Human Rights Education

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LESSON PLAN


WE ARE ONE FAMILY: My Family | Your Family | Our Families

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For printing: This lesson plan in
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Lesson source: Sarah Coraggio, Kindergarten Teacher, Ridgewood Elementary, Kent School District, Washington - Coordinating member of the Washington Human Rights Education Integration Project Contact information: Email scoraggio@yahoo.com

TARGETED GRADE LEVEL: K - 3


Rationale

This unit is designed to promote understanding and tolerance among people. Intolerance can be learned from a very early age and adult attitudes can be difficult to change. It is therefore very important to begin a good multicultural human rights education as early as possible. It is only through exposure, familiarity, and safe and open discussions that students can feel sameness and appreciate differences of the many cultures our society needs to embrace in an effort to promote unity and aid in conflict resolution. By starting with a topic familiar and comfortable to the young student, the rights of "self" and "family", the stage is set to venture forth to explore new ideas and expand knowledge. By giving students the background they need, we can expect our students to be tolerant and responsible citizens. They will be more willing to choose constructive problem-solving over conflict and violence and be more empathetic and motivated to help those in need.

Context

This introductory lesson sequence is part of WE ARE ONE FAMILY, an integrated social studies unit that helps students move from defining their own families to exploring a broader definition of "family" that is inclusive of all people. Many of the literature-based, hands-on lessons that follow this point out the many ways families can be diverse. Young students first explore the rights of the individual in a previous unit, ALL ABOUT ME, and it is then that the terms "rights" or "human rights" is defined and discussed. Starting at that point, "rights" are spoken of by pointing out examples that happen throughout the day in class, or during class meeting discussions. In this way, students are encouraged to develop a sense of being able to apply this concept in their lives outside the classroom

Subjects and State Benchmarks met by this lesson:

Social Studies: Civics: Rights of the individual, respecting rights others

Literacy: Reading: Understands the meaning of what is read, expands comprehension by analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing information and ideas

Arts: Demonstrates thinking skills using artistic processes, applies a creative process in the arts

UDHR Integration:


Objectives:

The learner should be able to answer the content questions:


Resources:

Families by Meredith Tax

Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor

Prior to the lesson print out a variety of "family" images or gather family-oriented magazines for the group collage.

Technology resources:

Family album - http://www.pbs.org/americanfamily/your_album.html

Images - http://www.google.com, click the Images tab and search for "family", and "parenting magazines"

Butcher paper, small smooth rocks, and art supplies for activities

Lesson:

  1. Have students draw a picture of their family, then share with the class.
  2. Read Families to class, which describes different kinds of families. Discuss and list how families can be the same and different, referring to individual students' examples. Talk about the "rights" of families.
  Same Different Rights
Families      

  1. Discuss and write down answers to content questions above.
  2. Introduce family recipes as a form of tradition. Ask children to take home the recipe form and have their family help them fill it out and return to create a family recipe book.
  3. Sing the Family Song, encouraging children to tell about things they like to do with their family. Sing a verse of the song for each child, adding what they say they like to do with their family.

    Family Song (sung to the tune of "The Muffin Man")
    Tell me what you like to do, like to do, like to do,
    Tell me what you like to do, with your family.

    Jon likes to rake the leaves, rake the leaves, rake the leaves,
    Jon likes to rake the leaves, with his family.

    Connie likes to go camping, go camping, go camping,
    Connie likes to go camping, with her family.

  4. The next day, review lists of family similarities/differences. Form a class definition of and word bank for "family". Have small groups of four make large "A family is..." collages on butcher paper using their family pictures from the day before, crayons, magazines or internet photos, newspapers and written key words. Have each group take a turn in telling about their collage.
  5. Rock Family Activity. Read Everybody Needs a Rock, a book in which a girl describes the qualities to consider in selecting the perfect rock for play and pleasure. Have children choose rocks that the teacher provides to make a rock family. Children paint/decorate rocks as different members of their rock family and give them names and roles. Allow children to play with their family and make them homes. Families can visit each other. Make traditions for each family. Take pictures of rock families to use with stories written by the children about the families.
  6. Discuss: How do you feel around people who are different from you, like these rock families may have felt? Why? How do you think they live? Do they have families? Compare to prior discussions.
  7. Conclusion: Review rights and concepts that have been discussed. As an option, ask children to choose one of the right that is most important to them and explain why.

Family Involvement

Family involvement is crucial in making change at the elementary level. Parents learn of the sequence of units at a parent night the week before school starts or soon after. Through a series of notes home, parents are informed about what their child learned that day and asked to discuss certain concepts with their child.

One way families can help enrich their child's experience is to contribute a family recipe to a class recipe book. The two-sided form for this is attached.
The teacher can facilitate having the students make a small family album, or parents can be directed to a PBS site that has three tutorials with examples for how a family can create a truly original and personally meaningful album all their own. Check out http://www.pbs.org/americanfamily/your_album.html.