Topic: The Constitution of the Republic of Poland

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

8th‑grade primary school student.

Core curriculum:

XI. Democracy in the Republic of Poland.

The student:

7) explains the principle of constitutionalism; names characteristic features of a constitution; finds provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland governing a specific issue; names the competences of the Constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of Poland.

The general aim of education:

The student presents the principles of the political system of the Republic of Poland.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• explains what universal values were important for the creators of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.

• describes the adoption process of the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of Poland.

• analyses the structure of the Constitution.

• describes and analyses the key constitutional principles and discusses why they are important for democracy in Poland.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences.

Teaching methods:

• discussion,

• brainstorming,

• mind map,

• Philips 66,

• source material analysis,

• teaching conversation using scheme, interactive exercises,

• trash and suitcase method.

Forms of work:

• self‑learning,

• work in pairs,

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• small pieces of paper in two different colours (e.g. green and yellow) for each student,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will learn how the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of Poland came into being and what it consists of; you will discuss why it is important for a democratic state.

2. The teacher asks the students to recall, from history lessons, any previous constitutions that Poland had and when they were adopted. The students brainstorm the topic, and the teacher writes their ideas on the board. Once they have come up with all key moments in the history of Polish constitutionalism, the teacher asks the students if they know any tricks to memorise the information written on the board (e.g. the small constitutions were always adopted after regaining independence following the conclusion of the two world wars and the third one – the Cold War: 1, 2 and 3 years after the end of each of these conflicts, respectively).

Implementation:

1. The teacher asks the students to take a look at the timeline in the abstract, which presents the history of the adoption of the current Constitution of the Republic of Poland. The teacher asks willing/selected students to explain why the sequence of events had to be as shown (e.g. voting in a referendum was possible only once the text of the Constitution had been determined, as the citizens only voted for or against its adoption).

2. The teacher asks the students to put, in pairs, the stages of adoption of a new Polish constitution into the correct order (Exercise 1). Next, they check the answers together with the whole class.

3. The teacher tells the students that they are going to analyse, together, the results of the 1997 constitutional referendum. In order to do that, the students read the statistics included in the infographic titled “The Constitutional Referendum Results” and complete Exercise 2. Willing students read out their answers and one student selected by the teacher verifies if they are correct.

4. The teacher divides the class into four groups and tells the students that their task is to analyse the preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland (the abstract) and infer which values were important to the creators of the document. Each group analyses the preamble to find values derived from a different ideology: liberalism, conservatism, social democracy or Christian democracy (some values are going to repeat for several groups). The teacher sets the time to complete the task. Next, representatives of each group present the results of their work, and the rest of the students check if the answers are correct. To sum up the task, the teacher asks some questions, initiating a short discussion:

• What does the fact that you have found values derived from different ideologies prove?

• Does this solution (a wide‑ranging political compromise) increase or limit the chances for stability (durability) of the Constitution?

5. The students keep working in groups. The teacher informs them that they are going to use the Philips 66 method and explains the method if necessary. The task of each group is to describe the importance of one of the fundamental principles of democracy (popular sovereignty, separation of powers, rule of law, political pluralism) for the functioning of a democratic country and to analyse how they are implemented in Poland. The teacher assigns each principle to one group.

a. Every team has 6 minutes to answer the question: why is the principle assigned to the group important for the functioning of a democratic country and how is it implemented in Poland? The members of each group choose a leader who will present the results of their work after every round.

b. After 6 minutes, each leader presents the results of their group’s work to the class. All students comment on the ideas put forward by other groups, paying attention to anything ambiguous or unclear in their reasoning.

c. After this confrontation in front of the class, the teams go back to work in order to improve their ideas.

d. After 6 more minutes, students once again confront their ideas in front of the class, comparing how mature their solutions and improvements are. Next, they either write down their final conclusions or once again attempt to improve their projects for another 6 minutes. Group leaders create a mind map around the concept of fundamental principles of democracy. They write down their examples with descriptions.

Summary:

1. The teacher carries out a summary part of the lesson using the trash and suitcase method. The teacher hands out small pieces of paper in two different colours (e.g. green and yellow). On the green pieces of paper the students write down the useful knowledge and skills they acquired during the class – these go into “the suitcase” (students stick it to a board under that category). The yellow pieces of paper are used to write down things the students did not find useful or interesting – these go into “the trash” (under the sign that reads “trash” on the board). The teacher explains, that their reflection may concern both the acquired knowledge, and the new skills they have learned. The teacher reads students’ reflections on the experience – first the “trash” contents, then the “suitcase”.

2. Homework proposal:

a. Choose one fundamental principle of democracy discussed in today’s lesson that you consider most important. Describe what its essence is, justify your choice, name examples of its implementation (from various countries) and explain how it can be violated.

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland

The work on adoption of a democratic constitution in Poland lasted for many years. They started already in 1989. The lack of agreement between the main political forces on the most important constitutional principles that were to apply in democratic Poland, extended the waiting time for the basic law.

Analyze the infographics showing the results of the constitutional referendum and solve the exercise below.

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland, like other documents of this kind currently in force in democratic states, contains provisions on the basic principles of the functioning of the state, the manner of appointment, competences and responsibilities of public authorities, civil rights and freedoms and means of their protection. It consists of a preamble and 243 articles, included in XIII chapters.

Constitutional principles are legal norms of particular importance in the constitution. They express fundamental constitutional values.

Popular sovereignty

The principle of popular sovereignty indicates the entity to which the authority in the state belongs – according to the Constitution, it belongs to “the Nation”, to all Polish citizens.

Separation of powers

The rule of the tripartite division of state power derives from the concept of Enlightenment thinkers John Locke and Charles de Montesquieu. This principle indicates the need for the existence of separate, yet mutually controlling and balancing, three types of power: legislative, executive and judiciary.

Rule of law

The principle of the rule of law means that all authorities in Poland and state institutions should act in accordance with the applicable law. The Constitution is the supreme legal force in the state.

Political pluralism

The essence of this principle is the freedom of establishment and operation of political parties. A political party in Poland, in order to conduct its legal activity, must only be entered in the records of political parties kept by the regional court in Warsaw.