Amazing Thinkers and Humanitarians (Level 4)
English Readers
Mahatma Gandhi
Classroom Activities
Where you see this symbol
with any story in this book.
, the activity type is reusable
Before reading
1 Guess
Write up on the board or dictate the following questions.
Tell students to discuss the answers in pairs. If they are not
sure, they can guess.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Where did Mahatma Gandhi come from?
What was his job?
Did he ever leave his home country?
What did he campaign against?
What changes took place as a result of his actions?
Did he die peacefully?
Tell students to scan the timeline on pages 96–100 in the
reader and find the answers. Set a time limit of 2 minutes.
Feed back the answers as a class.
2 Speaking Ask the groups to look again at the timeline and complete the
following sentences in any way they like. They can use each
sentence stem more than once. Give students 5 minutes to
complete this activity with a partner. Then have some students
tell the class what they came up with.
I already knew that …
I never knew that …
I’m surprised that …
While reading
TIP
3 Comprehension
Give out copies of Handout 1 (The Travels of Mahatma
Gandhi) to all students. Students annotate the maps with
dates and notes of important events from Gandhi’s lifetime
using both the timeline on pages 96–100 and the main text.
This may be a quick activity or, if the students are
reading the text for the first time in class, it may take
a while. Alternatively, you could set this as ongoing
homework to be completed while they read the story
at home.
After reading
4 Comprehension
Draw the students’ attention to paragraph 3 on page 87
(Law to me …). Have them read the paragraph to
themselves or have one student read it aloud. After that,
ask a student to summarize the principles of Jainism. Tell
the students that they are going to explore how Gandhi’s
beliefs differed from those of other people at the time.
Give out Handout 2 (The Varied Beliefs Experienced
by Mahatma Gandhi) and elicit from students what
information could go in the first box (‘Followers of
Jainism’ > ‘Beliefs’). Then give students 15 minutes to read
the text and make notes in the table. Some of the ‘Living
Conditions’ boxes may be left empty.
After 15 minutes, allow pairs or groups of students to
compare their completed tables.
5 Writing and speaking
Tell students to imagine that they are Mahatma Gandhi
attending the Round Table Talks in London in 1931
(see page 91). Tell students that they are going to prepare a
1–2 minute speech addressing some or all of the following
topics:
• why you want an independent India
• what conditions for Indian people are like
• why you disagree with the principles behind
British rule
• what the British should learn from American
independence
• what you have done so far for the people of India
You can either ask students to write in full sentences
or make notes on cards. The former is recommended
if students have not done work on giving presentations
before.You can set this as a homework activity. Students
can present their speeches to another student or to the
whole class.
After they have finished, they can compare their maps with
those of another student and make further annotations.
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1
Amazing Thinkers and Humanitarians (Level 4)
English Readers
Mahatma Gandhi
Classroom Activities (Continued)
6 Language
Ask students to call out some of the underlined words that
they are not familiar with. Write them on the board as they
call them out. If you like, they can also add some words that
are not underlined. Then get students to spend some time
checking the meaning of the words from the list that they
do not understand. They should make a list of at least
10 words each. They can use the glossary, go online at
www.collinsdictionary.com/cobuild or use a print dictionary.
Encourage students to write a sample sentence containing
each word to ensure that they have fully understood its
meaning.
In pairs, students take turns to say a word from the list. The
other student should make a sentence, related to the life of
Mahatma Gandhi, using this word. If they are unable to do
so, they may refer to the reader.
7 Video
Watch the video of Gandhi telling his story. Tell students to
listen out for pieces of information that they had until now
overlooked. Then allow students to share the information in
pairs or groups.
8 Research
Write the following quotation from Gandhi on the board.
Ask students if they can deduce its meaning.
‘An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.’
If they are struggling, tell them that ‘an eye for an eye’ is a
saying that means ‘If you are cruel to me, I will do the same
back to you.’ Then ask students to reread the sentence and
ask them if Gandhi agrees with the philosophy of ‘an eye for
an eye’. Tell students to write a sentence explaining what this
quotation means.
Ask students to research famous quotations by Gandhi. They
can use the websites in the ‘Further Research’ document
or they can do their own online search. Ask them to find
three quotations that they find particularly meaningful.
This can be set as a homework exercise. Later, give students
the opportunity to share their favourite quotations in pairs
or groups.
I didn’t realize until now that …
© HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. This page is photocopiable.
2
Amazing Thinkers and Humanitarians (Level 4)
English Readers
Mahatma Gandhi
Answer Key (Classroom Activities)
1 Guess
At the guessing stage, answers will vary. Do not give
away the answers until students have referred to the
timeline.
1India
2 a lawyer
3 Yes, he went to Britain and South Africa.
4 Discrimination under British rule in India
5 Gandhi–Irwin agreement was signed; India
gained independence
6 No, he was assassinated.
2 Speaking
Answers will vary. Suggested answers include:
I already knew that Mahatma Gandhi protested
against British rule.
I never knew that Mahatma Gandhi spent a
long time overseas.
I’m surprised that Mahatma Gandhi was
imprisoned so many times.
3 Comprehension
Answers and the way the maps are annotated will
vary. Suggested answers include:
India map:
Porbandar: born 1869, moved to Rajkot in
1876
Amritsar: 1919 – Jallianwala Bagh massacre,
379 murdered, 1000 wounded
Delhi: 1948 – Gandhi assassinated aged 78
Champara: (year not in text) Gandhi led nonviolent protest against British landlords
Mumbai: 1891 – unsuccessful attempt to set
up law firm
1902 – opened law firm
Gujarat Coast: (this is the ‘lump’ on the west
coast in which Porbandar is situated) 1930 –
march against British salt production laws
UK map:
London: 1888–1891 – studied law at
University College London
1914 – stopped en route from South Africa
to India
1931 – attended second Round Table
conference
North of England: 1931 – visited cloth mills
South Africa map:
Natal: 1893 – worked as lawyer
1894 – h
elped set up Natal Indian Congress
1896 – brought family over from India
1908 – imprisoned for 2 months
1913 – led Indian protest and was imprisoned
Johannesburg: 1903 – opened law office
1914 – left South Africa
4 Comprehension
Answers will vary.
Suggested answers:
Followers of
Jainism
Londoners
South Africans
British rulers in
India
Indians under
British rule
The Muslim
League
Beliefs
Solve differences
with respect,
tolerance
and mutual
understanding;
arranged marriage
at young age; beat
your own enemies
– anger, intolerance
and immorality;
importance of
self-control and
responsibility for
own actions
Debate between
capitalism and
communism,
democracy and
theocracy
Prejudice and
discrimination
towards Indians;
racial conflict
Prejudice and
discrimination
towards Indians,
especially the Dalit
caste; unwilling to
admit defeat; harsh
punishments for
those who protest; a
divided India with
a separate Muslim
state
Indians should rule
India, not British;
not supportive of
British protection
laws e.g. cloth, salt; a
united India
A divided India with
a separate Muslim
state; Muslim army
should continue to
fight for the British
Living
conditions
Limited medical
facilities; widespread
poverty and
hardship; heat
Wet; lonely (for
Gandhi)
Discrimination e.g.
Indian marriage
illegal, Indians not
allowed to travel
first class
-
Depressing poverty
-
5 Writing and speaking
Answers will vary. Students’ presentations may
refer to the following points:
Gandhi supported an independent India
because of the discrimination under
British rule, which led to poor conditions
for Indian people and laws that protected
British industry and were detrimental to the
local population. He believed the principles
behind British rule were immoral,
intolerant and irresponsible, and went
against the beliefs of the Indian people. He
believed the British should learn to admit
defeat gracefully. They should learn lessons
from the unnecessary war of independence
in America. Gandhi only used peaceful
means to protest, yet he was treated poorly,
experiencing harsh conditions in prison.
6 Language
If students want advice, direct them to words
that will usefully expand their vocabulary
rather than very specialist words.
7 Video
Answers will vary.
8 Research
Answers will vary.
Suggested meaning for the quotation An eye for
an eye will make the whole world blind:
If you are continually cruel to people who
are cruel to you, you will never understand
how other people think and they will never
understand you.
© HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. This page is photocopiable.
Students will come up with their own
quotations that they have researched. Here are a
few famous ones that students may mention:
• ‘Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn
as if you were to live forever.’
• ‘Be the change that you want to see in the
world.’
• ‘A no uttered from the deepest conviction is
better than a yes uttered merely to please, or
worse, to avoid trouble.’
• ‘Happiness is when what you think, what
you say, and what you do are in harmony.’
3
The Travels of Mahatma Gandhi
Indicate on the maps where Gandhi visited or stayed. Note the appropriate dates and
significant events that occurred while he was there.
AFGHANISTAN
Amritsar
BHUTAN
NEPA
L
Delhi
Champaran
INDIA
Porbandar
Mumbai
Arabian
Sea
Bay of Bengal
Andaman
Sea
India before independence
LONDON
United Kingdom
South Africa
© HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. South Africa map © Collins Bartholomew Ltd 2014.
Londoners
South Africans
© HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. This page is photocopiable.
Living conditions
Beliefs
Followers of Jainism
British rulers in India
Indians under British
rule
The Muslim League
Read the text above. Note down some of the beliefs of people living in different parts of the world as experienced by Gandhi. Where relevant, also note down the
conditions in which people lived.
‘My Jainist principles guided me in both my studies and my social life … but in London I found many different views.’
The Varied Beliefs Experienced by Mahatma Gandhi