Topic: I know my rights

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

8th grade primary school student

Core curriculum:

III. Understanding oneself, recognizing and solving problems.

The student:

3) explains the relationship between dignity and the rights he enjoys.

IV. Human rights

The student:

1) explains that human dignity is the basis for various moral systems; explains that it is a source of universal, inherent, inalienable and inviolable human rights and freedoms; analyzes the contents of the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

3) names the children’s rights and analyzes the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;

4) gives examples of the Ombudsman for Children’s Rights activities (...).

The general aim of education:

The student explains the relationship between dignity and the rights he enjoys.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• explains the difference between majoritarian and constitutional democracy.

• analyzes what human rights are, what assumptions they originate from, describes, what characteristics they possess, and gives examples of various human rights and documents they are regulated in.

• presents children’s rights as a special type of human rights.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences.

Teaching methods and forms of work:

• discussion,

• source material analysis,

• SWOT analysis,

• teaching conversation using schemes, interactive exercises,

• trash and suitcase method.

Forms of work:

• self‑learning,

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• small pieces of paper in two different colours (e.g. green and yellow) for each student,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will understand the essence of human rights and find out, what their characteristics are.

2. The teacher asks the students to recollect the definition of democracy. Then he asks the students:

• How is the majoritarian rule put to practice?

• Is the political party which has won the majority of mandates in the parliament and formed the government allowed to pursue only the interests of their voters? Why not?

3. The teacher points the students attention to the fact that it is because of the necessity to observe the rights of minorities why in modern democratic states human rights, enjoyed by every individual not by groups, are so important.

Implementation:

1. The teacher asks one of the students to read article 30 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights contained in the abstract “I know my rights” out loud. He asks the students, how they understand the dignity which is the source of human rights. Does it mean that not every person is worthy of (dignified enough) enjoying human rights? Does a person who behaves “inhumanely” lose his human rights? The teacher moderates a class discussion. At the end he asks one of the students to sum it up.

2. Then the teacher divides the class into four groups and informs the students that their task will be to carry out a SWOT analysis of a certain situation. The teacher presents the three assumptions that are the basis for human rights to the students, and then asks them to imagine a world and a state, that is based on opposite assumptions. What strengths and weaknesses would such a solution have? What threats and opportunities would it bring?

3. After they have completed the task the students present their SWOT analyses and discuss it with the teacher. Then the teacher initiates a short discussion asking a question: Which world would you rather live in?

4. On the interactive board the teacher displays the interactive scheme “Human rights”. He asks the students, what their understanding of each of the human rights’ characteristics is. After the students give their suggestion of each explanation, the teacher reveals the explanation available in the widget, and asks one the students to read it out loud. The teacher helps the class establish, what was missing in their understanding of a given characteristic.

5. The teacher asks the students to familiarize themselves with the excerpts from the Constitution of the Republic of Poland from the abstract, which regulate the children’s rights. He asks willing/selected students to analyze the provisions..

6. The teacher displays the interactive illustration “Children’s rights” on the board. He asks the students to find examples that explain, in what ways they use the rights, what these rights mean exactly.

Summary:

1. At the end of the class the students do exercise 1 concerning human rights. They discuss their answers with the teacher and share their thoughts and observations.

2. The teacher carries out a summary part of the lesson using the trash and suitcase method. The teacher hands out small pieces of paper in two different colours (e.g. green and yellow). On the green pieces of paper the students write down the useful knowledge and skills they acquired during the class – these go into “the suitcase” (students stick it to a board under that category). The yellow pieces of paper are used to write down things the students did not find useful or interesting – these go into “the trash” (under the sign that reads “trash” on the board). The teacher explains, that their reflection may concern both the acquired knowledge, and the new skills they have learned. The teacher reads students’ reflections on the experience – first the “trash” contents, then the “suitcase”.

3. Homework proposal:

a. Look up the Universal Declaration of Human Rights text online. Find out, what rights it guarantees. Choose three which you find most important. Explain, using examples, what these rights consist in. Why do you find them the most important?

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

I know my rights

Is the majority always right? Discussion, voting, majority decision‑making are procedures characteristic of democratic communities. However, it should be remembered that the will of the majority cannot violate the rights and freedoms of those, who constitute a minority. Protection of the rights of individuals and the rights of minorities is the foundation of a modernly understood democratic state. Majoritarian democracy has been replaced by constitutional (liberal) one.

Human rights are moral principles or norms of fundamental character. They are rights that every individual has in his relations with a state. The notion of human rights is based on three assumptions:

• every power is limited,

• every person is entitled to a certain level of autonomy, to which the authorities have no access,

• every person can expect the state to protect his rights.

The source of human rights is human dignity. It is considered as an inherent and inalienable value of every human being. The principle of respect for human dignity has been confirmed in many international documents and in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.

Human rights limitations are acceptable, but only in strictly defined situations, and the form and the scope of restrictions must be legally justified. However, there are rights, that cannot be limited under any circumstances – these are the freedom from torture and from slavery.

Children’s rights

In Poland children’s rights are protected in the Constitution. The Ombudsman for Children's Rights makes sure the rights are observed. He does this with respect for parents' responsibilities, rights and duties. However, the good of the child is always a priority.

In the introduction to Janusz Korczak's book „The Child’s Right to Respect”, the Ombudsman for Children's Rights Marek Michalak wrote:

Read the information below and find out what your rights are.

Contemporary democratic states recognize the need to protect human dignity and the rights of each human being. These rights guarantee us protection against abuse by the authorities, they enable active participation in the life of the state, and they are the foundation of our sense of security. Human rights are based on two basic principles: freedom and equality, which are the source of human dignity. Children’s rights are a special type of human rights.