Learning Outcomes
- Students discuss Human Rights.
- Students recognise Human Rights that affect them.
- Students then identify these rights from the Declaration of Human Rights.
- Research the origin of the Declaration of Human Rights.
- Rank in order of importance the Human Rights from the Declaration.
- Identify local or national abuses of Human Rights.
- Recognise structures or organisations involved with protecting Human Rights.
- Research & promote the role of one of these organisations or structures.
- Take the initiative to promote one Human Right in your school.
- Rights are not absolute – debate.
Key Skills
- Debate & listen to opposing points of view.
- Develop empathy for one group affected by a Human Rights issue.
- Select key personal Human Rights.
- Challenge assumptions about Human Rights.
- Express one Human Right through song/drama/ or any other media.
- Appraise their personal attitude to one abuse of Human Rights.
- Access information from organisations/ websites/ literature/ newspapers.
Resources
- Pamoja |An excellent action based human rights teachers resource from Trócaire
- The student learning book for Pamoja
- Human Rights Through a Lens (2010) | A human rights resource with 3 lesson plans based on film clips by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties
- On developmenteducation.ie: General 3-step approach to teaching human rights, human rights blogs and related cartoons
- Celebrating the universal Declaration of Human Rights: a Civic, Social and Political Education resource pack (2008)| by Amnesty International (Ireland) human rights resources for Secondary Schools
- Amnesty International resource on how to become a human rights friendly school
Activities
Activity HR 1
Students discuss “What is a Human Right?” Students investigate their own ideas and perspectives on Human Rights. Students look at the historical context of Human Rights using P. 20-22 of the following Voice Our Concern. Using P. 53-55 of the UN Teaching Human Rights resource, students investigate the 30 articles of the UN Convention of Human rights.
Activity HR 2
Students use an abridged human rights list and take part in a quiz on human rights using the following lesson. Students record Human Rights that affect them or those they would least like to lose from the UN Declaration of Human Rights in their learning journal.
Activity HR 3
Using the summary on P.18 of “Voice Our Concern” in groups the students discuss the 30 rights and ladder/diamond rank them in order of importance to them. Results are fed back to the class and students are encouraged to vote on the most important rights to them.
Activity HR4
Students gain a deeper understanding to the limits of the UNDHR by playing ‘Where do you stand?’ game from P. 20-22 of Voice our Concern
Activity HR 5
Through discussion, students identify local and national abuses of Human Rights so that they get a sense of the reality of the abuse of Human Rights. The students then identify abuses of Human Rights and where they are upheld both nationally and internationally by filling out the worksheet.
Activity HR 6
Each student should choose one Human Right and research an organisation that promotes and protects that right and present their findings to the class.
Activity HR 7
Students watch a film highlighting the treatment of Human Rights abuses (e.g. Cry Freedom, The Killing Fields, Blood Diamond) and review it in terms of treatment of Human Rights abuses in film and media.
Activity HR 8
Students work towards becoming a human rights school or forming an Amnesty group within the school.