Lesson Plan: Human Rights Musical Chairs Essay

Goal: Students will write a 3-paragraph essay or story describing a scene in a photograph and describe how it relates to a human rights issue.

Objectives:

• Students will learn the basic elements of writing the beginning, middle, and end of an essay.
• Students will critically assess a photograph and use creative thinking skills to create an original story.
• Students will use their knowledge about human rights to connect each image with one of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Essential Question: How do the images for this essay depict human rights being upheld? Being denied?

Materials:

• Lined writing paper, one or two pieces per student
• Photographs cut out from magazines
• Music and CD player or computer with speakers

Time Frame: 2-3 class periods

Grade Level: 3-5

Appropriate Subject Areas: Language Arts, Creative Writing, and Social Studies