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International High School Curriculum

The KidsRights’ middle-high school curriculum is based on the belief that young people can move the world.

Inspired by the remarkable efforts of KidsRights’ International Children’s Peace Prize Winners, the program informs, inspires and motivates students to become changmakers for children’s rights.

KidsRights Children’s Rights Curriculum was developed in conjunction with Rock Your World, a highly regarded and utilized comprehensive social action curriculum that helps students have a positive impact on a human rights issue about which they care most.

In keeping with KidsRights mission and vision, the lessons included here focus specifically on children’s rights. They introduce students to children’s rights issues as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of Child, inspire students to take positive action in their community and globally,  and provide them with unique tools – like the KidsRights Index & Reports – and skills needed to become informed changemakers.

The lessons can be used as either standalone or subject-integrated curriculum for the classroom, and with formal after school programs focused on Service Learning, Community Service, and Social Justice activities.

Get started:

What are Children’s Rights?
Lesson 1: Introduction to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Lesson 2: Visual Interpretations of the CRC
Lesson 3: Opening your Eyes and Ears to Children’s Rights Issues

Finding an issue of interest:
Lesson 4: Finding Inspiration and Motivation in Children’s Peace Prize Winners
Lesson 5: Searching for Your Spark: Using Research-Based Data Part 1
Lesson 6: Searching for Your Spark: Using Research-Based Data Part 2

Become Aware and Informed: 
To be effective changemakers, students need to be knowledgeable about their issue of interest. These Rock Your World lessons guide students through the process of becoming aware and informed.

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Take Action:

Once students have completed the foundational lessons, they will be ready to become changemakers who inspire, inform, engage and mobilize toward action.

Since there are many ways to address an issue, it is important that students are clear about what they want and are able to achieve. For example, some students might want to raise awareness about an issue where children’s rights are being violated, while others might want to wage a campaign in support of an issue, while still others might want to advocate for change.  The following lessons refer to these various options:

If your students want to raise awareness in your community about a children’s issue, possible projects might include:

If your students want to engage others in a fundraising campaign, the following lesson will be useful:

If your students want to lobby for social change, some possible projects include:

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Reflect:

Taking time for reflection is an important part of learning. After students have taken action, it will be helpful for them to take time to reflect. 

The reflection process can be as simple as answering a few questions such as:

  • What have I learned about children’s rights, taking action and myself?
  • What have I learned about being aware and informed?
  • What was the most rewarding part of the process?
  • What was the most challenging part of the process?
  • What is next?

The goal of the KidsRights’ curriculum is  for students to:

  • learn about children’s rights and the needs of youth worldwide
  • examine the U.N. Convention of the Rights of the Child
  • become inspired by the stories of the winners of the International Children’s Peace Prize
  • learn how best to examine their own world and understand that they can take action against injustices
  • use research-based data to become informed about children’s rights in the world
  • develop themselves as changemakers

Share Student Work:

If students have created videos to promote their causes, you might want to submit these to Rock Your World and KidsRights so that they can be posted and shared with others. Songs can be submitted to the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights/GRAMMY Museum Speak Up Sing Out songwriting contest.

KidsRights Kick Start Quotes:

Visit our Pinterest board for a curated list of KidsRights quotes to promote student thinking, writing and discussion.