SOCIAL SCIENCE YEAR 6

By Rafael Rodrguez Prez

INDEX
1. The reign of Alfonso XIII
2. The dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera
3. The Second Spanish Republic
4. The Spanish Civil War
5. The Franco Era
6. Transition and democracy
7. Art and culture

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 SOCIAL SCIENCE YEAR 6

0. INTRODUCTION

Read these terms and try to find their definitions in pairs.

Spain experienced all of these things in the 1st half of the 20th century. Think and
put them in order in your notebook.

1. THE REIGN OF ALFONSO XIII

Read and answer orally in pairs.

Alfonso XIII was the last king of the Spanish Restoration. He was the
son of Alfonso XII and was proclaimed king in 1902.
During his reign, there were serious social and political conflicts in
Spain. For example:
- Strikes. Labour unions organized them to get
better job conditions for workers.
- Nationalism. Groups in Catalonia,
the Basque Country and Galicia
demanded autonomy.
- The war in Morocco. Many Spanish
soldiers died and Spain lost territories
in the north of Africa. That area was
controlled by the Spanish army.
- What groups organized strikes?
- Do these groups exist today?
- How were nationalisms similar to nationalisms
today?
- Look at the map and discuss. How would have Spain
be different today if we had had these African
territories at present?

2. DICTATORSHIP OF MIGUEL PRIMO DE RIVERA

Read and understand. Later, you will become a mini-teacher.

Taking advantage of the social and political conflict, General Primo de Rivera led
a coup in 1923. In a coup, a person or a group takes control of a government by
force.

Primo de Rivera established a military dictatorship. He assumed all powers of

state, abolished the Constitution, banned all political parties and labour unions, and

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limited freedom for citizens. King Alfonso XIII supported the dictatorship, but he was
not part of the government.

Primo de Rivera won the war with Morocco, and many roads, railways and other
public works were built under his rule. However, the population opposed his
dictatorship and wanted more freedom. In 1930, Alfonso XIII stopped supporting
Primo de Rivera so the dictator had to resign.

General elections were held in 1931. The republican parties won, and Alfonso XIII
went into exile.

Draw a diagram about the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and use it to explain it to
your partner.

3. THE SECOND SPANISH REPUBLIC

Read; look at the picture and answer.

In 1931, after the general elections, the Second Spanish Republic
was proclaimed and Niceto Alcal Zamora was appointed president of
the Republic.

A new Constitution was approved, which included the right to vote

for women and the separation of church and state. The Catholic
religion was not the official religion of Spain.

Also, the first Statutes of Autonomy for Catalonia and the Basque Country were
approved.

Look at this picture of the general elections of 1933.

- What can you see?

- Why can you see women in the picture?
- Do you think that the church and the
government should go together? Give your opinion.

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The government of the Republic implemented many reforms, including land,

education and labour.

- Land: Some lands were given to peasants. It was very

important in Andalusia.
- Education: A lot of schools were built.
- Labour: A minimum wage (salary) was established and the
workday was reduced.

However, these reforms were not accepted by everyone, and

violent conflicts escalated over time.

Read and answer.

a. Who benefited from the changes brought about by the
Second Republic?
b. What do you think that happened after the violent conflicts?

4. THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

Read and discuss.

In 1936, General Francisco Franco led a coup against the government of the
Republic. This event started the Spanish Civil War, which finished in 1939. During
the war, the Spanish population was divided into two areas:

The Republican area: they supported the Republic.

The Nationalist area: they supported General Franco.

After 3 years of war, General Francos troops occupied all

the Spanish territory.

- How long was the

Spanish Civil War?
- Who controlled the
Nationalist area?
- Why did the Spanish
Civil War start?

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In groups, write a list of consequences of the war.

The consequences of the war were devastating.

Hundreds of thousands of people died or went into exile, there were huge
economic losses, and society was divided into winners and losers.

Use your imagination and write a sonnet (poetry) about the Spanish Civil War.

5. THE FRANCO ERA

Read and practise these questions in pairs.

After the war, General Francisco Franco took power
and established a dictatorship that lasted from 1939 to
1975. This dictatorship is known as Francoism.

- What do you think were some of the differences

between the Republic and the new dictatorship?
- What do you think happened to the Constitution?
- What do you think happened to labour unions?

As a result of establishing a dictatorship:

- The Constitution was abolished and new laws that restricted individual
liberties were created.
- All power was concentrated in one person. Franco was head of state and
government, and commander-in-chief of the military.
- Political parties and labour unions were banned. There was only one political
party and one labour union, both controlled by the government.
- The Statutes of Autonomy were revoked (Catalonia and the Basque Country).
Spanish was imposed as the official language.

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- Censorship was put into place.

Books, films, plays (theatre) and
anything against the ideas of
the dictatorship were banned.

Answer in your notebook.

a. Write three important changes
that happened when Franco
took power.
b. Are these things different
today? Explain
c. Answer in groups. What would
you say to Franco if you could travel in time?

Work in pairs. Use this text to answer this question: what consequences do you
think Spain could have because of this isolation?
The first years of the dictatorship were difficult.

People who had supported the Republic faced

harsh repression. Many were arrested or killed, and
others went into exile.

During these years, Spain became

internationally isolated. As a result of the Spanish
dictatorship, many countries broke off diplomatic
and commercial relations with Spain.

Look, read, listen and answer.

This isolation and the destruction of infrastructures and industries during the
war led to an economic crisis.

As a result, the population became poor and

often did not have access to food and other basic
products.

- Why are these people standing in line?

- What social class do you think they belong
to?
- Why do they need these services?
- Are these organizations that provide this
service today? Explain.

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Read, think and discuss.

Francos dictatorship started in 1939 and Spain was not accepted by other
countries at the beginning. However, from the 1950s, Spain started to become
accepted internationally.

During this period, many agreements were signed with different countries,
including the United States of America. In 1955, Spain was accepted as a member of
the United Nations (UN).

From 1960, the economy started to improve: industrial production increased,

agriculture was modernized with new machinery and new infrastructure was
developed. Tourism became one of the main economic activities. In Andalusia the
tourism in La Costa del Sol became very important.

As a result of these changes, life became better in our country.

Dictation.
- Marbella was one of the most important touristic places in Spain and Andalusia
during the 1960s in the 20th century.
- However, there was no democracy and the dictator controlled the population.
- People who opposed the dictatorship were arrested.

Debate. Nationalists vs. Republicans. Explain why your political choice is better than
the other.

Between 1970 and 1975, opposition to the Franco regime escalated.

Labour unions were still banned, but they started to organize underground,
which means they met in secret.
In addition, students participated in demonstrations that demanded a
democratic form of government.
On 20th November, 1975, General Franco died and the dictatorship ended. It
was the beginning of a new era in which democracy was established.

Answer these questions.

a) What event marked the end of the dictatorship?
b) Imagine and write 3 changes in your life if there were a new dictatorship in
Spain:
- If there were a dictatorship in Spain, I would/wouldnt
Write about the Franco Era. Use your own
words, past simple, past continuous and
relative pronouns.

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6. TRANSITION AND DEMOCRACY

Watch this video, think and answer.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbTcTnxGjVo)

- What happened after Francos death?

- What do you think the transition was?

Dictation.
The transition was the period of political changes
created to go from the dictatorship to democracy.

After the death of General Franco in 1975, Juan Carlos I, grandson of Alfonso
XIII, was crowned King of Spain.

In 1976, the king appointed Adolfo Surez as president. A series of reforms were
adopted and Spain could become a democratic country again.

Read and say if these reforms were true or false:

a) Political parties and labour unions were legalized. ____
b) Political prisoners were killed. ____
c) Some people went into exile. ____
d) After 41 years, the Spanish people were once again able to vote in
democratic elections. ____

Read and answer orally.

Elections took place in 1977 and
the Central Democratic Union (Unin
de Centro Democrtico, UCD) was
elected, the party led by Adolfo
Surez.
a. Who is the king now?
b. Who was the king before him?

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After the 1977 elections, representative of the major political parties wrote a
constitution which was approved by Parliament.

In 1978, Spaniards voted in favour of the Constitution in a referendum.

The Constitution of 1978 established that Spain is a democratic country, whose

national sovereignty resides in the Spanish people, with a parliamentary monarchy
as a form of government.

Work in pairs. Make up a YES/NO question to approve the rules of the classroom.
This is our classroom rules referendum.

Read and write the events below in chronological order. Next to each event, write
the year it occurred.
Our Constitution also guarantees citizens rights such as equality under the law,
freedom of expression and the right to vote for all citizens over 18 years of age.

The Constitution also recognizes the organization of the Spanish territory in

autonomous communities. Between 1979 and 1995, Spain was organized into 17
autonomous communities and two autonomous cities.

Read, listen and answer.

New elections were held in 1979 and the party of Adolfo Surez (UCD) won
again. During this mandate, Spain suffered a serious economic crisis, and terrorist
attacks by ETA were frequent.
- What do you think Adolfo Surez did?

Dictation.
Adolfo Surez resigned because there was an
economic crisis and ETA attacked very frequently.

Watch this video of Tejeros coup attempt, read this information and write a
sentence in pairs with your opinion.
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVHu3m-4keo)

In 1981, while Parliament was voting to elect Leopoldo

Calvo Sotelo as the new president, a small group of military
officers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero attempted
a coup.

However, Tejero did not have support from political

parties, the people or the king, and the coup failed.

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Read and make a timeline of the presidents of Spain since democracy was
established.
Since 1981, after Adolfo Surez, some presidents headed the Spanish government.

- 1981: Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo (UCD). Spain became a member of NATO, a

military alliance.

- 1982 to 1996: Felipe Gonzlez (PSOE). He carried out reforms to modernize

Spain. In 1986, Spain joined the European Community.

- 1996 to 2004: Jos Mara Aznar (PP). Economic stability was achieved. In
2002, Spain adopted the euro () as it currency, and said good-bye to the
peseta.

- 2004 to 2011: Jos Luis Rodrguez Zapatero (PSOE). Laws that extended the
rights of citizens were approved. In the last years of his mandate, the
economic crisis caused unemployment.

- 2011 to ?: Mariano Rajoy (PP). Very strict measures were taken to stop the
economic crisis. In 2014, king Juan Carlos I abdicated in favour of his son,
Felipe VI.

7. ART AND CULTURE

Main Spanish artists during the 20th century:

Pablo Ruiz Picasso. He was born in Mlaga. He invented

cubism. In this innovative painting style, three-dimensional human
figures and objects are represented on a flat canvas using different
geometrical shapes.

Salvador Dal. He was born in Figueras (Girona). He used

light, colour and drawings to express the world of dreams.

Joan Mir. He was born in Barcelona. He used bright

colours and geometrical shapes to create a fantasy world similar to
the world of a child.

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Another well-known painters include Antoni Tpies, Antonio Lpez and

Miguel Barcel.

Look at these paintings and answer orally.

- Which painting would you associate with children? Why?

- Which painting reminds you of the world of dreams? Why?
- Who painted The Women that Cries? How can you tell it is a cubist
painting?
- Who painted each picture?

Read and answer in pairs: Why do you think that painters and sculptors from the
20th century were not interested in copying reality?
During the 20th century and in the present day, sculptors have
worked with materials such as iron, steel, plastic or even recycled
materials to create distorted human sculptures.

The main Spanish sculptors include Pablo Gargallo, Eduardo

Chillida and Juan Muoz.

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Read about architecture in the 20th century, look at these pictures and answer.
From the 20th century, architects have created multi-shaped buildings using a variety of
materials, such as reinforced concrete, steel, glass, aluminium and titanium.

- Have you ever been here?

- What are these buildings used for?
- Do you like their design? Why?

Read and discuss about the importance of literature during the 20th century.
Since the 20th century, Spain has produced great writers:

- Narrative: Miguel Delibes, Camilo Jos Cela (Nobel Prize for Literature), Javier Maras
and Arturo Prez-Reverte.
- Poem: Federico Garca Lorca and Rafael Alberti, who were part of the group of
poets known as the Generation of 27.
- Drama: Jacinto Benavente (Nobel Prize for Literature) and Fernando Fernn Gmez.

Copy this table in

your notebook and
complete it in
groups.

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