6.8 – Module Project and Reflection
Let’s learn about how the Constitution has affected other countries!
The U.S. Bill of Rights has influenced other countries and organizations to think about the importance of human rights and write documents that describe those rights.
Have you ever heard of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)? What is it? Do a brief internet search as a class (on devices or phones, or have your teacher look it up) using the search term: Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (One reliable source is the United Nations website.)
What did you find?
Look at the Module 6 Project handout and read the explanation of the UDHR at the top of the page out loud.
Next, look over the chart in the handout showing the Bill of Rights. What do you notice? What do you wonder?
| U.S. Bill of Rights | Matching Letter | Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 are listed here) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freedom of religion, speech, press, gathering in a group | A. | Right to education |
| 2 | Right to own or have guns/weapons | B. | Right to good work and to join trade unions |
| 3 | People don’t have to let soldiers live in their homes during war/conflict | C. | Freedom of belief and religion |
| 4 | No searches without a good reason | D. | Right to social security |
| 5 | Rights during trial | E. | Right of peaceful gathering in groups |
| 6 | Rights if you are charged with a crime | F. | Freedom from torture and harsh treatment |
| 7 | Right to have a trial with a jury in court | G. | Right to marriage and family |
| 8 | No fines or punishments too large | H. | Freedom of opinion and information |
| 9 | People have other rights that aren’t listed | I. | Right to a fair public hearing |
| 10 | The states can make laws, too | J. | Right to a fair living standard |
After discussing the chart, review the directions on the second page. Before completing the activity, write “Bill of Rights Only” above the left circle, “UDHR Only” above the right circle, and “Shared” above where the two circles come together.
You do not need to write the description of the right–just use the number (1-10) or letter (A-J) next to it. For example, notice that the “right to education” is only listed in the UDHR. Place the letter “A” in the right circle.
Upon completion, check your work using this answer key (don’t look until you finish it yourself!).
Discuss the following questions:
- What did you notice about the rights/freedoms in both documents? Did any of the rights/freedoms in the UDHR surprise you?
- What rights from the UDHR would you add to the U.S. Bill of Rights? Should Americans be guaranteed the right to food, shelter, education, and health? Why or why not?
Big Questions
We are at the end of Module 6! Based on your learning, how would you answer these questions?
Do a 3-5-minute “quick write” about one or more of the questions below OR be prepared to discuss one or more of them.
Question #1: What is the Bill of Rights and why was it added to the U.S. Constitution?
Question #2: Do some individuals or groups need different protections from our laws than others?
Question #3: How does the U.S. Bill of Rights influence human rights throughout the world?
Extend Your Learning!
In this module, you identified similarities and differences between the U.S. Bill of Rights and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
1) The following link will take you to the UN’s website that lists all 30 rights in the UDHR: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
Open the website, review the rights, and identify (or choose) the one that is most important to you.
2) Send an email to your teacher with the right you chose (you don’t have to write out the words, just write the number) and briefly explain why it is important to you. There are no right or wrong answers.
You can build your sentence like this:
In my opinion, the most important human right on the UDHR list is ____________________ because ____________________________.
