Sixth-graders in Mr. Lawrence's class tackled a challenging subject recently when they explored human rights in a global society and gave sincere speeches about it in front of their classmates.
Each year, the 6th-grade individual societies class begins with the Middle Years Programme Unit (MYP) on Human Rights. During this time, students learn the 30 United Declaration of Human Rights and apply them to our world today.
"Given the state of the world and what is happening all around us, this Unit was incredibly important to us this year," said Mr. Lawrence. "The students studied Human Rights, how they have been implemented and how they have been historically abused or mishandled throughout the world."
The sixth-graders spent a day watching some of the most famous Human Rights speakers, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Emmeline Pankhurst, Nelson Mandela and Fred Rodgers. The students studied their vocal variation, pauses, eye contact and content delivery before preparing their speeches about one of the 30 Declarations of Human Rights when choosing to deliver to their classmates.
"When it comes to Human Rights, I have found that speeches significantly impact students connecting to the material," said Mr. Lawrence.
Given the new learning era, sixth-graders typically would give their speech in front of the class. However, this year, the students delivered them in front of their computers to their classmates at home.
"I thought this was a neat way for the students to understand the importance of preparation and adapting to the times," said Mr. Lawrence. "The speeches I heard were inspiring and informative. The students showed great talent and poise delivering speeches on such an important topic."