Mandela Day

Introduction

In this lesson, students learn about Nelson Mandela and Mandela Day which takes place on July 18th each year. On Mandela Day, people give their time to make a positive impact in their own communities. In the lesson, students read a text about Nelson Mandela’s life. The text also describes the purpose of Mandela Day and gives examples of what people have done to celebrate the day. Students then work together to prepare a presentation of things they could do for Mandela Day. You could take this forward with your class so that they actually choose one idea and do it, then write about it later.

The lesson can be used at any time of the year. You can choose to use either a presentation or a student worksheet for this lesson.  

Learning outcomes

• Read a text about Nelson Mandela and identify the key events of his life
• Explain what Mandela Day is 
• Discuss and present ideas for Mandela Day 

Age and level

13-17, Adults (B1+)

Time

60 minutes

Materials

The materials can be downloaded below. 

• Lesson plan
• Presentation
• Student worksheet

Task 1: Pre-teaching vocabulary and prediction (10 minutes)

• Show slide 2 of the presentation or refer students to Task 1 of the student worksheet. 
• Students work individually or in pairs to match words and meanings. They can share ideas or use dictionaries if available. 
• Check the answers with the class and check pronunciation of the words. 
• Explain that the words are from a text about Nelson Mandela. If students are familiar with Mandela, you could invite them to say / guess how the words are related to his life.  
  Answers: 1g, 2c, 3h, 4b, 5a, 6i, 7d, 8e, 9f

Task 2: Lead-in discussion (10 minutes)

• Show slide 3 of the presentation or refer students to Task 2 of the student worksheet. 
• Ask students to discuss questions 1-7. They can do this as a whole class or in small groups. If you are using the presentation, ask students to make notes. If students discuss in groups, collect some suggestions. 
• At this point, don’t say if the suggestions are correct or not. Students will find the answers in the text. 

Task 3: Read for main meaning (10 minutes)

• Show slide 4 of the presentation or refer students to Task 3 of the student worksheet.
• Ask students to read the text quickly to see if their suggestions for questions 1-7 (Task 2) were right. You could give them a time limit for reading. 
• Then tell them to discuss the answers to the questions in pairs / small groups. If you are using the presentation, you may need to show slide 3 again. 
• Check the answers with the class.
  Answers: 
  1. South Africa’s first black president
  2. He was arrested for his work with the ANC (a political group campaigning for black people’s rights).
  3. 28 years
  4. Nobel Peace Prize
  5. He died in 2013.
  6. 18 July (his birthday)
  7. People take 67 minutes of their time to do something for other people. 

Task 4: Read for more detail (10 minutes)

• Show slide 5 or refer students to Task 4 in the student worksheet. Ask them to read through the text again and to add events from Mandela’s life to the timeline. They can compare answers in pairs.
• Check the answers with the class.
  Answers: 
  1918 – Mandela was born
  1944 – joined the ANC
  1960 – demonstration against apartheid (69 people killed)
  1962 – arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment
  1990 – released from prison 
  1993 – awarded Nobel Peace Prize
  1994 – became first democratically elected president of South Africa
  2013 - died

Task 5: Follow up discussion and presentation (20 minutes)

• Show slide 6 or refer students to Task 5 in the student worksheet.
• Put students into small groups and explain the task. In groups, they should think of some ideas to celebrate Mandela Day. Remind them of the number 67 – the ideas should involve this number. They should choose the three best ideas and be prepared to present them to the class.  
• Walk around as students work and help where necessary. Give them a time limit and remind them to choose the three best ideas. 
• When groups are ready, ask them to present their best ideas to the class. If you have a large class, put groups together to present their ideas. 
• Students vote for the best ideas. 

Optional follow-through

• Choose one idea and get the class to work together to put it into practice. Get them to write a report about it.