Lesson plan (English)
Topic: Power and rulers in the early Middle Ages
Target group
5th‑grade students of elementary school
Core curriculum
5th‑grade students of elementary school
II. Byzantium and the world of Islam. Pupil:
1) places the extent of Arab expansion in time and space and explains the influence of Muslim civilization on Europe;
2) locates in time and space the Byzantine Empire and recognizes the achievements of Byzantine culture (law, architecture, art).
III. Medieval Europe. Pupil:
1) places the state of the Franks in time and space;
2) places new countries in Europe in time and space;
3) explains the causes and consequences of the split in the Church in the eleventh century (...).
General aim of education
Students repeat the most important knowledge regarding the exercise of power in the Middle Ages.
Key competences
communication in foreign languages;
digital competence;
learning to learn.
Criteria for success
The student will learn:
to define the idea of power was in the Middle Ages;
to list the monarchies that ruled over the first centuries of the Middle Ages;
to explain why Christianity became one of the cornerstones of European culture.
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
Students recall knowledge from previous lessons about the early Middle Ages..
Introduction
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.
The teacher, referring the subject of the lesson, asks to watch the film „Idea władzy w średniowieczu”, in which prof. Przemysław Wiszewski talks about how one can exercise power.
Then he asks students to do the Task 1 (remembering the most important events of the early Middle Ages) and to list the greatest and most distinguished rulers and leaders of the early Middle Ages. What made them to name these and not other characters?.
Realization
The teacher explains the students that the classes will be different than the previous one. Students will use the knowledge gained during previous classes and the gathered by themselves information to carry out the game.
The teacher divides students into small groups (2‑4 people), and then gives them a task: Knowing the course of the first centuries of the Middle Ages, the fate of the kingdoms, empires, rulers' decisions and their consequences, they are to try to create their own state, which will evolve into empire . As an example, they can be use a computer game scenarios, i.e. Civilization, Europa Universalis or Age of Empires II. Students should choose the moment of their state's creation and the way of its development and expansion - so that by ending the simulation in 1000, they will reach the level of the largest empire. It is up to them to decide which nation they will choose and how they will act. However, they should be based on the early European realities, for example by using the barbarian peoples that appeared at that time. The teacher, to make it difficult or to introduce an element of surprise, can announce disasters and difficulties falling on their states, such as enemies 'invasion, death of the ruler, revolts, epidemics, etc. Students have to react efficiently and counteract them. The simulation (play) time should be about 20‑25 minutes, so that after the time each group could present their way to power.
Students present their ideas for building an empire in medieval Europe, and then evaluate each other in terms of reality and implementation possibilities.
Summary
Summing up, the teacher asks students to do Exercise 1 (list the stages of coronation) and Exercise 2 (match the slogans to the epochs of antiquity and the Middle Ages). The teacher makes sure that the tasks were correctly completed and gives feedback.
The teacher assesses the students' work during the classes, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare an evaluation questionnaire for self‑assessment and evaluation of the teacher's work and other students.
The teacher sets homework for students (it is not an obligatory part of the script): Think about how the Middle Ages are perceived today? Are imagination and associations of it really true? Try to look for evidence and examples.
Homework
Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.
Make at home a note from the lesson, for example using the sketchnoting method.
The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson
Terms
Administracja – administration – nazywana również aparatem urzędniczym to zbiór instytucji państwowych powiązanych i współpracujących ze sobą przy zarządzaniu państwa.
Dworzanin – courtier – członek dworu władcy obdarzony przywilejami i zajmujący najczęściej wysokie stanowisko w jego otoczeniu. Stanowili elitę wczesnośredniowiecznego społeczeństwa.
Prymat – primacy – pierwszeństwo, przewodzenie w czymś, posiadanie zwierzchności i nadrzędnej roli.
Pragmatyzm – pragmatism – postawa oznaczająca podejmowanie tylko takich działań, które przynoszą konkretne korzyści.
Decentralizacja – decentralization – przeniesienie lub utrata znaczenia części uprawnień oraz odpowiedzialności instytucji władzy na rzecz tych znajdujących się niżej w hierarchii.
Majordom – Mayor of the Palace – wysoki urzędnik na dworze władcy, był odpowiedzialny za zarządzanie bieżącymi sprawami dworu i dowodzenie wojskiem królewskim.
Monarchia – monarchy – forma rządów oparta na władzy stojącego na czele państwa monarchy (króla, cesarza itp.).
Monarchia patrymonialna – patrimonialism – ustrój charakterystyczny dla wczesnego średniowiecza. U jego podstaw leżało przekonanie, że państwo jest prywatną własnością władcy i rozporządza on nim według uznania. Była charakterystyczna dla dynastii Karolingów.
Sukcesja – successor to hereditary – zasada przekazywania, dziedziczenia władzy monarszej następcy w przypadku śmierci, abdykacji lub innych okolicznościach.
Cesarstwo – empire – forma ustroju państwa (monarchii), w której panujący obdarzony jest tytułem cesarza. Zgodnie z tradycją jest ono wyższej rangi i prestiżu niż królestwo.
Texts and recordings
Power and rulers in the early Middle Ages
The fall of the western Roman Empire in 476 was an event considered by posterity to be the end of the era of antiquity and the start of the Middle Ages. A number of countries, ruled by the Germanic peoples were founded – Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks and Vandals. However, the heritage of antiquity survived and developed in the eastern part of the empire – Byzantium. It assumed the Roman tradition and carried on its traditions. The most important person in the Byzantine Empire was the emperor, standing next to the army and administration of the state in three pillars, which fulfilled the functions of the eastern Roman empire. The most eminent of the early medieval rulers was Justinian I the Great. It was in his time that codification of the law was done and Constantinople's most famous building was built – The Church of the Wisdom of God – Hagia Sophia. The culture and art of Byzantium, referring to its centuries‑long standards, became an inspiration for the western world. At its centre was the Christian faith, which affected every aspect of life. It was no coincidence that the overwhelming majority of cultural works conveyed the truths of the faith and the expectations of the Emperor, God's representative on earth, upon his subjects.
In the west also, after centuries in the making, a Carolingian Empire was founded. Although it did not last for long, it had a significant effect on the history of the whole of Western Europe. Its founder was the most eminent ruler of the Franks – Charlemagne the Great, crowned as Emperor in 800 by the Pope. He was a capable ruler and politician. Thanks to a number of reforms, he strengthened the authority of his state and contributed to a flowering of science and art. For this reason, his reign is known as the Carolingian Renaissance. After his death, power passed into the hands of his son Louis the Pious, but lacking charisma and troubled by frequent rebellions, he could not preserve Charlemagne's unity. The empire was divided under the Treaty of Verdun in 843 into three parts – forming the seeds for states of the future: France, Germany and Italy. The East Frankish state soon became the largest power in the west and its ruler, Otto I, was crowned Emperor in 962. In this way, the Roman Empire of the Germanic nation would exist for nearly 1000 years, until 1806.
The connection between western, barbaric Europe and the Byzantine Empire, over time, came to be the Christian religion. The Germanic peoples were the first to adopt this (the Aryan religion), and it then spread to other areas. One of the first to adopt Christianity was the Frankish ruler Clovis in 496, which began a long‑lasting process of Christianisation of Western and Northern Europe, which is said to have ended at the beginning of the eleventh century, when the teachings of Jesus were adopted by the people of Scandanavia.
The mission to proclaim the Word of God was also undertaken in the Eastern Empire. In the second half of the 9th century, the brothers Cyril and Methodius played the most important role in the development of a special script (Glagolitic), which was then used to write the bible. It is thanks to their mission to Christian Europe that Christianity was adopted by the Grand Moravian Prince Rastislav and in Kiev Rus.
Unfortunately, as a result of centuries‑old disputes and struggles for primacy in the church, Christian unity collapsed in 1054. As a result of a dispute between the Patriarchs in Rome and Constantinople, a permanent division arose –the schism– between the Christians of East and West.