Students are introduced to the idea of universal human rights and learn the history and components of the 1948 United Nations declaration. In small groups, students research and report on human rights abuses in a specific country. Finally, students write a letter to a human rights organization describing the abuses they have learned about in their research.
Students are introduced to the concept of universal human rights and the purpose of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They watch the video Born To Be Free and Equal to begin thinking about what human rights are, then post on a class wall describing what they learned from the video and discuss their ideas with a partner or the class. As a class, they collaboratively build a list of possible human rights in a shared table.
Teacher MovesPresent an overview of the experience and highlight the lesson objectives. Prompt students to reflect on the video and guide the whole-class discussion so students connect their initial ideas to the broader concept of universal human rights. Facilitate the creation of the class list of human rights, probing for clarification and depth, and remind students to keep these ideas in mind as they continue through the lesson.
Students view an image of refugees and then watch part of the video What Are Human Rights? and read the article Human Rights Defined to deepen their understanding of what human rights are and how the modern human rights movement developed. They answer multiple-choice questions to check their understanding of universal human rights and their historical context. Students then examine a simplified version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and choose one right to rewrite in language a first grader could understand, providing an example of what life might look like without that right and optionally adding an image. Finally, they review classmates’ posts and respond to at least two with questions or positive comments.
Teacher MovesUse the refugee image and media resources to prompt discussion about who needs protection of human rights and why. Monitor student responses to the questions to identify misconceptions about the nature and origins of human rights. Support students as they interpret and simplify articles from the Universal Declaration, encouraging them to use concrete examples. Facilitate constructive peer feedback on the wall posts and organize students into small groups, assigning each group a specific country for the next scene’s research.
Students learn that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created in response to serious past and ongoing abuses, then read Human Rights Abuses to explore different types of violations, many affecting young people. In small groups, they research human rights violations in their assigned country using online sources, including major human rights organizations, and synthesize their findings into a group report. They post their report to a shared space or link to a product created with a digital tool such as a presentation, timeline, or interactive poster. Groups then present their reports to the class, explaining what they learned about human rights violations in their country and answering classmates’ questions.
Teacher MovesPrepare students for potentially upsetting content by setting expectations and, as needed, steering them away from especially sensitive topics. Guide groups in locating credible information about their assigned country and in organizing their research into a clear report. During presentations, encourage active listening, note-taking, and thoughtful questions from the audience, and prompt presenters to clarify or elaborate on key points. Support respectful discussion about similarities and differences among the countries studied.
Students reflect on the emotional impact of learning about human rights abuses and consider how individuals and organizations work to protect rights. Drawing on their own group’s research or another group’s report, they write a letter to a human rights organization describing specific abuses in a country and identifying which rights are being violated, using the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a reference to support their claims. They submit the letter to the teacher.
Teacher MovesReinforce the idea that students can take informed action and have a voice in supporting human rights. Provide guidance on letter structure, tone, and use of evidence from the Universal Declaration. Review student letters, highlighting strong examples of explanation and advocacy, and share one or more exemplary or particularly thoughtful letters with the class to prompt discussion about effective ways to speak out against human rights abuses.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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