History Postcards from Nowhere Overview In this clip Steve is seen writing postcards from a number of cities in the Czech Republic. The basic notion is that in each postcard Steve has forgotten to write down the name of the town he is in and the students have to guess where he is according to the facts he sites. The factual information is chiefly about the Austro-Hungarian empire and the effects this regime had upon a chosen Czech town. It is hoped that through this information the students will begin to see the large geographical area the empire covered and some of its implications for the modern Czech Republic. In terms of an English language focus, the opportunity to introduce a passive voice to the students is used. The passive voice is often used when reporting facts and incidences where the event is more important that the perpetrator. It would become too repetitive to repeat that the Austro-Hungarian empire did this or that, and so the passive sentence structure of reporting what not who is a useful tool for the students to become familiar with and practice in the clip s final questions. Recommended Pauses 00.35 Where is Steve? He s travelling around the Czech Republic What should he do? Write postcards. Are the postcards ok? No. He hasn t written which town he is in. What Czech town is this postcard from? Record the student s ideas and watch until 01.25 to check your answers. (the first postcard is from Usti nad Labem) 01.25 Did you correctly guess which town Steve was in? Yes (if the students thought Steve was in Usti nad Labem) What facts about the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Usti nad Labem can you remember? Usti river port was the largest port in the old empire.
10.44 Divide the class into small groups and check the students understand the task that they should listen to Steve and guess which town he is in, in a similar way to the above example. You may also wish to draw the children s attention to remember any facts they hear about the Austro-Hungarian Empire for bonus points if appropriate. 20.20 Where is Steve? (award point to any group which guesses correctly) watch until 02.29 to find out or answer that Steve is in Brno. For a bonus point, what facts about the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Brno can you remember? The castle (Spielberk Castle) was used as a prison. 03.29 Where is Steve? (award point to any group which guesses correctly) watch until 03.37 to find out or answer that Steve is in Plzen. For a bonus point, what facts about the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Plzen can you remember? The railway repair factory in Plzen was the largest in the old Austro- Hungarian Empire. 04.20 Where is Steve? (award point to any group which guesses correctly) watch until 04.23 to find out or answer that Steve is in Opava. For a bonus point, what facts about the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Opava can you remember? 04.37 Opava was the capital of Silesia and was captured / taken by Prussia when the old Austro-Hungarian Empire began to fall apart. If time allows and the subject matter is relevant to your students you may wish to pause here and elicit what the students know about the old Austro- Hungarian Empire and how it might have affected the local area. This could serve as a spring board to a discussion on the topic or a class project.
The remainder of the sketch focuses the students on a specific area of the English language, the use of the passive. However the final mixed up sentences are still relevant to a history lesson centred on the study of the Austro-Hungarian regime and so it is left to the teacher s discretion as to whether the remainder of the clip is used in a history lesson or an English lesson. 05.16 You may wish to highlight the example used against the same sentence written in the past simple. i.e. vs. Spielberk Castle was used as a prison during the Austro-Hungarian regime. The Austro-Hungarian regime used Spielberk Castle as a prison If this is the first time the students have been introduced to the passive voice it is perhaps advisable to use other, simpler, examples here (newspaper headline are typically a good source) and to reiterate that the passive voice is more concerned with what happened and places this first in a sentence to get the listener s attention. 05.36 to the end. Allow the students time to copy down all the words and to work in small groups to rearrange the sentence to; 1) About 200 workers were employed in the railway repair factory in Plzen during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 2) Opava was taken by Prussia in the 1740 1748 war. 3) The town was taken by the Nazis. It is recommended to let the students tackle these questions in reverse order, as this is something that will be changed in the final edit.
Dějepis Postcards from Nowhere Stevepíše pohlednice z několka českých měst. Steve ovšem na zapomněl zmínit, z jakého města pohlednici posílá, a tak žáci musejí hádat, kde se Steve nachází, podle faktů, které uvádí. Faktické informace jsou hlavně o Rakousku-Uhersku a vlivu tohoto režimu na vybraná česká města. Žáci by si měli díky tomu uvědomit, jak rozlehlé území Rakousko-Uhersko zabíralo a jaký význam má pro dnešní Českou republiku. Co se týká jazykové stránky, je možné procvičovat užívání trpného rodu. Doporučené pauzy a otázky/úkoly pro studenty během sledování klipu: 00.35 Where is Steve? What should he do? Are the postcards ok? He s travelling around the Czech Republic. Write postcards. What Czech town is this postcard from? 01.25 No. He hasn t written which town he is in. Poznamenáme návrhy žáků a sledujeme klip do 01.25. (první pohlednice je z Ústí nad Labem) Did you correctly guess which town Steve was in? Yes (v případě, že student správně určili město Usti nad Labem) What facts about the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Usti nad Labem can you remember? 10.44 Usti river port was the largest port in the old empire. Rozdělíme třídu do malých skupin a zkontrolujeme, zda žáci rozumějí úkolu, který mají udělat. Poslouchají Steva a hádají, ve kterém městě se nachází, podobně jako v příkladu uvedeném výše. Pozornost žáků můžeme také zaměřit na to, aby si zapamatovali některá fakta o Rakousko-Uherském císařství, a získali tak několik bodů navíc.
20.20 Where is Steve? (skupině, která hádala správně, udělíme bod) Sledujeme do 02.29 a zjistíme správnou odpověď nebo odpovíme, že Steve je v Brně. Otázka pro získání bonusových bodů jaká fakta si pamatujete o Rakousku-Uhersku v souvislosti s Brnem? The castle (Spielberk Castle) was used as a prison. 03.29 Where is Steve? (skupině, která hádala správně, udělíme bod) Sledujeme do 03.37 to find out or answer that Steve is in Plzen. Otázka pro získání bonusových bodů jaká fakta si pamatujete o Rakousku-Uhersku v souvislosti s Plzní? The railway repair factory in Plzen was the largest in the old Austro- Hungarian Empire. 04.20 Where is Steve? (skupině, která hádala správně, udělíme bod) Sledujeme do 04.23 a zjistíme správnou odpověď nebo odpovíme, že Steve je v Opavě. Otázka pro získání bonusových bodů jaká fakta si pamatujete o Rakousku-Uhersku v souvislosti s Opavou? 04.37 Opava was the capital of Silesia and was captured / taken by Prussia when the old Austro-Hungarian Empire began to fall apart. Pokud zbude čas a téma se hodí k probíranému učivu, uděláme zde pauzu a ptáme se žáků, co vědí o starém Rakousko-Uherském císařství a jaký mělo vliv na dané oblasti. Daná otázka může posloužit jako odrazový můstek pro diskusi nebo třídní projekt. Zbytek klipu se zaměřuje na specifické oblasti anglického jazyka, užívání trpného rodu. Avšak věty v závěrečném cvičení stále souvisejí s historií a tématem Rakousko-Uhersko. Záleží tedy na učiteli/ce, zda využije závěrečnou část klipu v hodině dějepisu nebo angličtiny.
05.16 Příklad užití trpného a činného rodu ve větách popisujících děj minulý: Spielberk Castle was used as a prison during the Austro-Hungarian regime. The Austro-Hungarian regime used Spielberk Castle as a prison Pokud se žáci s trpným rodem zde setkávají poprvé, je vhodné použít jednodušší příklady (novinové titulky jsou dobrým zdrojem) a zopakovat, kdy se trpný rod používá. 05.36 až do konce Žáci si opíší všechna slova a ve skupinkách sestaví věty do této podoby: 1) About 200 workers were employed in the railway repair factory in Plzen during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 2) Opava was taken by Prussia in the 1740 1748 war. 3) The town was taken by the Nazis.