SHS2 History · Semester 2 Week 1: Response to Colonial Rule

Lesson notes

Learning Objectives

Indicator: 2.3.4.LI.3 - Analyse the activities of nationalist movements before the WWII.

By the end of the lesson, learners can:

Explain at least three reasons why nationalist movements were formed in the Gold Coast before World War II.
Describe the specific activities and methods used by pre-WWII nationalist movements such as the Aborigines’ Rights Protection Society (ARPS), the Fante Confederation, and the Gold Coast Youth Conference.
Outline the demands these movements presented to the colonial government and assess how the government responded to them.
Compare the strategies of two pre-WWII nationalist movements and evaluate which was more effective in achieving its aims.
Analyse historical sources to form and present a justified argument about why the activities of pre-WWII nationalists were reasonable at the time.

This lesson builds on learners’ prior knowledge from Semester 1, where they described the nature of resistance against colonial rule (LI.1) and identified nationalist movements in Ghana before WWII (LI.2). The focus here is on deeper analysis of what these movements actually did. The post-WWII movements will be covered in the coming weeks.

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Curriculum details

Strand: Age of Encounter and Exchanges Up to the 20th Century (Strand 3)
Sub-strand: Response to Colonial Rule (3.4)
Content standard: 2.3.4.CS.1 - Demonstrate understanding of the nature and activities of Nationalist Movements including their efforts in resisting colonial domination in the Gold Coast. 2.3.4.LO.1 Use relevant historical sources to investigate the activities of Ghanaian nationalists and nationalist movements and develop arguments on why their actions were justified at the time, while exhibiting patriotism, loyalty, national consciousness, tolerance, teamwork, and other characters.
Indicator: 2.3.4.LI.3 - Analyse the activities of nationalist movements before the WWII.
Suggested placement: Semester 2, Week 1 (Week 21 of the year)
Our suggestion, laid out in curriculum order across three terms of twelve weeks. NaCCA does not fix the week, so follow your school's scheme of learning.
Curriculum reference: NaCCA curriculum document, p. 82

Exemplars (from the NaCCA curriculum)

Enquiry Routes: Why were nationalist movements formed in Ghana in the 19th and 20th Centuries? Who were the leaders of the nationalist movements formed in Ghana? What were the backgrounds of leaders of the nationalist movements in pre-WWII Ghana? What demands did the nationalist movements make to the Colonial Government?
Talk for Learning: In a Jigsaw activity, learners discuss reasons for the formation of protest movements/activist groups in Ghana before the WWII.
Project-Based Learning:
- Learners prepare a hierarchical chart of leadership/founding members of protest movements/activist groups formed in Ghana before the WWII.
- Learners produce a poster of the demands of protest movements/activist groups formed in Ghana before the WWII. HINT: Group highly proficient and approaching proficiency learners and encourage them to share their views during the discussions
Experiential Learning: Learners organise mini seminars on the achievements of protest movements/ activist Groups formed before the WWII.
Collaborative Learning:
- In a fishbowl activity, learners examine the role women played in nationalist movements.
- In mixed-ability groups, learners develop a concept map that explains the factors leading to the collapse of protest movements/activist groups in Ghana before WWII.
Teaching and Learning Resources:
- Secondary Sources (textbooks, newspaper articles/opinion papers, etc.)
- Tape/audio recorder
- Internet access
- Computer/ laptop/mobile phone, speaker-out devices.
- Stationaries
- Photographs of leaders of the UGCC and the CPP.
- A chart showing the list of achievements and aims of the early political parties.
- Documentaries on activities of early post WWII political parties
- Resource person
- Primary sources (old photographs, art forms, old artefacts, etc. of traditional leaders who resisted colonial rule)
- Documentaries on individuals who stood against colonial rule in Ghana.
- Photographs of leaders of Nationalist groups.
- A chart showing the list of nationalist movements and some of their major achievements.
- Documentaries on the activities of nationalist groups
Assessment (2.3.4.AS.3). The document marks these depth-of-knowledge levels for this indicator: Level 2 Skills of conceptual understanding; Level 3 Strategic reasoning; Level 4 Extended critical thinking and reasoning.