Human Rights
Senior 3 · English
Human Rights
Lesson 2 of 5
25 min
Let's begin
Human Rights Day is marked every year on 10 December, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration. In many schools a student gives a short speech at assembly. In this lesson you listen to one, study how it is built, and then prepare and deliver an informative speech of your own. Long words such as discrimination and responsibility are hard to say in front of an audience, so the lesson ends with the sounds of prefixes and suffixes.
Important
Listening script: a speech at school assembly, for one reader
The reader practises it aloud first; the class listens with books closed. About three minutes. The school and the speaker are imagined.
Good morning, teachers, and good morning, everyone.
Where do human rights begin? In parliaments? In courtrooms? In the offices of the United Nations? I'd like to suggest that they begin much closer: here, in this hall, in our classrooms and on our way home. Today is Human Rights Day, and this morning I want to explain three things: what human rights are, which rights matter most to us as students, and what each of us can do about them.
First, what are human rights? They are the rights every person has simply because they are human. On 10 December 1948, the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and its first article says that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Notice two words: all, and equal. Not "all except girls", not "all except people with disabilities", not "all except the poor". All.
Let me turn now to the rights that matter most in a school. The first is the right to education, without discrimination. A girl has exactly the same right to study physics as a boy. A student who uses a wheelchair has exactly the same right to reach the science laboratory as anyone else. The second is the right to be safe: from violence, from bullying, and from abuse of any kind. And the third is the right to be heard. When decisions are made about us, we have the right to give our views.
Finally, what can we do? Rights are not only something we receive. They are something we give to each other. We give them when we include the new student who sits alone. We give them when we refuse to laugh at a joke that humiliates someone. And we give them when we report abuse instead of keeping it secret. Remember: 116 is free, and so is a conversation with a teacher you trust.
So, to sum up: human rights belong to all of us equally; in school they mean education, safety and a voice; and they grow stronger every time we defend someone else's. Human rights begin in small places. Let's make this school one of them.
Thank you.
Complete the speaker's outline.
| Part | Content |
|---|---|
| Hook | a question: Where do …? |
| Purpose | to explain three things: …, … and … |
| Point 1 | human rights are …; the two words to notice are … and … |
| Point 2 | three rights in school: …, … and … |
| Point 3 | three ways we "give" rights: …, … and … |
| Conclusion | a summary and a closing line: … |
Outline: hook: Where do human rights begin? Purpose: what human rights are, which rights matter most to students, what each of us can do. Point 1: the rights every person has because they are human; all and equal. Point 2: education without discrimination, safety, the right to be heard. Point 3: including a student who sits alone, refusing to laugh at humiliating jokes, reporting abuse. Conclusion: "Human rights begin in small places. Let's make this school one of them."
Definition
informative speech: a speech whose main aim is to explain a topic clearly so that the audience understands it. A persuasive speech aims to change what the audience believes or does.
signposting: words and phrases that tell listeners how a speech is organised and where it is going next (First, …, Let me turn to …, To sum up, …).
call to action: a closing sentence that asks the audience to do something.
| Part | Aim | Useful language |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting and hook | catch attention: a question, a fact, a short story | Good morning, everyone. · Have you ever wondered …? |
| Purpose and plan | say what you will explain, usually in three points | Today I'd like to explain … · I'll cover three things: … |
| Main points | one point at a time, each with a fact or example | First, … · Let me turn now to … · Another important point is … · Finally, … |
| Conclusion | sum up the points; end with a memorable line | So, to sum up, … · Let me leave you with one thought: … |
| Thanks | close politely | Thank you for listening. |
Your task. Prepare a two-minute informative speech for Human Rights Day on one of these topics:
Write your three points on a small card, with one key word or fact for each. Do not write out the whole speech: speak from the card.
Delivery checklist (for the speaker and a partner)
Worked example
Turning a topic into a three-point plan (topic c)
Rights vocabulary is full of long words built from a root, a prefix and a suffix. Three rules help you say them clearly.
1. Prefixes are usually unstressed, but every sound must be heard.
| Prefix | Sound | Examples | Spelling note |
|---|---|---|---|
| un- | /ʌn/ | unfair, unsafe, unequal | — |
| dis- | /dɪs/ | disrespect, disability, disagree | — |
| in- / im- / il- / ir- | /ɪn/, /ɪm/, /ɪl/, /ɪr/ | injustice, impossible, illegal, irresponsible | im- before b, m, p; il- before l; ir- before r |
| mis- | /mɪs/ | mistreat, misuse | mis + spell = misspell (keep both s) |
2. Many suffixes have a weak vowel, /ə/. -tion /ʃən/ (protection), -sion /ʃən/ or /ʒən/ (expression, decision), -ous /əs/ (dangerous), -ful /fəl/ (respectful), -less /ləs/ (careless), -ment /mənt/ (punishment), -able /əbəl/ (acceptable).
3. Some suffixes move the stress. With -ity, -ic and -tion, the stress falls on the syllable just before the suffix.
| Base word | With suffix |
|---|---|
| EQual | eQUALity |
| reSPONsible | responsiBILity |
| deMOcracy | demoCRATic |
| disCRIminate | discrimiNAtion |
| NAtion, NAtional | natioNALity |
Tip
Clap the word. Clap once for each syllable and loudly on the stressed one: re-spon-si-BIL-i-ty (six claps, the fourth loud). Then say it at normal speed, keeping the loud clap.
Warning
Malala Yousafzai addresses the United Nations Youth Assembly, from the United Nations channel (about 18 minutes; she spoke on 12 July 2013, her sixteenth birthday). Watch the first three minutes and note how she greets her audience and states her purpose. Which signposts do you hear?
Practice
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa, except the photo credited above.
