Human Rights

What does it mean to say that all people are born with rights?

In the aftermath of World War II, nations came together to define a new global standard: human rights belong to everyone. These classroom-ready materials explore the creation and impact of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Help students understand its historical significance and the ongoing debates about how those rights are protected (or denied) today.

Human Rights

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How to Teach Human Rights: Tools for Teachers

World History Lesson Guide: Global Communities External link Locked

This teaching guide will help you introduce your students to the concept of universal human rights and the ways this idea has changed since the Second World War.

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PD Event: Origin of Human Rights External link

Learn from Samuel Moyn about the evolution of human rights and their impact on law, society, and our world today.
Blog

Blog Post: Lesson Plan: Global Reform Movements External link

Help your class map suffrage timelines and connect past struggles to the state of women’s rights today.
Course Guide icon

Teaching Sensitive Topics External link

Support for difficult but meaningful discussions about human rights.
discussions

Truman and Civil Rights External link

See how teachers in OER Project’s community grapple with the complicated legacy of an American president.

Teach Tomorrow: Lessons on Human Rights

Lesson 9.5
World History Origins
Globalization
1900 to the Future
Global Communities
It’s time to join the conversation about human rights and global cooperation. Explore how global institutions and grassroots movements have worked together—and at times clashed—in the fight for justice since World War II.
View Lesson
Lesson 8.7
World History 1750
Cold War and Decolonization
1945 – 1991 CE
Connecting Struggles for Liberation
See how national rights movements—such as the Civil Rights movement in the US and the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa—connected with international struggles against racism, inequality, and oppression.
View Lesson

Human Rights Activities and Resources

Comparison: Rights Documents
World History Origins
Activity

Comparison: Rights Documents External link

In this activity, compare different rights documents from around the world to see how ideas about justice and equality take shape across cultures and time.
Universal Rights
Photo of four stamps that show Eleanor Roosevelt using a spinning wheel. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights 15th Anniversary – 10th December 1963” is written at the bottom.
World History Origins
Article

Universal Rights External link

In 1945, the world came together to define the rights that all humans are entitled to. The battle to define and protect human rights has continued ever since.
Rights Under Construction
World History Origins
Closer

Rights Under Construction External link

Use this quick exit ticket activity to rate the progress that humanity has made on improving human rights since 1945.
Movements to End Racial Injustice
A black and white photo of people gathered at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
World History Origins
Article

Movements to End Racial Injustice External link

This article explores how civil rights movements in the US and Latin America responded to injustice after World War II—and how shared ideas shaped their fight for equality.
Preserving the Past
World History 1750
Video

Preserving the Past External link

Do we have a right to protect our history? This video explores how Indigenous people have fought to retrieve stolen artifacts and while building for the future.
A Century of Refugees
Photo of an overcrowded boat holding dozens of people in the middle of a blue body of water.
World History Origins
Article

A Century of Refugees External link

There are more refugees in the world today than ever before. How should the world protect people forced to flee their homes?

Resources to Connect Climate Change and Human Rights

One of the most urgent human rights questions of our time is how climate change will impact inequality. While climate change is a global phenomenon, its impacts are not evenly distributed. Examine how climate justice might shape the future of human rights.
Climate Vulnerability
Climate Vulnerability
Climate
Activity

Climate Vulnerability External link

How do different people and regions experience vulnerabilities to climate change? Where you live and what you do for a living can determine how climate change affects you.
What Is Climate Justice?
Climate
Activity

What Is Climate Justice? External link

Climate change has no bias, but societies do. What’s the role of climate and environmental justice when it comes to taking on climate change?
Are Natural Disasters Actually Natural?
Climate
Video

Are Natural Disasters Actually Natural? External link

How can injustice within societal structures causes climate change to affect some more than others? Our friends at Crash Course break down climate and environmental justice.

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