Topic: Shaping the German frontier

Target group

7th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

XXVIII. The rebirth of the Polish state after the First World War. Pupil:

2. presents the process of forging borders: the decisions of Versailles and the phenomenon of the Greater Poland Uprising and the Silesian uprisings (west) – a federal dilemma and the incorporation effect (east).

General aim of education

Students learn about the process of forging borders: the phenomenon of the Greater Poland uprising, Silesian uprisings and the issue of the plebiscite in Warmia and Mazury

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to list the reasons of the Greater Poland Uprising Silesian Uprisings;

• to explain the reasons why Poland lost the East Prussian plebiscite in Warmia and Masuria;

• to indicate the German frontier after the hostilities.

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 the students to read the Introduction to the lesson and indicate what issues related to setting the borders were mentioned there (Exercise 1 from e‑textbook).

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 discusses the homework with students. Then he displays the timeline on the board.

Realization

1. The teacher divides the students into three‑person groups. Each member of the team receives a different part of the issue to be analyzed / a portion of the exercise to be done. The students working on the same issues meet in expert groups. They discuss the subject, share doubts and organize their knowledge. Later they return to their own three‑person groups and pass on the konwledge (in the alphabetical order of the discussed areas).

2. ** Tasks for the GPU expert (GPU as the Greater Poland uprising). ** The student examines the causes, course and consequences of the Greater Poland uprising – „the forgotten uprising”. He listens to the recording about the capture of the Ławica airport (** Task 1 **), carries out ** Exercise 1, 2 and 6 **, combining the events with their causes, completing the map and analyzing a fragment of the source text (it is important to do the exercises in the right order, since the issues are introduced in a logical sequence).

3. ** Tasks for the SU expert (Silesian uprisings). ** The student examines the causes, course and consequences of the Silesian uprisings. Performs ** Exercise 3 and 4 **, describing the course of the uprisings and indicating the reason for the final division of Upper Silesia. He carries out ** Exercise 1 **. Finally, he performs ** Exercise 6 **, analyzing a fragment of the source text (it is important to do the exercises in the right order, since the issues are introduced in a logical sequence).

4. ** Tasks for the PWM expert (PWM as the plebiscite in Warmia and Mazury). ** The student examines the issue of the plebiscite in Warmia, Mazury and Powiśle. He searches the Internet for information on actions taken by the Germans before and during the plebiscite; then he performs ** Exercise 5‑6 **, answering the question and analyzing a fragment of the source text (it is important to do the exercises in the right order, since the issues are introduced in a logical sequence).

5. The work after the experts return (in three‑person teams), in addition to students passing on their knowledge to other colleagues, should include an interaction between the areas of knowledge gained by each student: understanding the relationship between the shaping of Poland's borders and the ongoing Polish‑Soviet war.

6. While working in expert groups and later, the teacher takes care of providing feedback to students.

Summary

1. 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.

2. The teacher asks the students questions prompting them to assess their own work during the lesson. They can use the interactive board.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Shaping the German frontier

On 26 December 1918, Ignacy Paderewski came to Poznań. This situation caused anti‑German representations, which transformed into uprising. The Poles managed to control almost all of the Greater Poland. The insurgent actions were stopped only after the intervention of France. The dispute about the next territory, the Upper Silesia, was expected to be solved through a plebiscite, however the tense social and political situation in this region resulted in three Silesian Uprisings. The final decision about the division of the Upper Silesia was taken by the Council of Ambassadors, which granted 30% of the disputable territories to Poland. In Warmia i Masuria, as a result of the plebiscites, only 3% of the society voted in favour of Poland. Finally, several towns located in this region have been incorporated into Poland.

Silesian uprising, the Greater Poland Uprising, the frontiers