This unit was developed by Barbara Węglarz      Bibliography    Didactic Comments

Information Text   Source Sheet  Worksheet

Didactic Commentary: Krakow - Renaissance - Capital and Royal Court

1. The presented material includes:

- information text,

- source materials with questions,

- didactical instructions,

- bibliography.

2. Implementation order of materials:

Students will first read the information text on the royal court. Then, the source materials completing the basic information can be introduced.

3. Educational objectives:

- emphasizing the importance of Kraków as the royal court seat,

- familiarisation with events taking place in Kraków and witnessed by its citizens (births of heirs, weddings, coronations, visits of foreign legations, celebrations of victories),

- focusing on the Renaissance ideas present at the court,

- pointing out changes in the structure of the Sejm and its competences - before the 20th century, the term Sejm referred to the entire three-chamber Polish parliament, comprising the lower house (Chamber of Envoys; Polish: Izba Poselska), the upper house (Senate; Polish: Senat) and the King http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sejm ,

- drawing students attention to the role of the Polish nobility in the nation making process,

- shaping the ability of independent conclusion making, active reasoning, cognitive discovery and justifying one’s choices.

4. Methods of work:

- work with the text (information text, source materials),

- drama performances (the staging of Zygmunt’s coronation),

- decision tree-graph (influence of the Polish landed gentry on the situation in the state),

- for and against arguments (depicting pros and cons of Golden Liberty  - Latin: Aurea Libertas; Polish: Złota Wolność) and democratic system,

- essay (a problem to be solved by a contemporary parliament),

- competition (for the best oath),

- group work.

5. Comments:

- the teacher is responsible for choosing methods best suited to students’ interests and level,

- nstead of the staging of Zygmunt’s coronation, students can make a collage on a similar subject.

6. More information may be found at:

www.polska.gov.pl/Bona,Sforza,(1494,%E2%80%93,1557),1824.html

www.strefawiedzy.polska.pl/historia/kalendarium/nowozytny/article,Hold_pruski_10_IV_1525,id,157465.htm

http://www.polskiedzieje.pl/zdjecia/matejko_hold_pruski.jpg

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demokracja_szlachecka

http://testwiedzy.pl/test_view/305/Demokracja-szlachecka.html