Primary school resources
There are three resources designed and piloted by practicing primary teachers for use in the primary classroom. The resources mirror the spiral curriculum with each resource building on the knowledge and skills acquired in the previous. The Right Start is designed for use with Junior Infant to 2nd classes, Lift Off is for 3rd and 4th class and Me, You Everyone is for 5th and 6th class.
Human Rights Education Whole School Approach (PDF)
Human rights are at the core of a sustainable future here in Ireland and across the globe. Having educated citizens to advocate in support of human rights is critical to create such a future. Amnesty International Ireland has a long and positive record in supporting human rights education and ‘Qatar 2022: Fair or Foul‘ is another important contribution to that work. All teachers are invited to use the lessons from our newest resource and to join Amnesty’s efforts in educating our children to both claim their own human rights and to stand up for the human rights of others.
This resource provides five tales of human rights defenders – Fela, Maria, Bobo, Ishmael and Farai. Each story is written in a version for older and younger learners. The resource includes a range of curriculum links, lesson activities class questions, worksheets and teacher’s notes. Engaging with the stories through discussion, creative thinking and character exploration can support the development of literacy. Through the familiar medium of storytelling, human rights situations can be explored on a level which children can encounter the real life impact of human rights in practice.
The Right Start (PDF)
This resource is designed for use with Junior Infants to Second Class and is focused on developing the skills of empathy, communication, cooperation, respect and responsibility and conflict resolution. With these skills young children can live the message of human rights in their daily lives and then use these skills to engage fully with knowledge based learning on human rights contained in the next resource. The activities outlined in The Right Start resource link directly to strands and strand units of the SPHE curriculum.
Lift Off (PDF)
This resource is designed for use with third and fourth class. It focuses on knowledge of human rights issues while also building on the human rights skills and attitudes fostered and developed in “The Right Start”. This resource contains ten lesson plans focusing on equality, refugee issues, the role of human rights promoters, needs, wants and rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The lessons described in the Lift Off resource link directly to strands and strand units of the SPHE curriculum. An Irish language version of this resource is also available: Lift Off – Irish (PDF)
Me, You Everyone (PDF)
This resource is designed for use with fifth and sixth class. It again focuses on knowledge of human rights issues while further fostering and developing the skills and attitudes acquired from the previous resources. The resource contains ten lesson plans focusing on identity, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, taking responsibility, gender issues, valuing difference, child labour, conflict and dialogue, the role of children’s rights promoters and defenders and how to take action for human rights. The lesson units outlined in the Me, You, Everyone resource link directly to strands and strand units of the SPHE curriculum.
Human rights education toolkit
School children from around the world have sent messages of solidarity to the thousands of children who have been detained and separated from their families at the US border, as a result of the Trump administration’s outrageous immigration policies. Schools interested in taking part in the letter writing action can download the human rights education toolkit.