Grade Levels: 6-8, 9-12

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Apartheid Lesson Plan.

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Apartheid, and supports the standard of explaining the development and end of apartheid in South Africa. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students:

  • What do you think of when you hear the word “segregation”?
  • How does this term relate to United States history?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read the description on the Apartheid topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Assign Related Reading. Have students read one of the following articles: “Arts and Entertainment” or “Famous Faces” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign Apartheid Challenge and Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about apartheid while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs and/or interests.

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce a documentary that compares South African apartheid policies and United States Jim Crow laws.
  • Make-a-Map: Identify the timeline of events leading to the end of apartheid in South Africa.
  • Creative Coding: Code a digital museum exhibit featuring figures and artifacts to represent the impact of apartheid resistance leaders.

More to Explore 

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of oppressive systems and their impact with these topics: Slavery, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights.

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments