

General aim of education

The student presents the principles of the political system of the Republic of Poland and the basic organs of public authorities.

Learning outcomes

The student:

• presents information on the functioning of the legislative, executive and judiciary authorities in the Republic of Poland.

• performs tasks that verify and consolidate knowledge.

• he listens and understands spoken text and can tell its content in his own words.

• can construct questions and ask them to colleagues and teachers.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn;

• social and civic competences.

Learning methods

• discussion,

• teaching conversation using interactive exercises, recording.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers;

• computers with internet access, or tablets.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. Students will familiarize themselves with the abstracts of „What do we need the President for?”, „To be the Prime Minister”, „The legislative power – the Parliament and the Senate”, „The executive power – the President of the Republic of Poland and the Council of Ministers”, „The judicial power – courts and tribunals”. They prepare to work on a lesson in such a way that they can be summarized in their own words and solve tasks.

2. The teacher instructs students to prepare a crossword related to the issues raised in the abstract „To be the Prime Minister.” It can also divide the class into groups and assign a different topic to each group.

Introduction

1. The teacher presents the aim of the class: You will consolidate the information, skills and vocabulary concerning the legislative, executive and judiciary powers..

2. The teacher randomly chooses three crosswords prepared by students (or one from each group), displays them on an interactive whiteboard and asks students to solve them.

Realization

1. The teacher asks students to carefully listen to the recording of the abstract „What do we need the President for?”. It informs that their task will be to write questions to the content of the recording and the expected answers (Exercise 2). Specifies the time to complete the task and plays the recording. After completing the task, willing/selected students present their questions and the rest of the class answers them. The teacher watches over their correctness.

2. Students, working individually or in pairs, perform interactive exercises 3 and 4 checking and fixing messages learned during the lesson. Selected people discuss the correct solutions for interactive exercises. The instructor completes or straightens the charges of the charges.

3. The teacher together with the students sums up the current course of classes.

4. The teacher divides the students into groups of 4 and informs that their task will be to prepare, using the abstract generator, multiple‑choice questions regarding the material contained in the „The executive power – the President of the Republic of Poland and the Council of Ministers” lesson. Students can use the abstract. The teacher sets the time to complete the task. Then the groups present their proposals, and the rest of the class solves the task. The teacher watches over the correctness of both questions and answers. At the end of this exercise, the teacher initiates a brief summary discussion.

5. The teacher asks pupils to present the structure of common courts. Willing/selected students draw a diagram on the board. Then the teacher informs you that in order to verify this task, the students will follow the diagram in Exercise 6.

6. At the end of this part of the class, the teacher asks students to read the content of Exercise 7, which concerns the functioning of common, military and administrative courts. Then the pupils solve the task on the interactive whiteboard together with the teacher discuss the answers.

Summary

1. The teacher asks the students questions:

   • What did you find important and interesting in class?

   • What was easy and what was difficult?

   • How can you use the knowledge and skills you have gained today?

   Willing/selected students summarize the lesson

2. The teacher briefly presents the most important issues discussed in class. He answers the additional questions of the proteges and explains all their doubts. Students complete notes.

Homework

1. 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

Let’s talk about the authorities

Links to lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Links to the abstracts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Before you begin solving the exercises, review abstracts „What do we need the President for?”, „To be the Prime Minister”, „The legislative power – the Sejm and the Senate”, „The executive power – the President of the Republic of Poland and the Council of Ministers”, „The judicial power – courts and tribunals” to recall the most important information and vocabulary. Then you will be able to check your knowledge. Good luck!