What meaning does the word world have?
Can a person's family be considered his/her small world?
Explain your point of view.

Lesson 2. Home Life

1 2

Family is a small society, isn’t it?
In each society its members have certain rights and duties.
What about the members of the family?

Vocabulary

What is the meaning of the underlined words?
Circle the letter of the correct answer.
Use a dictionary to check your answers.

1. Family members have certain responsibilities.

a. conditions
b. duties

2. Traditions are based on a family's cultural background.

a. past experience
b. development

3. The law requires that parents must feed and clothe their children.

a. explains
b. claims

4. Parents are to shelter their children.

a. protect   
b. educate

5. Spouse should take care of their children.

a. relatives
b. married people

6. Abuse of children is forbidden by law.

a. punishment
b. physical maltreat

7. Children need their parents' support.

a. example
b. assistance

8. Children are given various household chores.

a. daily light work
b. presents

9. Children may express their desires.

a. ideas
b. wishes

10. A husband and wife share a home.

a. use in common
b. form

Listening Comprehension

Listen to what a sociologist says about people's rights and responsibilities as husbands, wives, parents, and children. Fill in the chart:

 
What rights and responsibilities would you add?
Do your classmates have the same ideas?

Grammar Focus
 

Work in groups. Discuss parent-child relationship using the following pattern and the phrases in the left-hand column

А

B. 

Speaking

Ask your partner some questions:
              to learn about the rights and responsibilities of his family members;
              to learn if there is anything he/she wants/doesn’t want to do;
              if there is anything he/she is not allowed to do;
              if there is anything he/she is not supposed to do but does.
Make notes about your partner. Tell the class about him/her. Swamp roles.

Reading

The Declaration of the Rights of the Child

Whereas mankind owes to the child the best it has to give,
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly
Proclaims this Declaration of the Rights of the Child to the end that he may have a happy childhood and enjoy for his own good and for the good of society the rights and freedoms herein set forth, and calls upon parents, upon men and women as individuals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authorities and national Governments to recognize these rights and strive for their observance by legislative and other measures progressively taken in accordance with the following principles:

PRINCIPLE 1

The child shall enjoy all the rights, set forth in this Declaration. Every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, whether of himself or of his family.

PRINCIPLE 2

The child can enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions ns of freedom and dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration.

PRINCIPLE 3

The child shall be entitled from his birth to a name and nationality.

PRINCIPLE 4

The child shall enjoy the benefits of social security. He shall be entitled to grow and develop in health; to this end, special care and protection shall be provided both to him and to his mother, including adequate pre-natal and post-natal care. The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation and medical services.

PRINCIPLE 5

The child who is physically, mentally or socially handicapped shall be given the special treatment, education and care required by his particular condition.

PRINCIPLE 6

The child, for the full and harmonious development of his personality, needs love and understanding. He shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the responsibility of his parents, and, in any case in an atmosphere of affection and of moral and material security; a child of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from his mother. Society and the public authorities shall have the duty to extend particular care to children without a family and to those without adequate means of support. Payment of State and other assistance toward the maintenance of children of large families is desirable.

PRINCIPLE 7

The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall, be given an education which will promote his general culture, and enable him on a basis of equal opportunity to develop his abilities, his individual judgment, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society.
The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with his parents.
The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavor to promote the enjoyment of this right.

PRINCIPLE 8

The child shall in all circumstances be among the first to receive protection and relief.

PRINCIPLE 9

The child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation. He shall not be the subject of traffic, in any form.
The child shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate minimum age; he shall in no case be caused or permitted to engage in any occupation or employment, which would prejudice his health or education, or interfere with his physical, mental or moral development.                                 

PRINCIPLE 10

The child shall be protected from practices, which may foster racial, religious and any other form of discrimination. He shall be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood and in full consciousness that his energy and talents should be devoted to the service of his fellow men.

Comprehension

Skimming for Main Ideas,

Choose the principle of The Declaration of the Rights of the Child concerning the family.

Scanning for Details

Give complete answers to the questions below:

1. What does a child need for the full and harmonious development?
2. Whose responsibility is to grow up the child in the care?
3. What should a family atmosphere be like?
4. Can a child of tender years be separated from his mother? Why?
5. What is the duty of society and the public authorities concerning children without a family and children from large families?
Is this principle very important? Explain why you think so.

Writing (this activity can be done at home)

Traditional roles in the family are changing.
Who does most of the work in the house?
You have an idea of a happy family. Name 7 jobs that a wife usually does, and 7 jobs that a husband usually does.

Research (this activity can be done by advanced students or by those who wish to)     

Check television listing to find out what popular TV programs feature family life. Watch some show. Answer the following questions about the shows:
1. Who participates in these shows?
2. What problems do they touch upon?
3. Which program do you prefer? Why?
Present your answers in the form of a composition in class.

APPENDIX:

Lesson 2

Family Members' Rights and Responsibilities

The home is the centre of family activities. All family members have certain rights and responsibilities. Law regulates some of them; others are affected by traditions, based on a family's cultural background, and social conditions.
Laws deal with marriage, divorce, and adoption. As husband and wife, the couple hopes to share companionship and love. As parents, they are required by law to feed, clothe, shelter, and educate their children. Abuse of children by parents and one spouse by the other is forbidden.
Children depend on their parents for love and the basic necessities of life. The children, in turn, give emotional support to their parents and to their brothers and sisters. As the children grow older, they may be given various household chores.
In some countries, the father is required to support his wife and children. The mother is expected to run the home and care for the children. In many families the father alone makes the major family decisions and is considered the head of the family.
Today, however, many families are turning away from these traditional roles and towards an equalitarian relationship. Parents make family decisions together. They hold the authority in the family but try to consider the children's opinions. The children may express their desires and opinions, and they have more freedom within the family.
In most such families both parents probably work outside the home. The father may help out more in taking care of the children. The father and children may share in chores that were traditionally performed by the mother alone, such as washing clothes, cleaning the house, and cooking.

Lesson 2

Vocabulary

1. b
2. a
3. b
4. a
5. b
6. b
7. b
8. a
9. b
10. a