HUMAN RIGHTS - AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM

 

Ideas for Human Right Education - documents good practices in human rights education across all school sectors in Victoria.  

 

Human Rights today is a new curriculum resource which has been developed by Curriculum Corporation for Amnesty International Australia for use by teachers and students in years 9 and 10.  The resource focuses on issues including: · child labour · the rights of Indigenous people in Australia · the rights of women and girls · human rights and conflict · taking action for human rights.

 

Tuning into Human Rights - download the sample chapter of Human Rights today.

 

 

HUMAN RIGHTS - GENERAL

 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 

 

First Steps: a guide to Human Rights Education prepared by Amnesty International.

 

Global dimensions - a helpful guide to books, films, posters and websites with a global dimension. From climate change to poverty, water to fair trade, you can find resources for all age groups and subjects.

 

Human Rights Lesson Plans for South East Asian Schools: lesson plans developed by the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center in 2003. The material includes resources for primary and secondary levels, and features topics such as: "Living in a Clean Environment", "I'm Entitled to Leisure", "Child Labour", "Human Dignity", "National Budget and Taxation", "Migrant Workers" and "Street Children".

 

Lift off - A cross border human rights education initiative in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that aims to promote an understanding of human rights issues among primary school children.

 

Lines in the Sand - This innovative resource explores human rights issues by placing students in the role of a United Nations expert

 

Plan-ed - provides creative and practical lesson plans for teachers across all subjects and age groups. Ten themes are covered, including slavery, child rights, gender, water, child labour, fair trade and Africa.

 

Right up your street - Encourage your students to investigate and understand the human rights it enshrines by examining a scene of everyday street life through group and class discussion and research.

 

Siniko: a Human Rights Education manual produced by Amnesty for use in Africa, which includes plenty of useful activities for any region. For formal and non-formal educational environments. It is designed as a basic introduction, with advice on methodology, activities for older and younger children and ideas for action.

 

Voice Our Concern - classroom activities and ideas for taking action. The project, developed by Amnesty International in Ireland, is built around students working with artists to produce creative resources exploring human rights. 

 

Youth Challenge, developed by HREOC

 

 

ARMS CONTROL

 

Arms without borders: Interactive map 

 

Control Guns

A resource exploring the arms trade in the UK and abroad

 

 

WAR AND CONFLICT

 

Crisis in Iraq

 

 

DEATH PENALTY

 

Letters to death row - a film by Amnesty and Teacher's TV and can be viewed on the Teacher's TV website.  The film encourages students to consider the impact of death row on both the accused and the victims of crime, as well as enabling them to learn more about the rights denied and the rights enjoyed by the individuals featured in the film.

 

UN model debate on the death penalty

 

 

REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS

 

A Time to Flee- Exercises to enable students to empathise with refugees leaving their homes and countries. 

Time to flee

Death threat

 

Border control - A role play activity encouraging students to develop empathy and understanding of the plight of refugees as they attempt to enter a new country.

 

Credit to the nation - A set of playing cards commemorating the major contribution to UK society made by the hundreds of thousands of refugees who come here to seek asylum.  Each illustrated card features someone with a refugee background and explains how he or she has been a 'credit to the nation'. Instructions for games and activities included. 

 

Refugee Council's new podcast series - Despite having experienced unspeakable suffering – torture, false imprisonment, exploitation, extreme hunger, and the worst kinds of physical and mental abuse – many women refuse to back down from a life they know they deserve. This is their story.

 

Seeking safety - A selection of activities for primary classes to explore asylum and refugee issues in a participatory way.  Created by our Edinburgh office for schools in Scotland, this is a great resource for schools anywhere in the UK.

 

The Great Escape - Education activities about a group of refugees escaping to freedom.

Introduction and instructions

Playing board

Game cards

 

National Council of Churches in Australia - resources on refugees

 

United Nations High Commission for Refugees - basic facts and statistics about refugees and asylum seekers, publication suggestions, policy analyses and evaluations.

 

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission - Classroom activities on children in detention

 

Klassroom Kaleidoscope - A program to facilitate connectedness and well-being in the culturally diverse classroom.  Produced by the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture.

 

Refugee Week resource kit - Coordinated by the Refugee Council of Australia for Refugee Week 2007.

 

Refugee Welcome Zones - an initiative of the Refugee Council of Australia.  This Declaration is simply a commitment in spirit to welcoming refugees into our community, upholding the human rights of refugees, demonstrating compassion for refugees and enhancing cultural and religious diversity in our community.

 

Immigration Museum, Victoria - Refugee Education Kit.  Explore the issues surrounding refugee settlement in the context of Australia's immigration history. 

 

 

PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE

 

A long way to cherry time  - a moving yet hopeful story of a prisoner of conscience who has 'disappeared' from his family. Told through letters, it can be used in print, on an interactive whiteboard or through performance.

 

Amnesty International (UK) Greetings Card Campaign - a simple and engaging way to introduce young people to human rights. Their case sheet highlights four cases particularly suitable for 8 to 14 year olds, including Maksim, the Azerbaijani teenager sentenced by unfair trial to ten years for murder and now at risk of more torture in prison.

 

The Keys of Freedom - An inspirational assembly to introduce your school to prisoners of conscience and the part everyone can play a part in supporting human rights. This assembly was held by schools up and down the country for Protect the Human Week 2006.

 

 

SEXUALITY

 

Conflicting rights - What happens when homosexual people's right not to be discriminated against clashes with the right to free religious expression for those who fundamentally oppose homosexuality on grounds of religious belief? Use this resource to debate this hot topical issue in your classroom.

 

Lesbian, Gay, Transexual, Bisexual activity pack - Class activities to explore issues relating to homophobic language, including homophobic lyrics in rap music and to discuss and debate the rights of sexual minorities. 

 

Exploring human rights of sexual minorities

 

 

TRAVEL

 

Putting Human Rights on the map - Students will use Geography skills to explore human rights issues in both a local and global context.   All activities are curriculum linked and will enable geography teachers to fulfil cross-curricular Citizenship requirements.  Suitable for 11-16 year olds. 

 

Travellers' rights - This resource highlights the conflicting views on the land rights of Travellers and invites students to try and resolve these issues through role-play and discussion.  

 

 

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 

American Anti-Slavery Group website: An interactive world map for students to investigate common products of forced labour today.  

 

Anti-Slavery International website: Lesson plans and school assembly ideas on historical and contemporary examples of slavery plus a link to Breaking the Silence, a website on the Transatlantic slave trade for KS 3/4 students.

 

Slavery today - Lesson activity ideas to raise awareness of modern forms of slavery, with a particular focus on trafficking, a modern day slave trade and one of the fastest growing forms of slavery. Traffickers use deception or coercion to take people away from their homes. Victims of trafficking are then forced into a situation of exploitation, such as forced labour or prostitution.

 

Story: Chaga and the Chocolate Factory: A new illustrated story for primary school children from Stop The Traffik. Chaga's dream of earning a living and supporting his family becomes a nightmare when he falls into the clutches of the traffickers.

 

Understanding slavery - In 1807 the transatlantic slave trade was abolished in Britain. Many people and events forced the British Government to make this trade illegal. You can find out more about how this history is connected to being a citizen in today’s society.

 

 

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

 

Australia says no

 

Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women campaign

 

White Ribbon Campaign in a Box - a set of fully interactive exercises designed to help teach and promote healthy, equal relationships among boys and girls.

 

Lumo lesson plan - Addressing Sexual Violence in War.  This lesson plan is designed to be used in conjunction with the film "Lumo," which takes an intimate look at the healing process of a victim of rape, a crime of political terror that is increasingly common in areas of military conflict, such as the central African country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the Congo).