Indian independence · 1930-1931

Gandhi and the Salt March

In March 1930 Mohandas Gandhi set out to walk about 385 km to the sea to make salt, which British law forbade. Millions followed his example. Students trace the march on the map and explore how nonviolent protest challenged an empire.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1930
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In March 1930 Mohandas Gandhi set out to walk about 385 km to the sea to make salt, which British law forbade. Millions followed his example. Students trace the march on the map and explore how nonviolent protest challenged an empire.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Gandhi chose salt as the symbol of protest in 1930.
  • Trace the route of the Salt March on the map from Ahmedabad to Dandi.
  • Describe what nonviolent civil disobedience is and why it worked.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1930

British India

Open the map in 1930 and find the British Raj. How big is it compared with Britain? Find Delhi, Bombay (Mumbai) and Ahmedabad.

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1930

The march

Zoom in on Gujarat. Find Ahmedabad and follow the coast south to Dandi, about 385 km away. Gandhi walked it in 24 days. About how many kilometers is that per day?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1930

Across the sea

Zoom out and follow the sea route from Bombay to Britain. Ask the atlas: "Why did Gandhi travel to London in 1931?"

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why was a tax on salt a clever target for a protest? Who did the tax hurt most?
  2. Gandhi set out with 78 followers. Why did thousands join along the way?
  3. What is the difference between nonviolent resistance and simply giving up?
  4. At the Dharasana salt works, marchers did not fight back when police beat them. Why did reports of this shock people around the world?
  5. The march did not end British rule. Was it a success? Give two arguments.
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Akbar, the Mughal emperor who ruled much of India. Then discuss: Gandhi had no army and no throne. How did he change events without being a ruler?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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