Hero background

Sports Inspire Change

English (ELA) • 90 • 20 students • Created with AI following Aligned with Common Core State Standards

Download now

Free PDF · we'll email you a copy

English (ELA)
90
20 students
7 March 2026

Teaching Instructions

Create lesson plan aligned with the wit and wisdom curriculum using I do, we do, you do, land/wrap and assessment ESSENTIAL QUESTION How can sports influence individuals and societies? FOCUSING QUESTION: Lessons 1–4 How can sports affect the way we view others? CONTENT FRAMING QUESTION: Lesson 1 Distill: What is the essential meaning of the documentary about Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory? Launch this final Grade 5 module about the power of sports with a short, powerful documentary about Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory. Introduce the module’s Listening Goal, listen to understand, in the context of viewing a documentary. Students watch the documentary once to notice and wonder about the story filmmakers are telling. Then they watch it a second time to deepen their understanding of the events and significance of South Africa’s Rugby World Cup victory—and what it reveals about the power of sports. If you have additional time, look for opportunities to extend students’ understanding of the documentary genre, and the impact of the filmmakers’ choices in telling this story. Welcome 4 MIN. REFLECT ON THE POWER OF SPORTS Display the following prompt for students to answer in their Response Journal: Nelson Mandela, the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, once said, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.” Do you think these statements are true? Why or why not? If possible, support your ideas with examples from your own experience. After about three minutes, students Pair–Share their ideas. 27 © Great Minds PBC WIT & WISDOM G5 M4 Lesson 1 ® Launch 6 MIN. Welcome students to their fourth and final module of the year! Share that the former President of South Africa, who died in 2013, spoke about the power of sports at the 2000 Laureus World Sports Awards, a ceremony held each year to celebrate achievements in sports around the world. Invite students to listen to Mandela’s words as you play a clip from his speech. Play the clip from Mandela’s speech at the 2000 Laureus World Sports Awards: http://witeng.link/0403. Then invite several students to share their response from the Welcome task with the whole group. Post the Essential Question, Focusing Question, and Content Framing Question. Choral Read the Essential Question. Ask: “What does it mean to influence something—in this case, individuals and societies, or communities of people?” Affirm strong responses, and provide the following definition for students to record in the New Words section of their Vocabulary Journal. Word Meaning Synonyms influence (v.) To affect someone or something in an important way. impact, affect Explain to students that this is the big question that will drive their thinking and inquiry over the next several weeks. They will build their knowledge of how sports can influence individuals and societies by reading a variety of texts. They will have many opportunities to express their learning through writing and speaking. Choral Read the Focusing Question. Share that, in the next several lessons, students will explore the power of sports and how sports can affect the way we view others as they watch a short film and read a short story. Read aloud the Content Framing Question. Share that today, students will watch a short documentary, or a film based on actual people and events. They will learn more about Nelson Mandela and a momentous event for his country of South Africa: when South Africa’s team won the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Explain that rugby is a team sport much like American football, in which players kick, carry, and pass from hand to hand an oval-shaped ball. © Great Minds PBC G5 M4 Lesson 1 WIT & WISDOM® 28 TEACHER NOTE To help students grasp the significance of South Africa’s World Cup victory, explain that in many countries around the world—South Africa included—rugby is as popular as American football in the United States. Share that students will watch the documentary twice. The first time, they will listen carefully to notice and wonder and to organize what is happening. The second time, they will reflect more deeply on the significance of the event for Nelson Mandela, the people of South Africa, and the world. Learn 55 MIN. BUILD BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE 7 MIN. Whole Group Tell students that before they watch the documentary, they will build some background on the topic to support their understanding. Display the word apartheid. Ask: “What word parts do you recognize that might offer clues about the meaning of the word apartheid?” Affirm that the prefix a– means “away” or “from,” and that the word apartheid contains the word apart, which means “away from each other.” Distribute and display Handout 1A. Give students a moment to study the images on the handout. Invite a volunteer to share what they notice and wonder about each of the three images. Read aloud, or have volunteers take turns reading aloud, the background information under each of the following sections on Handout 1A: ƒ South Africa’s History. ƒ Apartheid. Name Date Class Handout 1A: Background on Nelson Mandela and Apartheid in South Africa Directions: Read the background on Nelson Mandela and apartheid in South Africa. Jot down what you notice and wonder about as you read. Background on Nelson Mandela and Apartheid in South Africa South Africa’s History Like most African countries, South Africa was originally the home of black African tribes. In the 1400s, White Europeans arrived in what is today known as South Africa on their way to the Far East. In the mid-1600s, White settlers from the Netherlands established the city of Cape Town on the southern coast of Africa and began settling there. In the 1800s, Great Britain took control of Cape Town, and in the early 1900s, the White British government created the country of South Africa. © Great Minds PBC G5 M4 Handout 1A • WIT & WISDOM® Page 1 of 3 29 © Great Minds PBC WIT & WISDOM G5 M4 Lesson 1 ® ƒ Life under Apartheid. ƒ Nelson Mandela and the Fight against Apartheid. Pause after each section, and invite students to share reactions to and questions about the information. Answer questions, and clarify confusion as needed. Tell students they will learn more about Nelson Mandela and South Africa in the documentary. DEFINE THE LISTENING GOAL 8 MIN. Whole Group Ask: “What are some strategies you have learned this year to help you listen and understand what you hear—whether you are listening to a Read Aloud, a speaker, or your peers in an academic conversation—and understand what you see as you watch a film?” Call on several students to share listening strategies they have learned this year. n We learned to pay close attention to word choice to help us understand. n We practiced visualizing, or creating pictures in our mind as we listen. n We learned how to listen for context clues to help us make sense of what a speaker is saying. Display the module’s Listening Goal, listen to understand. Ask: “How does our new Listening Goal, listen to understand—relate to our previous Listening Goals?” Affirm that the ultimate goal of listening, whether to a Read Aloud or speech, during a film, or in an academic conversation, is not just to hear but to gain a deep understanding of what we hear. Display the word documentary. Remind students that a documentary is a film based on real people, places, and events—it documents, or captures, reality. The purpose of a documentary is to tell a particular story about a particular subject. Remind students that during Module 1, they watched clips from the documentary A Landscape of History to learn about the Nez Perce homeland and the beginnings of the tribe’s conflict with White settlers and the US Army. In Module 3, they watched a clip from a documentary about the Civil War. Extension Ask: “What do you know about some of the techniques filmmakers use to tell stories in documentaries? In other words, what kinds of things do you see and hear in documentaries?” Encourage students to draw on their own experiences watching documentaries, in class or outside of class, to support their responses. Instruct students to Think–Pair–Share, and ask: “How is watching and listening to a documentary a form of nonfiction reading?” Call on several pairs to share their ideas. Affirm strong responses, adding your own ideas as needed. © Great Minds PBC G5 M4 Lesson 1 WIT & WISDOM® 30 n Watching a documentary is a form of nonfiction because you are taking in information and learning about a subject, but instead of reading, you are relying on your eyes and ears to watch and listen. n You can apply the same stages of reading—Wonder, Organize, Reveal, Distill, and Know—to a documentary, just like a text. n Readers and viewers both have to pay close attention and concentrate to understand what they read or see and hear. n Like documentaries, nonfiction texts often include visuals such as illustrations or photographs. Then instruct students to Think–Pair–Share, and ask: “How is watching and listening to a documentary different from reading about a subject in a nonfiction text?” Call on several new pairs to share their ideas. Affirm strong responses, adding your own ideas as needed. n When you read, you have to focus on words and decode them. When you watch a documentary, you might have to read subtitles, but mostly, you focus on listening and watching at the same time. n When you read nonfiction texts, you can visualize to help yourself understand. You don’t have to visualize when you watch a documentary because it provides visual images for you. You rely on those visuals to help you understand what the documentary is about. n When you read, it is easy to go back and reread a part of the text. It’s not always possible to go back and re-watch a part of a documentary, especially if you are watching a film with a group of people and you aren’t able to view it again. n Even though nonfiction texts often include visuals, documentaries themselves are “visuals” because they are movies. NOTICE AND WONDER ABOUT A DOCUMENTARY 12 MIN. Whole Group Share with students that they will practice listening to understand as they watch a short documentary film about Nelson Mandela and his country’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory. Tell students that they will watch the documentary twice. The first time, they will focus on listening and watching to try and understand what story the filmmakers are telling about Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s 1995 World Cup victory and how they tell that story. Display this question: ƒ What do you notice and wonder about the story the filmmakers are telling in this documentary? TEACHER NOTE Provide a student-friendly glossary of key unknown words or phrases for students to reference as they watch the documentary: democratically elected, implosion, racial violence, right-wingers, oppression, reconcile, underdog, fledgling democracy, jubilation. 31 © Great Minds PBC WIT & WISDOM G5 M4 Lesson 1 ® Play the ESPY Awards—Nelson Mandela documentary: http://witeng.link/0402. TEACHER NOTE The video is 8:23 minutes long. Afterward, invite students to orally share what they noticed and wondered about the story they heard in the documentary. n I noticed that Nelson Mandela went from being in prison to being the country’s president. I wonder if that’s ever happened anywhere else before. n I noticed many violent scenes near the beginning of the video: people starting fires, shooting guns, breaking things, and cracking whips. n I wonder why the White rugby players visited the jail Nelson Mandela was in for so many years. I noticed they cried when they talked about that experience—it must have been emotional for them. n I noticed the rugby players thanked Nelson Mandela after they won the game. I wonder why they did that. Extension Invite students to share what they noticed and wondered about how the filmmakers chose to tell this story or what techniques they used. LISTEN TO DEEPEN UNDERSTANDING OF A DOCUMENTARY 28 MIN. Individuals Explain that students will now watch the documentary a second time, in two parts. This time, they will focus on watching and listening to gain a deeper understanding of the story the documentary is telling about Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory. Distribute Handout 1B. Read aloud the directions; clarify questions students may have. Instruct students to take a moment to read the questions for Part 1, and place a checkmark () next to the questions they feel confident they can answer after watching the video one time and a question mark (?) next to questions whose answers they are unsure about. Replay the first part of the documentary, stopping at minute 3:15: http://witeng.link/0402. Encourage students to jot down answers to—or notes to help them answer—the questions for the first part as they watch. Name Date Class Handout 1B: Documentary Response Sheet Directions: Read the questions for PART 1. As you watch PART 1 of the documentary a second time, listen for the answers to these questions. After watching PART 1, write down your answers in the space provided. Then, read the questions for PART 2, and repeat the same steps above as you watch PART 2 of the documentary a second time. Finally, answer the self-reflection question at the end of this handout.

  1. Why was South Africa so divided when Nelson Mandela became president in 1994?
  2. Why did Nelson Mandela want to bring the 1995 Rugby World Cup to South Africa?
  3. What did the sport of rugby represent to Black South Africans in the early 1990s? How did this affect Black South Africans’ attitudes toward the Springboks? PART 1 © Great Minds PBC G5 M4 Handout 1B • WIT & WISDOM® Page 1 of 2 © Great Minds PBC G5 M4 Lesson 1 WIT & WISDOM® 32 Afterward, give students several minutes to write or develop their answers to questions 1–3. Scaffold Have students work in pairs to answer these questions. Facilitate a brief discussion about the first part of the documentary using the questions for Part 1 of Handout 1B. Call on different students to share ideas with the whole group. Extension Challenge students to use the word apartheid in at least one of their responses to questions 1–3. 1 Why was the country of South Africa so divided when Nelson Mandela became president in 1994? n The country suffered from apartheid. Black people and White people were not considered equals. n More than 750 people were killed over violence between White people and Black people. n Some Whites were ready to go to war against Black people. 2 Why did Nelson Mandela want to bring the 1995 Rugby World Cup to South Africa? n There was lots of violence between the Black and the White South Africans when Mandela became president. n He thought he could get everyone in the country to support their team, the Springboks. n He used the phrase, “One team, one country,” before the World Cup came to South Africa. 3 What did the sport of rugby represent to Black South Africans in the early 1990s? How did this affect Black South Africans’ attitudes toward the Springboks? n To many Black South Africans, the sport of rugby represented apartheid. n Because of this, many of them did not support the Springboks. n Black South Africans hated rugby and the Springboks. Extension Ask students to describe some of the images and the music the filmmaker uses in this part of the documentary. Challenge students to think about how such images—for instance, the barbed wire, images of a prison, video clips showing violence, thunder and lightning—and the music in this part of the video help them understand the conflict among the people of South Africa and the situation in the country before the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Clarify lingering questions or confusion about the first part of the documentary before replaying the second part. Now, instruct students to take a moment to read the questions for Part 2 of Handout 1B, and place a checkmark () next to the questions they feel confident they can answer after watching the video and a question mark (?) next to questions whose answers they are still unsure about. Replay the second part of the documentary, from minute 3:16 to the end (minute 8:23): http://witeng.link/0402. 33 © Great Minds PBC WIT & WISDOM G5 M4 Lesson 1 ® Encourage students to jot down answers to—or notes to help them answer—the questions for Part 2 of Handout 1B as they watch. Afterward, give students several minutes to write or develop their answers to questions 4–6. Scaffold Have students work in pairs to answer these questions. Facilitate a brief discussion about the first part of the documentary using the questions under Part 2 of Handout 1B. Call on different students to share ideas with the whole group. 4 How—and why—did the support for the Springboks change as the World Cup tournament progressed? n As the World Cup tournament progressed, the Black and the White South Africans began to support the Springboks. n Black South Africans began to realize this was their country and their team—they wanted to support them at the World Cup. n Nelson Mandela wore the Springboks’ jersey, showing his support of the team. This caused other people to want to support them, too. 5 What is the significance of Nelson Mandela’s vision, “One team, one country”? n Black and White people, together, were very excited about the final championship game. n People were shouting and celebrating together, instead of shouting at one another. n People began to realize there is only one South Africa, and that hating it, and the people in it, wasn’t going to accomplish anything. 6 Why was the Springbok’s victory such a momentous event for Nelson Mandela and the people of South Africa? n When they won, the entire country celebrated as one. n The players thanked Nelson Mandela for what he had done to bring the country together. n White South Africans came together and were chanting for Nelson Mandela, their Black leader. n The win helped the people of South Africa to see one another as human beings, regardless of skin color. Clarify lingering questions or confusion students may have about the second part of the documentary. Afterward, invite several students to share examples of how their understanding improved the second time they watched the documentary. If needed, provide sentence frames such as the following: ƒ The first time I watched the documentary, I didn’t understand . After watching it again, I understood . © Great Minds PBC G5 M4 Lesson 1 WIT & WISDOM® 34 ƒ As I watched the documentary the first time, I wondered . But watching it again, I realized . TEACHER NOTE Like many listening goals, the Listening Goal in this module is not easily measureable. As students practice listening to understand during this module, be sure to provide opportunities for students to reflect on and evaluate their own progress toward this goal. Extension Ask students to describe some of the images and the music the filmmaker uses in this part of the documentary. Challenge students to think about how such images and music in this part of the video—an image of a sunrise, the sound of people cheering, uplifting music, clips of the team and audience celebrating, the sound of people chanting “Nelson, Nelson”—change in this part of film and help them understand the significance of the Springboks’ victory. Land 9 MIN. REFLECT ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S VICTORY Distill: What is the essential meaning of the documentary about Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory? Remind students that they focused on listening today to help them understand the story of Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory. Invite a student to read aloud today’s Content Framing Question. Individually or in pairs, students write two or three sentences to answer the self-reflection question at the bottom of Handout 1B: ƒ What does South Africa’s victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup represent for Nelson Mandela and the people of South Africa? Use Equity Sticks to call on two or three students to share their response with the whole group. n The victory represented a huge step toward peace and unity among all people in South Africa. The country, which was once divided by apartheid and racism, came together as one to support their team. Invite several students to reflect on how the documentary they watched about South Africa’s victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup demonstrates how sports can change the way we view others. Share that in the next lesson, students will continue to explore the power of sports and how sports can affect people’s views of others as they read a short story. 35 © Great Minds PBC WIT & WISDOM G5 M4 Lesson 1 ® Wrap 1 MIN. ASSIGN HOMEWORK Distribute and review the list of additional texts from Appendix D: Volume of Reading and the Volume of Reading Reflection Questions (see the Student Edition). Explain that the list contains books with further information about topics discussed in the module. Tell students that they should consider the reflection questions as they independently read additional texts and respond to those questions when they finish a text

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Analyze how sports can influence individuals and societies by watching and discussing a documentary on Nelson Mandela and South Africa's 1995 Rugby World Cup victory.
  • Develop listening comprehension skills using strategies to “listen to understand” in the context of multimedia texts (documentaries).
  • Use close viewing and textual evidence to deepen understanding of nonfiction content and filmmaking techniques.
  • Reflect and write about how the documentary's story demonstrates the unifying power of sports.
  • Engage collaboratively in discussions, supporting their points with evidence from the documentary and prior knowledge.

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Alignment

Standard CodeStandard Description
RI.5.1Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
RI.5.2Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
SL.5.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.5.2Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
L.5.4aUse context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Materials Needed

  • Student journals or notebooks
  • Printed Handouts 1A and 1B (Background & Response Sheet)
  • Multimedia display system (projector or smartboard)
  • Documentary video: Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory (approx. 8:23 minutes)
  • Vocabulary word wall or journals with key words: influence, apartheid, reconcile, underdog, etc.

Time Breakdown & Activities

Welcome & Reflect — 10 Minutes (I Do / We Do)

Activity:

  1. Display Nelson Mandela’s quote on the power of sports.
  2. Give students 3 minutes to write in their Response Journals:
    “Do you think sports can change the world and unite people like Mandela said? Why or why not? Use examples if you can.”
  3. Conduct a whole-class Pair–Share, then invite a few volunteers to share verbally.

Teacher’s Role: Model reflective thinking by sharing your own response first to set tone and depth.


Launch & Vocabulary — 10 Minutes (I Do / We Do)

Activities:

  1. Greet and introduce the module’s essential question:
    How can sports influence individuals and societies?
  2. Explain the focusing question for Lessons 1–4:
    How can sports affect the way we view others?
  3. Define influence together; students record in Vocabulary Journals with synonyms.
  4. Briefly introduce documentary genre, including visual and audio storytelling techniques.
  5. Play a short audio clip of Mandela’s 2000 Laureus World Sports Awards speech to build connection.

Teacher’s Role: Use Think-Aloud to model determining word meanings from context and to set expectations for listening closely during the documentary.


Build Background Knowledge — 7 Minutes (We Do)

Activities:

  1. Introduce the term apartheid by breaking down word parts using root words and prefixes.
  2. Distribute Handout 1A (Background on Mandela and Apartheid).
  3. Read each section aloud (or have volunteers read), pausing after each to discuss what students notice and wonder.
  4. Clarify any questions or misconceptions.

Set Listening Goal & Discuss Documentary Features — 8 Minutes (I Do / We Do)

Activities:

  1. Present the Listening Goal: Listen to understand. Compare this with previous listening goals students have learned this year.
  2. Explain documentary characteristics and their nonfiction nature. Ask students to Think–Pair–Share:
    • How is watching a documentary similar and different from reading nonfiction texts?
  3. Discuss common filmmaking choices and ask students to predict what kind of story they might hear.

Tip: Use sentence frames for discussion, e.g., "I noticed..." and "I wonder..." to scaffold oral responses.


Watch & Notice/Wonder — 12 Minutes (You Do — Guided)

Activities:

  1. Inform students they will watch the documentary twice. The first viewing is for noticing and wondering.
  2. Provide glossary of key words for support during viewing.
  3. Play documentary (8:23 minutes).
  4. Immediately after, facilitate oral sharing of observations and questions regarding the story and filmmaking.

Teacher’s Notes: Encourage open-ended ideas and ensure diverse voices are heard using “equity sticks” or similar strategies.


Deeper Understanding & Guided Questions — 28 Minutes (We Do / You Do with Partner)

Activities:

  1. Distribute Handout 1B with focused questions divided into Part 1 and Part 2.
  2. Students mark which questions they feel ready to answer and which remain unclear before viewing.
  3. Replay Part 1 of documentary (0:00–3:15). Students take notes answering questions 1–3 individually.
  4. Students discuss answers in pairs; teacher facilitates a whole-class discussion to clarify understanding.
  5. Repeat for Part 2 (3:16–8:23) with questions 4–6.
  6. Students complete a self-reflection sentence: “After watching the documentary a second time, I understood that…”

Differentiation: Struggling students get sentence starters; advanced students explore filmmaker choices and impact of images/music.


Land (Distill Essential Meaning) — 9 Minutes (You Do Independently / Share)

Activities:

  1. Revisit the Content Framing Question:
    What is the essential meaning of the documentary about Mandela and the 1995 Rugby World Cup?
  2. Individually or in pairs, write 2–3 sentences answering:
    What does South Africa’s victory represent for Mandela and the people of South Africa?
  3. Invite several students to share their answers.
  4. Facilitate a brief discussion about how sports helped reshape views of others in South Africa through this documentary.

Wrap & Homework — 1 Minute (You Do Independently)

Homework:

  • Choose one text from the provided Volume of Reading list about sports, unity, or South Africa (teacher curated).
  • Respond to reflection questions in writing about how sports influence individuals or societies, referencing the text or documentary.

Assessment

  • Formative Oral: Student participation in Think–Pair–Share, oral reflections on the Mandela quote, and documentary discussions assessing comprehension and critical thinking.
  • Written: Completion of Handout 1B response sheet and final reflection writing task.
  • Listening Progress: Observe student use of listening strategies like noting key details, visualizing, and asking questions during documentary viewings.

Extension Activities

  • Filmmaking Techniques: Students create a short storyboard for their own documentary on how sports influence people, emphasizing visual and auditory choices.
  • Vocabulary Art: Illustrate and write sentences for module key vocabulary, e.g., influence, reconcile, underdog.
  • Sports Interview: Conduct a class interview about how sports impact students’ lives and community views, then write a collective summary report.

Reflection for Teachers

This lesson promotes cross-modal literacy, integrating speaking, listening, writing, and viewing to achieve deep understanding of a significant historical event. It encourages critical thinking about social issues and leverages culturally powerful texts to engage students meaningfully. By structuring around I Do, We Do, You Do, it scaffolds learning with reflection and assessment aligned with 5th Grade Common Core ELA standards and Wit & Wisdom framework.

Create Your Own AI Lesson Plan

Join thousands of teachers using Kuraplan AI to create personalized lesson plans that align with Aligned with Common Core State Standards in minutes, not hours.

AI-powered lesson creation
Curriculum-aligned content
Ready in minutes

Created with Kuraplan AI

Generated using gpt-4.1-mini-2025-04-14

🌟 Trusted by 1000+ Schools

Join educators across United States