We teach a unit on Nelson Mandela in our mainstream ninth-grade English classes (which also include many English Language Learners).  Since yesterday was his 91st birthday, I thought I’d quickly pull together a “The Best…” list of accessible sites about him.

You can find also find these links, along with many others, in the Nelson Mandela section of my website.

Here are my choices for The Best Sites For Learning About Nelson Mandela:

This is an impressive interactive from CBS News about his life.

CBS has a video of his first inauguration as President of South Africa.

The BBC has an excellent multimedia timeline of Mandela’s life.

A student-created site has a short accessible biography.

Here’s another simple biography from a student-created site.

A piece from TIME for Kids provides a simple overview of the country of South Africa and its history.

TIME Magazine has a good audio slideshow made on his 90th birthday.

The Biography Channel has some good Mandela resources.

This is a great series of a combination comic book/video/audio narrations about his life, and may be my favorite link on this list.

The Los Angeles Times has a good audio slideshow on Mandela’s release from prison.

How Stuff Works has a series of videos about Mandela.

CNN has a huge number of resources on Mandela.

Students can try this simple game after they’ve learned about Mandela’s life.

This is a good Internet Scavenger Hunt on South Africa that would be accessible to ELL’s.

Here’s the link to another accessible Internet Scavenger Hunt.

U.N. Creates Nelson Mandela Day is a new lesson from Breaking News English.

I’m sure most people are aware of the new movie “Invictus,” starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, that portrays Nelson Mandela’s effort to help unite his country through a rugby team’s effort to win the world championship. There’s an excellent clip from the movie that highlights Mandela’s recognition of the importance of unity and reconciliation (portrayed by Morgan Freeman). It’s on the Wall Street Journal’s website, and is less than two minutes.

Life and Times: Nelson Mandela is a film that’s available for free online.

Nelson Mandela’s Life and Leadership is an audio slideshow from TIME Magazine.

Nelson Mandela Media Center is a great collection of multimedia resources on him.

Awesome Stories has a very accessible feature on the life of Nelson Mandela.
Snag Films has several full-length movies about Mandela that are available online for free. Type in “Mandela” in the website’s search box and you’ll see all the results.

The Associated Press has an interactive on Mandela.

The News from Australia has two slideshows about Mandela.

Slate has a slideshow on Mandela.

Mandela’s leadership lessons is a great piece from CNN.

Bikers on a drive to do good for Mandela’s birthday is from CNN.

In pictures: Nelson Mandela marks 93rd birthday is from the BBC.

Suggestions and feedback are always welcome.

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