When, if ever, is the government justified in restricting individual rights? When, if ever, should the "greater good" trump individual rights? To prepare to discuss this hot-button topic, class members examine primary source documents,...

If aliens invaders nearly destroy the world in the distant future and leaders must decide on a pamphlet of protections to preserve individual rights, what should they include? Introduce the Bill of Rights and the struggle between the...

Here is a fantastic resource on the civil rights movement! It includes reading materials and worksheets, and particularly highlights major legislation and the role of the judicial branch in the federal government in addressing the...

What basic rights are guaranteed to all Americans? Do citizens, legal aliens, illegal aliens, and minors all have the same rights? Should individuals all over the world enjoy the same rights? Class members read the Declaration of...

The sovereignty of U.S. Native American nations is the focus of a resource that asks class members to compare the Right to Self-Determination in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with a fact sheet that...

Class members continue their discussion of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). After examining an infographic the summarizes the document, groups examine four of the rights to decide if they are or are not universal, and if...

Eleanor Roosevelt leads the drive to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To begin a study of universal rights, class members create a definition of a right and compare it to the 1947 version. They then investigate Eleanor's...

An informative activity focuses on the law preventing Native Americans from voting until 1947. Scholars read documents from the Office of Indian Affairs, complete an online worksheet, and participate in group discussion. Academics learn...

The focus of this, the third in a five-activity unit study of human rights, is on individuals who made a difference. Billy Bowlegs, Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Fannie Lou Hamer, Michi Weglyn, and Yuri Koshiyama are some of the people class members...

A unit focuses on Civil Rights leaders. Scholars read or listen to an informational text about Susuan B. Anthony, Mary McLeod Bethune, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, and other...

The murder of Emmett Till, the Selma to Montgomery march, and the desegregation of Boston schools are the focus of three units that ask class members to investigate why these events were so key in the struggle for civil rights....

The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The lesson explains what the Bill of Rights is and how it applies to everyday life, like freedom of speech or the right to a jury trial. Young historians complete hands-on...

Investigate milestones along the path that lead to the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. After researching key people, events, court cases, and legislative orders, teams present their findings as a magazine, newspaper, or...

The fourth in a five-lesson unit examining human rights and personal responsibility asks class groups to investigate a current rights issue, and using the provided graphic organizer, summarize the issue, consider which rights are being...

As part of the social, economic, and legal/political civil rights study, class members brainstorm a list of current civil rights issues that affect their community. Individuals or pairs select one issue to research further. The class...

What is the balance between constitutional rights and security during a war? Young historians debate the question while looking at Lincoln's decision to suspect habeas corpus during the Civil War. After reviewing his order, discussion...

It's 1943, and Jewish people in Denmark are in hiding from the Nazis. What protection can the United States offer them? By examining the Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights, scholars consider the protections afforded to those...

Lesson 10 in a series of human rights lessons focuses on the skills of finding evidence and summarizing. Your young readers work to compare the two texts they have read in this unit: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

Examine three speeches while teaching Aristotle's appeals. Over the course of three days, class members fill out a graphic organizer about ethos, pathos, and logos, complete an anticipatory guide, read speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.,...

Part of the protests of the Civil Rights Movement were small scale sit-ins at lunch counters. This form of on-the-ground activism is the focus of a C-SPAN resource that includes four video-clips about the sit-ins by pupils at a lunch...

Let's play! Pupils create titles for their readers theater scripts and act them out in a fun game of charades. Next, as part of their end of unit assessment, they write final copies of their individual scripts.

Learn about why the citizens of Washington, D.C. feel unrepresented in Congress with an article about D.C voting rights. Individuals read about the movement toward congressional representation in Washington, D.C., before...

Discover what criteria creditors use for making loans (the 3 Cs of Credit), and impress upon your young adults the rights and responsibilities related to using credit. Pupils role play as individuals seeking or providing credit, as...

Long before the civil rights movement, leaders were working to secure equal rights. An informative activity explains the 1922 anti-lynching campaign with a map. Scholars analyze the map, complete a worksheet, and participate in group...