The human right to water
In this unit, we are going to learn and understand that the human right to water is one that everyone in the world should enjoy, and that we also have duties and responsibilities in the care and protection of water.
- Setting the scene within the area
One of the topics studied in year 6 of Primary Education is Human Rights.
This teaching unit will enable us to learn more about the distinction between rights and duties, and we will find out about the human right to water.
The human right to water is a basic right recognised by the United Nations Organisation (UN) in July 2010.
- Goals
- Understand the human right to water
- Think about the importance of the human right to water
- Learn about other people’s circumstances
- Generate attitudes that favour equality between men and women, think about the roles each one plays according to their gender in water-related matters
- Content
- The human right to water
- Thinking about your own rights and duties
- Linking concepts
- Oral expression
- Analysis and discussion of texts and images
- Interest in finding out about women’s circumstances throughout the world
- Recognising the importance of using water properly
- Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes
- Basic competences studied
Social competence and citizenship
This unit explains and explores the origin and meaning of the Human Right to Water, raising awareness through this specific right of the fact that all Human Rights are the conquests and achievements of a society that has worked in a cohesive way to achieve them.Pupils will become conscious of the individual duties involved in the enjoyment of rights. These duties render it possible for everyone else to share in the enjoyment of these rights.
Based on the photos and the video showing the responsibility women and girls have had, and continue to have, in different countries regarding the household use of water, the pupils will think about and discuss ways of building more equal gender relationships.
Competence in the culture of science, technology and health
The information contained in the unit is presented in a range of formats: texts, images, videos, etc.Pupils will be called upon to perform cognitive exercises, such as relating information, analysing it critically, relaying it clearly and, finally, understanding it and integrating it into their prior knowledge.
At the same time, the study of the entire unit requires basic skills with computers and internet browsing. This will help to develop digital competence, as well as incorporating the everyday use of new technologies also in Compulsory Education.
Learning to learn
Through the use of different resources, such as the images, texts and video presented, pupils will undertake a personal reflection and appraisal of the situations they observe.This unit introduces the collective building of knowledge through the group creation of a definition for "right" and another for "duty".
This unit also helps pupils to learn through a comparison either of different places at the same moment in time or of the same place at different times.
Competence for personal initiative and independence
Pupils will become aware of their rights and duties regarding the Human Right to Water, fostering the use of this natural resource in a more conscious and responsible manner.Based on a reading and viewing of the video and the images provided, pupils will note the differences existing in the different realities involved in water consumption, and this will encourage them to think about possible solutions and alternative ways of consuming it, as well as about their attitude and behaviour regarding the Human Right to Water.
Competence in the culture of science, technology and health
The unit as a whole addresses the concept of sustainable development, relating the responsible consumption of water to our rights and duties.Through the classroom discussion of these matters, pupils will be invited to put forward different solutions to the cases of inequality they see in water consumption, as well as their views on how to reverse the situation so that women and girls can have access to the same opportunities enjoyed by men and boys.
Competence in language communication
This teaching unit prepares the ground for debate and discussion on the Human Right to Water and the circumstances under which women and girls especially live in different parts of the world.Mainly through the spoken language, pupils will express their opinions, emotions and feelings when they see these other realities, and they will likewise be prompted to suggest possible solutions to the problem.
The teaching unit favours the acquisition of the terminology associated with Human Rights and the five properties that the water we drink should have.
As regards the written language, pupils will use those words and expressions that will enable them to compose a definition of "rights" and another of "duties".
Competence in the culture of humanism and art
Related to the subject of water, pupils will be in a position to observe, know, analyse and assess other cultural and historical circumstances via a video and several old photographs.Acknowledging and appreciating the Human Right to Water as a major conquest for the wellbeing and development of individuals and peoples.
- Values studied
Furthermore, the unit marshals awareness and empathy towards other realities and fosters the value of ethical consumerism, as a respectful way of interacting with nature, as well as with other people and cultures.
Another value covered by the unit is solidarity, which is developed here through an understanding of other realities and the search for solutions that are fair for everyone.
Furthermore, the unit fosters the value of equality, between men and women and between people from different countries, in terms of the access to and enjoyment of Human Rights.