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9th grade · Social Studies · Unit 11 of 13

The End of Empires

Independence after World War II

What your child practices

How colonies in Asia, Africa and the Middle East won independence after World War II (India, Israel, Ghana, Kenya, Algeria, Vietnam), the Suez Crisis, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the end of apartheid.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 9.14 · realignment after World War II and the decline of colonial empires

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. After World War II, colonies won independence: India (1947), Ghana (1957, led by Nkrumah), Algeria (1962, after a long war).
  2. Some fought, like Kenya’s Mau Mau Rebellion against British rule.
  3. The Suez Crisis (1956) showed Britain and France could no longer act as world powers without US support.

Example: In what year did India gain independence from Britain? It was soon after World War II. India became independent in 1947. Answer: 1947

The End of Empires in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 11 of 13 in 9th grade Social Studies, after The Cold War and before Our Connected World.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Decolonization means…

    • colonies gaining independence
    • countries joining empires
    • empires growing larger
    • new colonies being founded

  2. Question 2

    David Ben-Gurion was…

    • India's first president
    • Israel's first prime minister
    • Ghana's leader
    • Egypt's king

  3. Question 3

    Mahatma Gandhi led India's independence movement using…

    • a navy
    • nonviolent resistance
    • armed revolution
    • a monarchy

  4. Question 4

    India gained independence from Britain in…

    • 1975
    • 1919
    • 1947
    • 1857

  5. Question 5

    1960 is called the 'Year of Africa' because…

    • seventeen African countries became independent
    • Africa was colonized
    • World War II ended
    • the Berlin Conference met

  6. Question 6

    Why did the partition of India cause so much suffering?

    • It was perfectly peaceful
    • Millions fled across new borders amid violence
    • No one moved
    • It made India a colony again

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