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...

Students understand that disputes over law and individual rights touch all phases of daily life, even athletic and recreational activities

Students study the individual rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. They determine where these rights come from, and why we value them as we do. They consider that our individual rights are not absolute, and may be limited by other...

Use the dystopian novel After by Francine Prose to spark discussion about individual and student rights. Learners read the novel, evaluating how far a school can go to control its attendees. As they read, scholars...

Students evaluate what freedom means, how rules are important and the significance of individual rights. They find images that depict their interpretation of freedom and complete handouts.

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...

Don't be fooled by the size of the resource: these few pages provide the blueprint for a substantial, thoughtful unit on children's rights and the different philosophies and approaches that the United States and other countries have...

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...

Did you know that there are 15.2 million refugees in the world? High schoolers will read "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" and learn how they can get involved to lower this surprising number. To really encourage involvement,...

How have groups struggled to have their unalienable rights recognized in the United States? Acting as a research team for the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, your young historians will break into groups to research...

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...

The first ten Amendments of the U.S. Constitution are vital for young people to understand. Provide the foundation of the laws that govern our country with this junior high school lesson. Groups use the newspaper to identify rights...

Explore the Bill of Rights in-depth with this resource packet that includes the complete text of the document, scenarios and discussion questions for each amendment, role-playing activities, exercises, questions for a Socratic seminar, a...

Get your historians to hop into someone else's 18th century shoes with a simulation on rights in early America. Each individual gets an identity card, indicating their race, gender, and status (slave or free). Areas around the room are...

A substantive New York Times article about the U.S.A. Patriot Act, military tribunals, racial profiling, and the Bill of Rights forms the basis for a discussion of the complex interplay of fundamental American rights and the aftermath of...

While World War II changed the international order, it also led to a fundamental shift in the concept of civil rights within the United States. Using a video and discussion questions, class members consider the effects the war had to the...

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...

A human rights defender is someone who promotes and protects human rights for all. Scholars explore the subject with the fourth and final lesson from the Introduction to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights series. Pupils share...

The UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has been ratified by 196 countries so far ... and still counting! Using the first of two lessons covering the Introduction to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, scholars learn...

The Bill of Rights is much more than an important piece of paper! The rights cover everything from freedom of speech to the right to remain silent if arrested. Scholars find out their own rights by answering the questions in the form of...