Famous People

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Nelson Mandela

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Famous People
ESL Lesson Plans from ESL-Images.com

NELSON MANDELA

PRE-READING QUESTIONS

1. What do you know about Nelson Mandela?

2. Do you know how many years Nelson Mandela spent in prison?

3. Do you know the meaning of “apartheid”?

4. Do you know when Nelson Mandela was president of South Africa?

5. Why do you think Nelson Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize?

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Famous People
ESL Lesson Plans from ESL-Images.com

Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born in South Africa in 1918. Until about 1992, South Africa had a political system called
apartheid. This meant that black people had to live apart from white people. For example, they could not go to
the same schools as white people or eat in the same restaurants. Most blacks had no jobs, were very poor, and
could not vote in elections.

Mandela grew up in a village. When he was a young man, he left his village to study law. He wanted to help
free black people from apartheid. He became a lawyer in 1952 and worked in Johannesburg, a large city in
South Africa.

Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944. The ANC led many protests against the
government’s apartheid policy. From 1952 to 1960, Mandela was arrested and jailed twice for being a leader of
the ANC. In 1960, the government killed many black people for protesting against apartheid. Mandela was a
peaceful man, but after these killings, his protests became more violent.

In 1963, the government sent Mandela to prison for life because of his work against apartheid. But, even though
he was in prison, he became a famous example of how black people suffered under apartheid. People from all
over the world asked the South African government to release him from jail.

Mandela was released in 1990. He had spent 27 years in jail. In 1991, he became president of the ANC. He and
the South African president then agreed that South Africa would end apartheid and become a democracy. They
won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for this.

In 1994, an election was held. Black people were allowed to vote, and Mandela became the first black president
of South Africa. When he was president, he worked to improve the economy, especially for black people. He
also worked to bring peace to his country, after so many years of violence between blacks and whites.

In 1999, Mandela retired as president. He now helps other countries solve their problems.

Copyright 2006. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only
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Famous People
ESL Lesson Plans from ESL-Images.com

Nelson Mandela
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is
false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.

1. Nelson Mandela is from South America. _________

2. Mandela grew up in Johannesburg. _________
3. When Mandela was a child, black and white children could not go to the same schools. _________
4. Mandela went to prison in 1990. _________
5. Mandela became the first president of South Africa. _________

B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answer in a
complete sentence in the space provided.

1. When and where was Nelson Mandela born? ___________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What kind of political system did his country have until 1992? _____________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Explain apartheid. ________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Why did Mandela decide to study law? _______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What group did Mandela join? What did this group do? __________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
6. What happened in 1960? ___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Why did the government send Mandela to prison? ______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
8. What did Mandela try to do for his country when he became president? ______________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

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Famous People
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VOCABULARY REVIEW Nelson Mandela

A. What are the meanings of the underlined words? Circle the correct answer.

1. In the apartheid system, black people and white people had to live apart.
a. together b. separately c. in a village

2. The ANC lead many protests against the government apartheid policy.
a. rule or principle b. police c. prison

3. Mandela was arrested for being leader of the ANC.

a. election b. stopped c. taken to jail

4. Mandela spent 27 years in prison.

a. jail b. government c. village

5. He was released in 1990.

a. suffered b. elected c. set free

6. Mandela worked to improve his country.

a. lead b. make better c. protest

B. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.

_____ 1. vote a. a government chosen freely by the people

_____ 2. famous b. a very small town
_____ 3. protest c. express your choice in an election
_____ 4. suffer d. stop working at a job, usually because of age
_____ 5. allow e. very well known
_____ 6. democracy f. have pain or great difficulty
_____ 7. retire g. permit, let
_____ 8. village h. show you do not support something

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Famous People
ESL Lesson Plans from ESL-Images.com

Nelson Mandela
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What kind of political system do you have in your country? Who can vote? How old do you have to be to
vote in your country?
2. Who are the most famous political heroes in your country? Why are they famous?
3. Do you think it is possible to make big changes in a political system peacefully?
4. Can you name any other famous people who protested peacefully and made big changes in their countries?
5. What characteristics do heroes share?
6. Who is your favorite hero? Why?

Notes:
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__________________________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2006. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only
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Famous People
ESL Lesson Plans from ESL-Images.com

Nelson Mandela
ANSWER KEY

PRE-READING QUESTIONS

1-5 individual answers

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

A. True or False

1. F 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. F

B. Written Answers

1. He was born in South Africa in 1918.

2. Up until 1992, South Africa had a system of apartheid.
3. Apartheid meant that black people had to live apart from white people; black people could not go to the same schools as
whites, they could not eat in the same restaurants and they could not vote.
4. Mandela decided to study law because he wanted to help free black people from apartheid.
5. Mandela joined the African National Congress, which led many protests against the government’s apartheid policy.
6. In 1960, the South African government killed many black people who were protesting against apartheid.
7. The government sent Mandela to prison because of his work against apartheid.
8. When Mandela became president, he tried to improve the economy and he tried to bring peace to his country.

VOCABULARY REVIEW

A. Meanings of the underlined words

1. b 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. c 6. b

B. Matching

1. c 2. e 3. h 4. f 5. g 6. a 7. d
8. b

Copyright 2006. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only
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