Teacher's Guide for FACES ® Nelson MandelaFebruary 2006
Teacher Guide prepared by: Lisa Greenberg
Getting Started: Use the illustrated front and back covers of the magazine to trigger a class discussion of the meaning of human rights. Brainstorm a list of human rights with students as a group. Then engage students in an individual exercise: Have each draw a circle on a piece of paper, place the most important right to him or her in the center of the circle, and the least important rights on the rim of the circle. Have each rank the rights in order of its importance to the student as an individual. Then pair students and have them discuss with each other their ranking and why they placed the rights the way they did. To sum up, you may wish each pair to offer an insight to the class as a whole.
Extension: If time permits, you may wish to discuss what it means to be the "voice of human rights" and whether they have ever felt like a "voice for human rights".
"Nelson Mandela Children's Fund", p. 4 READ FOR INFORMATION 1. What human rights for children does the Children's Fund support? (rights to clothing, food, shelter, work, education, health and medicine) 2. What happens at Nelson and Graca Mandela's yearly Christmas party? (Children meet Nelson Mandela and receive food, books, and clothing. Then they watch an entertainment.) 3. Name four countries where satellite branches of the NCMF exist. (United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada) 4. How have individuals raised money for NMCF or increased awareness of its goals? (mountain climb of Mount Everest, selling prepaid phone cards, marathon races, South Africa Charity Golf Day, personal donation) 5. How many organizations does NMCF support? (more than 900)
DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN FACT AND OPINION: Reread the last paragraph. What are the facts and what is the author's opinion?
"Activist, Prisoner, President", pp. 6-9 INTERPRETING ART: Have students write five details they notice about the painting on page 6 and summarize what the details show them about South Africa and its history. RESEARCH PROJECTS for individuals or small groups: 1. Compare and contrast the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela 2. How have skin color differences shaped American and the South African history? 3. Compare the experiences of black, white, colored, and Asian children's lives under apartheid in South Africa. 4. Summarize the goals and history of the African National Congress. 5. Write a short biography of any of the individuals listed in the article. 6. Illustrate and write a cartoon strip of the different phases of Nelson Mandela's life.
"What Was Apartheid?" P.9 Creative writing: Have students choose a slip labeled white, colored, black, Asian from a box and then write a one-page diary entry for a child of the race chosen during the apartheid era. You may wish to time this exercise and tell them to write as fast as they can for ten minutes. They may then work with a peer editor to refine their writing.
"A Troublemaker is Born", pp.10-11 CRITICAL READING AND DISCUSSION: 1. Compare Nelson Mandela's childhood with your own. What was the same and what was different? 2. What values was Nelson Mandela taught as a child and why? 3. What was Mandela's reputation as a schoolboy? 4. Why do you think his name was changed? 5. Nelson Mandela underwent a painful physical rite of passage to signify the beginning of manhood. What do you think are the rites of manhood or womanhood in American life? 6. Was the title for this article well chosen? Why or why not?
"You Can't Play: Race Games in South Africa", pp. 12-13 DRAWING CONCLUSIONS and MAKING INFERENCES: 1. Why did white South African athletes have better equipment, training and opportunities for sport? (They had more resources because they were richer and possibly supported by the government.) 2. Why did black South Africans choose to play soccer? (It didn't require much equipment, only a ball and marked goal areas.) 3. How did white and black opinions differ on the rugby team Springboks and why? (Blacks didn't like them because they were a white-only team and blacks "knew rugby was a sport for white only". Whites applauded them as a symbol of national pride and ethnic pride because they were good players of Afrikaner heritage for the most part.) 4. How and why did Nelson Mandela's personal attitude toward the Springboks change? (In prison he booed them in order to annoy the prison guards and support his personal pride as a black South African; as president he supported them in order to unite his nation - black, colored, Asian, and white - behind a single national team with a good chance of winning.) 5. Why did Mandela wear a Springboks cap and jersey at the Rugby World Cup Championship? (To illustrate national support for a national team)
"Mandela, the Revolutionary", pp 14-17
GATHERING INFORMATION FROM ILLUSTRATIONS: Have students look at the article photographs and infer what the article is about from the captions and photographs. OUTLINING: Have students as a group outline the main points of the article. Discuss how the outline fits with the photograph information?
"Number 466/64", pp. 18-21 QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION OR CRITICAL WRITING: 1. How did the Robben prison experience try to force prisoners to feel second-class? 2. How did Mandela use the prison experience to reinforce his sense of self? 3. What were Mandela's most difficult prison experiences and why? 4. Explain how the High Organ chapter of the African National Congress worked. 5. Why do you think the government transferred Mandela from Robben Island and then finally released him in old age?
"The Music Saved Them", pp. 22-23 MUSIC: If you can find a recording, play protest songs from South Africa and from the United States. Talk with students about verse, refrain, and rhythm in sung music. Then have them write a "protest song" about something that happens in their daily life. Encourage them to use a melody that is already well known. If they wish, have them sing one of the songs with a group of friends.
"Free Mandela", pp.24-27 DISCUSSION/CURRENT EVENTS: 1. What does it mean to be the "face of a movement"? What people in the world today represent an entire human rights movement? 2. How did the UN sanctions on South Africa help make Mandela's imprisonment a worldwide issue? What individuals imprisoned today have become globally known? 3. What other countries in the world today operate under economic sanctions? 4. Mandela said, "I am prepared to live for my ideals, but if it must be, I am also prepared to die." Do you think this is true of all heroes? Can you suggest other people alive today who agree with Nelson Mandela's words? 5. What "grassroots efforts" exist in your community? How can you support them? Is there an issue at your school that your class feels strongly about? What can you do about it today?
"Uneasy Alliance: Mandela and de Klerk", pp. 28-31 DISCUSSION: 1. What were de Klerk's political priorities in releasing Mandela? 2. How did South Africa's economy influence him? 3. Why did the constitution emphasize human rights? 4. Why did the constitution use very simple language? 5. Can you think of an experience you have had in which two people who didn't feel comfortable with each other still worked effectively together? How did they do it? Why? 6. How did Mandela's personality and de Klerk's understanding of government and politics make them a good team? 7. What would you define as Mandela's highest personal value? 8. What has been his goal for South Africa?
"Remaking a Nation", pp. 32-35 DEBATE: Divide the class into teams to debate this question based on Nelson Mandela's words: Are unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, and homelessness always the enemies of peace? Ask students to find concrete examples from their own or historical experience to support their side of the question. VALUE DISCUSSION: Why do you think the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was or was not effective in unifying South Africa? What other methods might work to unite a divided country? What role does "reconciliation" or admitting guilt play in your personal life?
"His Work Today", pp. 36-37 CURRENT EVENTS: Encourage students to bring in newspaper or web-based articles on Nelson Mandela's current work and the AIDS crisis in Africa. How Animals Got Their Beautiful Coats? Enjoy this folktale as a read-aloud with students taking the different parts. Wrap up: Discussion: 1. Is Nelson Mandela a modern hero? 2. Would you like to model your future life on Nelson Mandela's? Why or why not? 3. What does it mean to know that "we have done our duty on earth"?
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