Legal Personhood: Lesson 1 Civics and Citizenship, Yr 7
A Person by Any Other Name? Legal Personhood and Animals
The learning sequence for this activity addresses the question of where other species and entities (such as non-human animals and rivers) ‘fit’ within Australia’s legal system. It begins by examining terms and concepts related to this topic as a result of watching a video exploring the application of legal personhood to non-human animals. Students go on to discuss the ideas in the video before attempting to apply them to their own lives.
Time Allocation
1 lesson.
Voiceless Resources
- Fact Sheet – Animals: Property or Persons?
- Video – Animals: Property or Persons?
- Teacher Guide – Legal Personhood
- Glossary
- Animal Protection Encyclopedia
Key Inquiry Questions
- How are legal terms used to describe an individual’s rights to justice in Australia’s system of law?
- What principles of justice help to protect human individuals?
- In what ways does the law protect humans over other species, such as chimpanzees?
Suggested Learning Activities
1. PRE-TEST
ACTIVITY 1: Vocabulary check
Explain the class will be exploring the idea of who and what are considered ‘persons’ under Australian Law.
Before watching the Voiceless video Animals: Property or Persons? introduce students to the following terms:
- Autonomous
- Captivity
- Chimpanzee
- Discrimination
- Corporation
- Habeas corpus
- Law
- Legal Obligation
- Legal Person
- Legal Right
- Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP)
- Property
- Self-awareness
- Speciesism
Definitions for the terms can be found here.
List the vocabulary terms on the board and ask students if they can contribute any definitions.
2. EXPLORE
As a class, watch the Voiceless video Animals: Property or Persons?
3. DISCUSS
After viewing the video, ask the students to complete the Legal Personhood APE Vocabulary Quizlet for this task.
4. SHARE
Ask students to share their experiences with the Quizlet. What terms are they still uncertain about? Have they learnt anything surprising?
5. REFLECT
Ask students to complete the following task: ‘Write a 100-word response to watching the Voiceless video Animals: Property or Persons? How do you feel about what you learned and what main point(s) did you take away from it?’
To help us improve our materials, we would appreciate any work, feedback or thoughts you would like to share: education@voiceless.org.au
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