LESSON PLAN
STUDENTS’ AGE:15 – 16 years old
GROUP SIZE:20 students
SUBJECT:History
TOPIC:Ethnic Groups in Romania
TIMING:100 minutes
MATERIALS & EQUIPMENT:
-sheets of paper, pencils, markers having different colours
-copies of documentary handouts for each group of students
-whiteboard
-Internet access
-PCs
OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lesson the students will be able to:
- develop communicative skills through multiculturalism
- possess more information on and understand different social behaviours bymeans of close contact with different cultures
- collaborate in order to achieve an assignment
WARM UP
The teacher introduces himself/herself and the new topic.
The teacher asks the students questions such as:
- What do you know aboutthe Romanian people?
- What language do the Romanians speak?
- Do you think that all Romanians are Roma people or the latter are an ethnic group living on the Romanian territory?
The students have to bring relevant arguments and examples to sustain their answers and opinions.
LESSON STAGES
INTRODUCTION
The students are divided into groups of 5. Their assignment is to make a poster in order to represent an ethnic group in Romania.
Each group receives a documentary handout with information about different ethnic groups in Romania, as well as the materials necessary to make the poster.
ACTIVITIES
Activity 1
The teacher writes on the board some figures and numbersrelated to the demographic structure of the Romanian population:
“According to the 2011 census, in Romania there are 23 ethnic groups. Romanians constitute about 88.6% of the total population of 21.354.396 people. Hungarians, who reside largely inTransylvania, make up the largest minority group with about 6.5% of the total population. Roma, account for about 2.5% of the population according to census figures. Lesser minority groups include Ukrainians (0.3%), Germans (0.3%), and Russians (0.2%). Others include Turks, Serbs, Croats, Jews, Poles, Bulgarians, Czechs, Greeks, Armenians, Tatars, Slovaks and others.”
Activity 2
Each team of students readsits documentary handout, discussesthe newly received information and makes decisionsupon the design of its poster. If they need more information, they can performresearch work by accessing various websites related to the theme of the lesson.
Activity 3
Students make their posters. The teacher provides assistance to all students and givesadvice when requested.
Activity 4
The posters are displayed on the board and each group presentsthe result of itscollaborative work. All students are given the chance to express their opinions and ask for additional information. At the end of the students’ questions-and-answers session, the teacher provides feed-back.
HOME-WORK/ASSESSMENT/SUMMARY
The teacher asksthe students to write 1 or 2 paragraphs about another ethnic group in Romania, different from the one they designed the poster for.
DOCUMENTARY HANDOUTS
DOCUMENTARY HANDOUT NO. 1
THE ROMANIANS
Number: 16.870.000 people living on the Romanian territory
A few facts about the Romanians and their history:
The Romanians are a people with deep Romanic roots and whose genesis and history were greatly shaped by the powerful Roman Empire. The Romanians as well as their language are the result of the synthesis between two major ethnic elements: the Trachian-Dacian-Getae people living along the Danube Valley, in South-East Europe and their conquerors the Romans.
However, the formation of the Romanian people and the development of its specific language were also influenced in the Middle Ages by the migratory populations with the Slavs having the greatest impact. The ethnogenesis of the Romanian people (the process through which a group acquires ethnicity, meaning they get the identity that identifies them as an ethnic group) was quite a long process that lasted for approximately 900 years (from the 2nd-1st century B.C. until the 7th-8th century A.D.). The Romanic roots and the spread of Christianity throughout Europe are considered the most important elements of the ethnogenesis of the Romanian people,but also the core around which the Romanian identity took shape. Even nowadays, religion plays a very important role within the Romanian society.
The presence of the Romanic element, at the north of the river Danube, was first documented in Strategikon, a Byzantine Military Treaty, written at the beginning of the 7th century A.D. The people inhabiting the areas at the north of the Danube were called “Romans” due to the language they spoke; the word „Român” is directly related to the name of the ancient Romans, the former being a linguistic element evolved from the Latin word “Romanus”. In medieval historical documents and other sources, the Romanians were also called “Vlahi”, “Blahi”, “Valahi”, “Volohi” or “Olahi”.
The 24th of January 1859, represents a very important date for the Romanian people because from that moment on, the modern Romanian state started to take its present shape. After the unification of Moldavia (eastern-part of modern Romania) and Wallachia (south-part of modern Romania) the newly formedstate entity had the status of a principality; it became a constitutional monarchy in 1881 and then a republic in 1947. In terms of religious affiliation, the majority of the people belonging to the Romanian ethnic group are Orthodox Christians.
Roamnians feasts
- December 1st –The National Day of Romania
- Religious celebrations: Easter, Christmas
- February 24th - Dragobetele (a feast dedicated to Romantic Love and Regenerationof nature after the cold season)
- March 1st - Ziua Mărţişorului (people celebrate the beginning of spring)
- June 24th - Sânzienele or Drăgaicele (a feast dedicated to the Sun and to the summer agricultural activities)
Personalities of Romanians
- Petrache Poenaru - heinvented the ink tank frame, patented in 1827 by the French Government
- Ştefan Odobleja–he had put the basis of Psycho-Cybernetics and laid the theoretical foundations of the generalized cybernetics
- Constantin Brâncuşi–one of the greatest sculptors of the 20thcentury
- Henri Coandă - he built the first reactive propelled aircraft, which he presented at the Paris International Exhibition Aircraft in 1910
- Nicolae Paulescu– he discovered the antidiabetic hormone produced by the pancreas (insulin)
- Nadia Comăneci–she received the first 10 in the history of world gymnastics at the Summer Olympics in Montreal in 1976
- Vlad Ţepeş- he ruled Wallachia (the southerner part of modern Romania) in the second half of the fifteenth century.; due to the fantasy-horror novel written by Bram Stoker he came to be identified with the vampire Dracula, which is one of the most widespread international stereotypes about Romania (Romania is the land of vampires)
DOCUMENTARY HANDOUT NO> 2
THE HUNGARIANS
Number: 1.238.000 persons
About the Hungarian Minority of Romania
TheHungariansare the largest ethnic minority in Romania, consisting of 1,227,623 people and making up 6.5% of the total population, according to the 2011 census. Mostethnic HungariansofRomanialive in areas that were, before the 1920Treaty of Trianon, parts ofHungary. These areas are today known asTransylvania, where Hungarians make up 18.9% of the population.This famous area also includes the historic regions ofBanat,CrișanaandMaramureș.
The Szeklers (Secui in Romanian) are an ethnographically distinct part of this minority, living predominantly in the counties of Covasna, Harghita and Mures. The Szeklers speak Hungarian - in fact intellectuals in both Romania and Hungary agree that the Szeklers speak the purest and most attractive form of Hungarian. Historically, they were settled in the Carpathian bend as guardians of the eastern marches of the Kingdom of Hungary and enjoyed some special privileges. The majority of the Szeklers are Calvinist or Unitarian by religion.
Feasts of the Hungarian community in Romania
- March 15th - commemorates the outbreak of the Revolution of 1848-1849
- October 6th - commemorates the martyrs of the Revolution of 1848-1849 in Arad
- August 20th – Day of Saint Stephen, the founder of the Hungarian state.
Personalities of the Hungarian community in Romania
- Endre Ady - poet
- Bela Bartok–pianist, misucian, composer
- Iolanda Balaș – athlete, Olympic champion in high-jump
- Ecaterina Szabo – gymnast, Olympic champion, winner of world and continental championships
- Emilia Eberle – gymnast, Olympic champion, winner of world championships
- Gabriela Szabo - athlete, Olympic champion, winner of numerous national, continental and international and world championships
DOCUMENTARY HANDOUT NO> 3
THE ROMA PEOPLE
Number: 619.000 persons
About the Roma minority of Romania
It is considered that most of the Roma people came from the Punjab region in India. After 900 A.D., the Roma people set on a three-wave exodus, towards the Middles East and Europe, which lasted until approximately 1500 A.D.
The presence of the Roma people on the territory of present day Romania was first signalled in a document dating back to 1385, but there are high chances for this ethnic group to have arrived much earlier on the territories inhabited by the Romanians. The Roma people had the status of slaves for a very long time, until the middle of the 19th century. Some historians believe that the Roma people, as Tatars’ war prisoners, followed them unwillingly, to the banks of the Danube River, during the Mongol invasion of the 13th century A.D.
The Roma Slaves belonged to the rulers of the Romanian Countries (the so-called “court-slaves”), to the clergy or to the aristocracy. They were regarded as “goods” which could be exchanged between landlords, sold, given as present or could be used instead of a monetary unit. Mixt marriages were totally forbidden. During the second half of the 19th century, the slavery of Roma people was abolished.
However, Roma people could not enjoy their freedom for long, because their situation worsen after the instauration of the totalitarian regimes, starting with March 1938 (the Royal Dictatorship, the National Legionary State and the Antonescu Government).
The Communists tried hard to apply what they called the “social uniformity” concept, which had the purpose to justify the policy of forced assimilation led by the communist party, which was directly mainly towards the Roma national minority. The Roma people were perceived as disruptive elements, which needed to be “Romanised”, since their identity was usually associated to poverty and underdevelopment. The Roma people were not mentioned in the official documents, since they were considered of having an inferior social status. Until the fall of the Communist Regime, the majority of Roma people were hired only for agricultural labours either in agricultural cooperatives or state-owned farms. They were not allowed to practice commercial activities and their traditional crafts were either considered illegal or very close to this status.
After the fall of the Communist regime in 1989, the Roma people put the basis of various organizations that offered them political representation.
Feasts of the Roma Community in Romania
- April 8th –International Day of the Roma People
- First Thursday after Easter– Green Thursday or Easter of Roma Musicians
- May 6th - Herdelezi, Day of Prophet Elias, celebration of Muslim Roma People
- September 8th–Birth of Virgin Mary
- May 24th –St. Sara’s Day, the religious patron of Roma People.
Personalities of the Roma community in Romania
- Ion Voicu, Damian Drăghici, Grigoraş Dinicu–reputed musicians
- Johnny Răducanu – jazz singer
- Jean Constantin - actor.
DOCUMENTARY SHEET 3
THE GERMANS
Number: 36.900 persons
About the German community in Romania
More than 850 years ago, the first Germans arrived to build communities on the territories inhabited by the Romanians. The Germans living in Romania do not form a compact and uniform group, because they came from different parts of Europe, some willingly, called by the country's rulers and attracted by tax facilities and better living conditions than in their homeland, others were forcibly brought and settled in various parts of the country during different historical periods. Most of those people had little in common; their customs were not the sameand they were using different dialects of German. For this reason, today we cannot speak of a single homogeneous ethnic German minority, but about several German communities in Romania.
Thus, nowadays the German ethnics are divided in: the Transylvanian Saxons, Swabians from Satu Mare in north-western Romania, Banat Swabians in the Banat Plain, Banat Germans living in the mountain areasinnowadays Caras-Severin County, Landlersliving in several towns and villagesof Sibiu County, Zipser in northern Transylvania, Bukovina Germans in northern Moldavia and Dobrogea Germans in Dobrogea. Besides these large groups, there were small communities that settled over time in the important cities like: Bucharest, Iasi, Craiova and others. Also, for a limited time, between the two World Wars, the Bessarabia Germans were also part of the people living on the Romanian territory.
It is interesting to point out that more than 10,000 of Germans consider Romanian as their mother tongue, while 6,000 German ethnics claim that Hungarian is their first language.
Feasts of the German community in Romania
- Kirchweih- religious feast which is an important holiday for the Swabians
- Kronenfest (St.Paul’s Day) – Saxon people mark the changing of seasons.
Personalities of the German community in Romania
- Johannes Honterus – a Saxon humanist, church reformer and the founder of the Grammar Saxon School in Braşov.
- Nikolaus Lenau –romantic poet whose works are written in Germ and who was born in Lenauheim (Timis county-western part of Romania)
- Hermann Oberth - Saxon from the city of Sibiu (central part of Romania) who designed the liquid-fuel rocket engine, thus having a great contribution to the history of the cosmic space exploration; he is considered as being one of the founding fathers of astronautics.
1