SESSION 3: THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: REAL STORIES

By the end of the lesson you should be able to:

• know that there are different ways in which children’s rights may be seriously violated
• understand there are many problems associated with children being abused like bad health, poor education, parents’ carelessness, etc
• learn about child soldiers, child workers and street children

In some countries the basic human rights of the children are violated in a very bad way.

CHILD SOLDIERS: Recent estimates suggest that there are almost 300,000 child soldiers throughout the world fighting in over 40 conflicts. In countries such as Burma, Sudan and Afghanistan, children are fighting alongside adults in wars. Many child soldiers are forcibly removed from their homes, taken from their families and made to fight.

EXERCISE 1

	Tick the statements that you think are true about child soldiers. A. Child soldiers require less food than adult soldiers, so they are cheaper to feed B. Child soldiers really want to fight and they go freely to the camps and follow orders without having to be given drugs C. Children are more difficult to control than adults D. Children are brainwashed and often given drugs E. Modern weapons are very light and can be easily handled by children

EXERCISE 2

ISummarise now why you think children are used as soldiers using the true statements above. Begin your conclusion like this:

I think children are used as soldiers because…

EXERCISE 3

In pairs, dictate one of the following short texts to your partner. You have to write what you hear in your jotter and then compare and correct by looking at your worksheets.

CHILD WORKERS:  Throughout the world, children as young as 5 years old are forced to work. There are 250 million child workers between the ages of 5 and 14. Their work is often dangerous and is a form of slavery.

STREET CHILDREN: Many children whose parents have died or no longer want to look after them are left to live on the streets. These children face serious health problems because of solvent abuse and attending school is not possible for them.

EXERCISE 4

The teacher will now show you a pack of pictures cards each showing a child involved in some form of child labour.

In small groups, examine each card in turn and try to decide the job being performed by the youngster in the picture.  Also, think about the age of the child in the picture. So you should answer the following questions for every one of the pictures:

What job do you think this child is doing?
Answer:  In picture number................................, I think the child is..................................................

What age is the child?
Answer: The child looks..........................................years old

EXERCISE 5

Go to: http://www.un.org/av/photo/subjects/childnew.htm

Have a look at the photos under the title Human Rights and the Children. Choose one of them, imagine are him/her and write a diary extract describing how you feel. Use the following key words:

Parents and family, solvent abuse and health problems, where they live,education, friends, how their human rights are abused, etc