Human Rights Lesson Plans

Lesson Description

“Fighting Food Insecurity Among School-Aged Children in the US” educates students about the prevalence and impact of food insecurity on young people in the United States. Students learn about the causes and effects of food insecurity, including its effects on health, education, and overall well-being. They also explore current initiatives and programs aimed at addressing food insecurity, such as school meal programs and community food banks. Through discussions and activities, students are encouraged to think critically about solutions and ways to advocate for change in their communities. By the end of the lesson, students gain a deeper understanding of food insecurity and are empowered to take action to support those in need.

Lesson Description

Humans have basic needs, and clean water is one of the most important. Yet, billions of people do not have access to drinkable water. Health, racial equity, and happiness are necessary for human dignity. Yet, lacking potable water leaves these fundamental human rights unfilled. Access to potable water is a complex topic related to geography, climate change, politics, racial justice, and infrastructure. To help students understand the water crisis in the US, I will focus on case studies from Flint, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey.

Lesson Description

Homelessness is a major problem for American youth, which is extremely problematic and can undermine a young person’s potential to succeed. I will be teaching about youth homelessness and how it affects young people of color and LGBTQ youth in the U.S today. Throughout my lesson I will be touching on the crisis these young diverse groups are facing and how it is diminishing young human beings of their own rights and basic necessities. The goal of my lesson is to make you all feel connected to other young people in the U.S facing such issues.

Lesson Description

Although women are half of the US workforce, they only earn 84 cents compared to every dollar a man makes. These 84 cents are the average, however, the gender pay gap can vary for different ethnicities. This lesson will explain the gender wage gap, analyze how it varies for different ethnicities, consider its implications for poverty rates among children, and understand the complex factors that contribute to this problem. After this lesson, students, especially female students, will be knowledgeable about this topic to be able to advocate for themselves and others concerning a topic that affects half the population of this country.

Lesson Description

In this lesson, I will be teaching about the hardships of anti-trans laws as it pertains to gender affirming healthcare throughout the United States. Gender affirming care is healthcare to relieve gender dysphoria in transgender individuals. Gender affirming care includes medical care like Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT), top surgery, and Facial Feminization/Emasculation surgery and includes less invasive ways to healthcare such as vocal training, hormone blockers, and gender therapy. This lesson reviews new attempts to block gender affirming health care for youth in the US, and explores some of the ways that LGBTQ+ advocates are fighting to secure equality.

Lesson Description

This lesson explores environmental activism in the context of Indigenous communities who focus on defending their ancestral lands and fighting for more sustainable practices that can protect not only their land, but also their access to clean water. Specifically, I will discuss the transformation of Indigenous activism by looking at current environmental protest movements, like the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their fight against the implementation of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Lesson Description

In this lesson we will discuss health insurance and how it helps Americans access basic healthcare, a right guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Over the last 15 years, the Affordable Care Act has helped decrease the number of people without health insurance significantly from 43.8 million to about 26 million Americans. While this is great, a larger percentage of Hispanic and Indigenous individuals still remain uninsured compared to other groups. The lesson will dive deeper into why this is and how people in these groups are more heavily impacted. Additionally, we will discover some of the key differences in the health insurance systems in the US and the UK. By becoming educated, students can help advocate for changes that will continue to help more people gain access to health insurance and quality health care.

Lesson Description

My human rights topic is the school to prison pipeline. In this lesson, students will learn about exclusionary school discipline and zero tolerance policies, what that means, and its impact. We will discuss the school-to-prison pipeline and how this can affect students, especially students of color. Additionally, we will discuss how the media coverage of juvenile crime in the recent past exacerbated this issue. Finally, we will learn about better approaches we can take in schools to resolve disciplinary problems such as restorative justice practices.
Google Site: School to Prison Pipeline site

Lesson Description

Article four of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” Child trafficking pertains to children under the age of eighteen who are illegally exploited for various purposes, including commercial sex acts, domestic servitude, organ trade, forced marriage, and child labor. Minors are most susceptible to being victims of sexual exploitation, the most common form of trafficking amongst children. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and other outlets place children at risk of victimization. As technology is continuously advancing, it has become increasingly common for adolescents to interact with technology at significantly young ages. Without an education on the potential signs of child trafficking on social media, youth are at a heightened risk of becoming victims.

Lesson Description

Despite efforts to make the US History curriculum in public schools more diverse and inclusive, too many schools continue to teach a Eurocentric history that ignores the lived experiences of the students in the classroom. In this lesson, students will journey into Digital History and cultural preservation. They will consider how this technology can diversify the study of US History. Students will learn about the importance of diverse history curriculums and why preservation is important. We will explore why the lack of diverse historical curricula is a human rights issue and the different methods of cultural preservation. We will focus on answering why certain groups of people are not included in history, and how that affects communities and culture?

Lesson Description

In this lesson, students will learn about the HIV/AIDS crisis beginning with an historical overview of the emergence of AIDS in the late 1960s through the identification and treatment of the disease in the early 1990s. We will focus especially on the inequality faced not only by gay and bisexual African American and Latino men in regards to acquiring HIV, but also how AIDS ravaged lower socioeconomic class populations in general. We will study examples of AIDS activists who fought for appropriate medical treatment and better resources for AIDS patients. Students will learn about resources available to people today, including preventative measures such as PrEP and PEP. They will also be taught that the population of people living with HIV is diverse, and that the spread of HIV is exacerbated by bigotry and misinformation.

Lesson Description

In this lesson, students will learn about censorship, what it means and how it violates our basic human right to free speech and how it is considered discrimination. I will explain current events to give examples of how censorship is affecting the education system. With censorship, it blocks ideas and the freedom for students and teachers to express themselves through learning. Students will understand the purpose of this lesson is for young people to understand their individual rights and what they, as citizens, can do to protect these rights.

Lesson Description

In this lesson, students will gain knowledge about the injustice of child labor in the United States. They will examine how and why children are exploited globally through talks, case studies, and films. They will also talk about the differences that businesses and consumers can make. Students will have an understanding of the significance of raising awareness of and taking action against these injustices at the conclusion.

Lesson Description

The Afghan refugee crisis in the US is a complex situation stemming from the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, which led to the rapid takeover of the country by the Taliban. This event triggered a mass exodus of Afghan civilians, including interpreters, activists, and those who worked with US forces, fearing persecution under the Taliban regime. Understanding the Afghan refugee crisis requires consideration of historical, political, and humanitarian factors, as well as ongoing efforts to provide assistance and support to those affected by the crisis.