I was surfing the internet to find audiofiles concerning the history of people fighting against opression and racism. I am a teacher in a school in Denmark, where I educate teens in the culture and laguage of the english-speaking world. I want to tell them the stories of the men and women who made a difference. And then I found this site.

My students are rapped up in a dream, and in the ignorance of a totally secure life. They can't emagine the strength it takes to make and change history. I am taking them on a stroll back in time to find out what made the world they're living in. We begin our project on Racism and Opression by watching the movie "Mississippi burning", listening to the "I Have A Dream" speech by M.L.K. and reading about Rosa Parks. We have allready brushed through the independence history of Scotland ("Braveheart" and texts about William Wallace), and will talk about the conflicts in Northern Ireland. But I would love to finish properly with the story of South Africa. I believe that the material in "Mandela: An Audio History" fits perfectly in my lesson plan and it would indeed make my job a lot easier.

Mette Loeye Balle
Faxehus Efterskole
Grade 9 English(But nearly beginners)
Denmark

I teach 8th grade English at John Bullen Middle School in Kenosha,Wisconsin. The students and I are working on a nonfiction unit. The five-part series on Nelson Mandela couldn't have come at a better time. I found the series to be creative, interesting, thoughtful, insightful, and innovative. Each segment was the right length for modern 14 year old children. I downloaded the transcripts so that the students and I could learn the identity of the speakers and could more clearly understand the speakers' accents. The ability to address change in a heroic way is something that I know my students will confront many times in their lives. The South African people shown in this series illustrate that with strong leaders and people working together order can come out of chaos.

Jim Fergus < jfergus@kusd.edu>
John Bullen Middle School
Kenosha, WI

 

Your series has been a great tool in my seventh grade study of South Africa during the 20th century. Students have especially liked role-playing from the transcripts. We also read Beverly Naidoo's Journey to Jo'burg and Chain of Fire as an introduction to life under apartheid.

Terri Camean <cameant@canterburygso.org>
Middle School Social Studies Canterbury School
Greensboro, NC

 

I am teaching this to ninth graders. We are reading Mark Mathabane's Kaffir Boy and Miriam's Song while exploring apartheid. I found the film Amandala! to be facinating and a great addition to the curriculum as well. Currently, my students are engaged in a pass book senario. Using photo shop and a copy of an old pass book, I fashioned individual pass books and they are role playing being black south africans in a white area during apartheid. It is powerful. The final aspect of the curriculum is an individual research paper. Because the topic is so vast, each student has a different focus that they are researching then will present to the class.

Elizabeth Jordan <ambrosiawhump@yahoo.com>
North Country School
Lake Placid, NY

 

We want to make this a helpful and creative resource for other educators. Please help us by adding your lesson plans and suggestions. If we post your lesson plan we will will send you a Radio Diaries CD of your choice.

If you haven't yet used the series in your classroom and want to be notified when CDs become available email us. We will contact you in the fall when they are ready.