Donating & Charities · Lesson Plan
Universal Human Rights
Human rights are the rights every person has simply for being human — and understanding them is part of understanding citizenship, community, and why groups raise money and campaign on people’s behalf. This lesson introduces the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, asks students to weigh which rights matter most, and looks at how children in particular can be at risk when those rights aren’t protected. Students finish by designing a Children’s Rights Charter in small groups.
For Teachers
Lesson at a glance
- Topic
- Donating & Charities
- Grade Level
- Grades 5–7
- Resource Type
- Lesson + Worksheet
- Estimated Time
- 90 minutes
- Format
- Lesson + activity
- Materials
- Printable lesson, colored pens and paper, recent newspaper articles
What Students Learn
Learning objectives
- Explain the concept of universal human rights
- Describe how human rights can be violated around the world
- Identify why children can be especially vulnerable to rights violations
- Distinguish an arranged marriage from a forced marriage
- Rank rights by importance and justify the ranking to the class
Materials
What you’ll need
- Colored pens and paper for designing a poster
- Recent newspaper articles on human rights issues (optional)
Key Terms
Vocabulary
- Human rights
- The rights every person has simply because they are a human being.
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- The 1948 United Nations document stating that human rights are recognized everywhere in the world.
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- A 1989 UN treaty setting additional protections for children’s rights.
- Child labor
- Work done by children that interferes with their schooling, health, or development.
- Forced marriage
- A marriage entered into without one party’s free consent — different from an arranged marriage, where both parties agree.
For Teachers
Lesson plan
Estimated time: 1 hour 30 minutes (Part A: 30 minutes teaching, Part B: 1 hour activity).
Part A: What are human rights? (30 min)
- Rights at school (5 min). Ask the class what they understand by a “right.” Start with rights they have in school — being treated fairly, being taught well — and rights they don’t have (behaving however they like in class).
- Universal human rights (10 min). Explain that human rights belong to every person simply for being human, regardless of race, nationality, or gender. In 1948 the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which lists rights recognized everywhere: shelter, food, and clean water; freedom and safety; fair pay and working conditions; education; a fair trial; and protection from cruel punishment. Ask the class which right they think matters most, and why.
- When rights are violated (10 min). Discuss examples of human rights abuse: imprisonment without a fair trial, torture or mistreatment of prisoners, forced labor, and unsafe or underpaid work. A well-documented historical case is the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq (2003–2004), where U.S. soldiers were found to have abused detainees — a reminder that abuses can happen even in countries that otherwise uphold the rule of law.
- Children and human rights (5 min). Explain that children’s rights get special protection under the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, because children are more vulnerable and depend on adults for support. Note that the United States signed this treaty in 1995 but has never ratified it — the only UN member state that hasn’t. Discuss child labor: as of the most recent UNESCO data, roughly 273 million children and young people worldwide are out of school, often because families need them to earn income instead. Discuss forced marriage — a young person married without their consent — and how it differs from an arranged marriage, where both people agree.
Part B: Children’s Rights Charter (1 hour)
Divide the class into groups of 3–4. Each group chooses the five most important children’s rights and ranks them, most important first, then writes and illustrates them on a poster as a “Children’s Rights Charter.” Allow 30 minutes to decide and design. Each group then presents its top five to the class and explains its ranking (about 20 minutes total). Finish with a class discussion: was there agreement about which rights matter most, and why?
Assessment
Assess each group’s charter for a clear ranking, a reasonable justification for each rights choice, and active participation in the presentation.
Discussion
Discussion questions
- Why do human rights belong to every person, regardless of where they live?
- Why might children be especially vulnerable to having their rights violated?
- What is the difference between an arranged marriage and a forced marriage?
- Why do you think the United States has signed but not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child?
- How did your group decide which rights mattered most?
Printable Lesson & Activity
Universal Human Rights — Lesson & Activity
A printable lesson introducing universal human rights and a Children’s Rights Charter group activity.
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