Primary Source Exemplar: Human Rights, Conflict and Social Change

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to predict a set of rights they expect to see in the Articles of the UDHR.

Students will be able to paraphrase the Articles and to identify and discuss the significance of key words in each Article.

Students will be able to create and defend a structure for ordering the Articles

Students will be able to analyze the structure, key words, and punctuation of both the Preamble and the Articles.

Students will be able to use evidence from the text in making inferences and defending claims about the text.

Standards Addressed

(CCSS Math Content Standards, CCSS Math Practice Standards, CCSS ELA Reading or Writing Anchor Standards, CCSS ELA Standards, Next Generation Science Standard, History / Social Science Standards)

(RI.9-10.1) Students will be able to cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

(RI.9-10.2) Students will be able to determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it is shaped and refined by specific details.

(RI.9-10.3) Students will be able to analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.

(RI.9-10.4)Students will be able to determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings, analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.

(L.9-10.4) Students will be able to determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9 – 10 reading and content.

Instructional Approach

Introduce the lesson

The teacher should provide each students with a block of sticky notes.  Instruct students to individually brainstorm "rights" they and others have. Students list each right on a separate sticky note.

The teacher puts students into small groups and uses an Affinity Map protocol (http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/doc/affinity_mapping.pdf) which asks students to compare/contrast their brainstormed lists and then group the "rights" according to category.

Based on the categories, students should predict the content of the Articles. The teacher should also ask students to create order to their predictions. Which of their categories should come first and why? Which are related to one another? Which should come last and why? The teacher should be explicit in asking these questions and allow students to reflect on how the order they choose is related to the importance of and relationships between their categories.

Model and demonstrate desired learning

The teacher should tell students that they are going to analyze the structure of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, starting with the Preamble and moving to the Articles.

The teacher should ask students what is meant by structure and elicit answers regarding both the order of sentences and paragraphs, but also the structure of particular sentences including punctuation.

The teacher should model analysis of structure by asking students to return to the text of the Preamble and to consider its structure. The teacher should guide students in their analysis of structure by asking questions such as: 

Why did the authors choose to put inherent dignity and inalienable rights first?   

How does this paragraph impact the order of the other paragraphs? 

Why did the authors choose to put the paragraph about the peoples of the United Nations before the paragraph about Member States? 

What parts of the structure are repetitive and how does this repetition impact meaning? 

What is the punctuation at the end of each paragraph? 

How is this punctuation different than what you are used to seeing in other kinds of texts? 

Why do you think the authors chose to use this punctuation? In other words, how does it impact the meaning and/or tone of the text?

Provide guided practice

The teacher should cut the Articles of the UDHR into strips and put a complete set of cut-up Articles in envelopes. The Articles should not be placed in the envelopes in order.

The teacher should divide students into small groups and provide each small group with an envelope containing the mixed up Articles.

Students should work first to paraphrase the Articles and identify/define key words in each Article. If desired, they might also be asked to provide examples and non-examples of the freedoms defined in each Article.

After students have paraphrased the Articles, they should work to create order to the Articles, taping or gluing them down to a piece of paper. Note: There is no right answer to the ordering activity; however, students should be able to defend the order they choose through evidence based on the content of the Articles and an evaluation of how order might impact the overall purpose of the Articles.

After students have ordered their Articles, they should be asked to write a summary in defense of their work. This summary should include an explanation of how they determined the order of their Articles.

The teacher should engage students in a discussion of their work and elicit specific support regarding their decisions. The teacher might ask questions about how students determined order, which Article they chose to go first and why, which Article was last and why, which Articles were grouped together and why, etc. The teacher should require that students use specific and detailed evidence from the Articles to defend their answers.

After a discussion of what the students created, the teacher should provide students with a copy of the Articles in their correct order and discuss the impact of this structure on the document as a whole. The teacher should encourage students to compare and contrast the actual order of the Articles with their own work and make observations. Again, during this discussion, students should be required to use specific and detailed evidence from the text to support their observations and inferences.

Finally, the teacher should guide students in a discussion of the individual Articles including elements of structure and significance of key words and relationships among Articles that may not have naturally developed from the students’ work ordering the text as a whole. These can be broad or specific. For example: What do you think are the three most important words in the Articles as a whole? Why did you choose these words? What transitions do you notice within the Articles? Where are these transitions found and why are they important? What punctuation stands out within the Articles? And/or What is meant by “security of person?” What is the significance of the word “furthermore” in Article 2? Why is there a semi-colon in Article 4? What does this semi-colon add to the meaning of the text? Why are there multiple parts to some of the Articles? How does the separation of parts impact the meaning of the text? Why are these parts not included as separate Articles?

Integrate formative checks

The teacher will check understanding of the specific Articles as well as the impact of structure on text through the following:

• Guided discussion of the structure of the preamble
• Paraphrased Articles
• Ordered Articles and summary defense
• Guided discussion of the actual order of the Articles
• Guided discussion of structure, key words, punctuation, etc., of the individual Articles

Student Tasks

Literacy knowledge tasks 

Reading task

Indicate how students will approach the text, i.e. independent silent reading, read aloud; how students will question the text; how students will analyze details.

Students will work together to read and paraphrase each of the Articles found in the UDHR. Additionally, as they work to order the Articles, they will work together to question ways that each Article fits with and/or builds on the others.

Vocabulary task

Indicate how student vocabulary and academic language will be developed.

In paraphrasing, students will be asked to identify and define key words and concepts in each article.

Sentence syntax task

Indicate how students will learn to speak thoughtfully and with precision.

Students will be asked to defend their work using specific and detailed evidence from the text. They will be asked to develop specific claims and support those claims with evidence.

Inquiry and analysis task

Indicate how students will build attention to detail, and grow in analyzing, selecting and connecting detail.

To discuss the impact of structure on the text, the students will be asked to pay particular attention to how the overall ideas as well as the specific details of each paragraph interact with one another. The teacher will support students in their work by asking specific questions to model analysis of structure using the Preamble to the UDHR. Students will then apply the modeled concepts to their own analysis of the structure of the Articles.

Writing (or other production)

Indicate how this task will help students learn to write. Example: “I think ___ because _____” (K-5). Indicate other forms of production in this task.

The students will be asked to explain in writing the reasoning behind the way in which they ordered their Articles and, again, will be asked to support their reasoning with specific and detailed evidence from the text. Additionally, the ordering activity will help students in understanding the significance of structure in writing.

Checking for Understanding

Note: a performance task will be included at the end of this series of lessons. Determine and outline how you will check for student understanding within this lesson, using some of the suggestions here.

• Guided Questions and Discussion about the Preamble
• Student Ordered Articles
• Defense Summaries
• Guided Questions and Discussion about the Articles

Differentiation/Adaptations/Modifications

Outline adaptations that can be made for English Language Learners, Special Education Students, or other learning contexts.

Instead of addressing all 30 Articles, the teacher might choose a subset of Articles for the students to paraphrase, order, and analyze.

Instead of asking the students to paraphrase all of the Articles before the ordering activity, the teacher might assign Articles to individuals or groups of students and ask them to paraphrase for each other. Groups might present their paraphrased Articles to the class and the class could use these simpler versions during the ordering activity. In this case, students could copy down the paraphrased version of the articles and then cut up their own set of Articles. The teacher should ensure that the Articles are not presented in order.

Additional Supports

Simplified versions of the Articles are available for ELL students and students who read at a low Lexile level.

To provide further support to students as they read and paraphrase the Articles, the teacher might provide a set of Guiding Questions to point students to significant details of the text and to support their understanding of what the text says explicitly.

The teacher might provide a graphic organizer to guide students in their analysis of the Articles. The graphic organizer might have a place for students to list and define key words and ideas in each Article as well as a place for students to place examples and non-examples. Additionally, the graphic organizer might include a space for students to record thoughts about significance of each Article.

After students paraphrase the Articles, the teachers might show students “The 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” a video illustrating each of the articles in order to reinforce their contents. The video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyVJHpiHO8I.

(Refer to the EQuIP rubric for additional elements to consider)