Valuing the Nation's History

LEARNING the basic competency on 'Describing the development of people, culture, and government during the European colonial era' allowed students to value their nation's history. Musfiqoh, S.Pd, an IPA teacher designed a lesson that gave students the chance to research relevant information from various resources, including the internet. The lesson is described below.

Introduction

During the introduction to the lesson I discussed with my students the importance of Indonesia as a producer of spices. Then I asked the students to give examples of the importance of spices in world commodity trading. Students appeared very interested.

Core Activity

The students were divided into five groups. Each group member was given an identity number and a worksheet for discussion. After doing research using different resources and discussing and finishing the worksheet, each group was then involved in peer teaching. They ensured that every group was able to do the worksheet.

One student was then called to present their group’s work. Other students had the opportunity to give input about the presentation. The same thing happened for each of the other groups. I then asked the students to discuss the benefit of Indonesia’s strategic position with regards to trading in the colonial era.

Closing

Following group work and discussion, my students and I did an assessment based on the assessment rubric. A reward was then given to the group with the highest score. I asked the students to write in their reflection journal about the lesson. Finally, to deepen their understanding about history, students were given some reading to do.

Worksheet The Colonial Era in Indonesia Constantinople, a center of trading in The Mediterranean Sea was captured by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The fall of Constantinople caused great disruption for many European nations, especially in trading. Imported goods from Asia used to be transported through Constantinople. But since the fall of the city, Turkey made it hard for Europeans to enter the city. Trade relations between European nations and West Asia were cut off, which compelled the Europeans to make expeditions in search of spices. Questions: Briefly explain why The West came to The East! Briefly explain how the Europeans came to colonize Indonesia? What was Indonesia's position in trading during the colonial era? Discuss the answer with your group and formulate conclusions, taking into account its relevance to our lives today.