Curated OER
The Bill of Rights and the Founders
Students explain similarities between historical statements of rights and their modern applications, explore ideas of "Rights of Englishmen" and natural rights, discuss evolution of concept of rights and its impact on Bill of Rights,...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Founding Documents
Teach the class about the predecessor to Declaration of Independence—the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Using the foundational documents, scholars examine the two writings to consider how they are similar and how they are different. A...
National Woman's History Museum
Inventive Women - Part 2
The Declaration of Independence was published in 1776. The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, modeled after the Declaration of Independence, was drafted and read by Elizabeth Cady Stanton at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848....
City University of New York
The 15th and 19th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Who gets to vote? Learn more about struggles for suffrage throughout United States history with a instructional activity based on primary source documents. Middle schoolers debate the importance of women's suffrage and African American...
Curated OER
Understanding the Declaration of Independence
Middle schoolers identify and interpret the Declaration of Independence and the rights and privileges demanded in the document. They also identify how those rights and privileges have affected our history. Students then research about...
Curated OER
What Are Your Human Rights?: Post World War II and Human Rights
Young scholars define and discuss human rights, make lists of human rights they think everyone deserves, and create class list of ten most important rights. Students then translate formal language of Universal Declaration of Human...
Curated OER
The Declaration of Independence
Students examine the Declaration of Independence. In this colonial America instructional activity, students read literature regarding the document as well as excerpts of the document itself. Students also perform a Reader's Theatre...
Curated OER
Giving Human Rights a Human Face
Students produce a creative expression of an article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They may also create posters to serve as reminders for creating a human rights environment or community.
Curated OER
Taking the Human Rights Temperature of Your School
Students evaluate their school's human rights climate using criteria derived from the universal Declaration of Human Rights. They identify areas of particular concern and develop an action plan to begin addressing the issues.
Curated OER
Is Environmental Health a Basic Human Right?
Students examine basic human rights as defined by the United Nations. They develop a list of rights by class consensus, read an article, answer discussion questions, and complete a worksheet.
Curated OER
Building a Human Rights Document
Young scholars identify the issue of basic human rights, examine the importance of the UDHR, and compare it to United States Bill of Rights. They create a definition of human rights as a class. Students are divided into groups of four...
Curated OER
Who Creates Human Rights?
Students examine the importance of human rights. They participate in a simulation of starting a new civilization on another planet, create a class "Declaration of Human Rights," and write a journal entry based on class discussion...
Curated OER
Community Research and Action Plan: Economic and Social Rights
Young scholars research human rights problems in their community. They analyze and report on data gathered, and develop an action plan to address problems related to social and economic rights.
Curated OER
Human Rights Education Handbook: A New Planet
Students create an imaginary bill of rights and find correspondences between their ideas and specific articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Drawing Attention to Human Rights
In this current events worksheet, students analyze political cartoons about human rights. Students respond to 3 talking point questions.
Curated OER
The Declaration of Independence
Learners empathize with the colonists. In this lesson on the Declaration of Independence, students collaborate to problem solve a school dilemma that enables them to understand the issues and difficulties that occurred in the creation of...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights: Rights and Responsibilities
Students explore the meaning of freedom. For this U.S. History lesson, students research the Declaration of Independence and how it relates to American freedom by completing activities and a mock trial.
Curated OER
Understanding Human Rights Through One Woman's Struggle: Aung San Suu Kyi
Students analyze human rights in the international community. In this human rights lesson, students explore the United Nations, and the Declaration of Human Rights. Students read about Aung San Suu Kyi and watch a video about human...
Curated OER
Reconstruction to Civil Rights
Eighth graders complete a unit of lessons on the period of time from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights movement. They analyze and interpret political cartoons and editorials, conduct research on famous civil rights places, and complete...
Curated OER
Human Rights Arts Project and Research Paper
Students examine human rights abuses in thirty countries, specifically explore abuses in Dominican Republic's Trujillo regime, research one country with significant human rights abuses, use Preamble to U.S. Constitution as measure of...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights -- Americans with Disabilities Act
Students focus on the First and Ninth Amendments of the Bill of Rights. Before visiting a museum, they examine the Americans with Disabilities Act. During the visit, they work together with a museum member to watch a video and get...
Curated OER
Civil Liberties And National Security
Students experience profiling first-hand through creation of a Class ID, and daily persecution of a selected group of students. They examine the tension between the concern for national security and for the preservation of civil liberties
Curated OER
What Makes Us Free?: Maine's Declaration of Rights
Students analyze Maine's Declaration of Rights. They review state constitutions and declaration of rights and their importance. They analyze a section of Maine's Declaration of Rights and crete their own declarations of rights. They...
BBC
Rights and Responsibilities - Part 2
Citizenship and basic human rights are the focus of the lesson presented here. In it, learners compile a basic list of human rights, then access a website in order to complete some activities that are based on rights and...