No Easy Walk to Freedom

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

 “The Implications of Apartheid Policy”

In this activity, students work in groups to research an apartheid policy and its effects before presenting their findings to the class.

In groups of 3 or 4, choose an apartheid policy to research in more detail. Using details from both the text and outside sources, present the policy to the rest of the class and discuss its implications. Be sure to answer the following questions in your presentation:

• What is the name of the policy, and in what year was it enacted?
• Were there any important antecedents to the policy’s enactment?
• What did the Nationalist government claim was the policy’s aim?
• How did the ANC and/or other South African organizations view the policy? How did the people that those organizations represented view the policy?
• What effect did the policy have? Are there ways that the policy ties into Shifts in Strategy or the ANC’s Relationship to Other Political Organizations?
• When was the policy officially repealed, and what effect did the repeal have?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to assign the policies that each group researches and presents so that different groups don’t present on the same policy. After all presentations have concluded, groups might reconvene to briefly discuss connections between policies represented in the activity.  

Differentiation Suggestion: Group presentations afford multiple opportunities to differentiate based on learning style and individual preference; for example, students may choose to present their research either orally or with visual aids (e.g., PowerPoint). In addition, you can encourage groups to delegate responsibilities, offering students less comfortable with public speaking the chance to focus on research, writing, and presentation design.