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Drama

LESSON PLANS

Acting for Indigenous Rights: Theatre to Change the World
Source: University of Minnesota Human Rights Education Series
Manual with information, plays, and learning activities based on indigenous issues, background information, and learning activities using Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed techniques to raise awareness of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Grade Level: high school – adult
Subject Area: social studies, drama, and language arts


Ironhawk on Death Row
Source: Univ. of Minnesota Human Rights Center, Human Rights Education Topic Book 7
A play that illustrates the racism and inhumanity of the death penalty through the struggles of an Indigenous man. Includes educational resources that use Theatre of the Oppressed techniques to engage participants.
Grade Level: high school – adult
Subject Area: social studies, current events


The Madness of Hunger
Source: Univ. of Minnesota Human Rights Center, Human Rights Education Topic Book 7
A theatrical play with learning activities that illustrates the long-term effects of hunger on families in impoverished northeast Brazil. Uses Theatre of the Oppressed techniques to engage participants.
Level: high school – adult
Subject Area: social studies, current events


Speak Truth to Power
Playwright: Ariel Dorfman, Source: Speak Truth to Power Curriculum, RFK Center
A play that captures the voices of human rights defenders.
Grade Level: high school
Subject Area: social studies, literature, drama

The UDHR & Contemporary Issues
Source: HRE USA
This lesson asks students to correlate the UDHR to current newspaper articles which illustrate the portrayal of human rights in one of four situations (rights achieved, rights denied, rights violated, rights in conflict). Students will explain that situation, the correlation to the UDHR, and then write a reflection on the role of the UDHR in potentially resolving the situation.
Grade Level: high school
Subject Area: social studies


The World as It Could Be
Publisher: The World as It Could Be
Full curriculum that uses the creative arts to deepen learning about the UDHR and provide opportunities for the youth to, in turn, teach their peers and adults about the importance of manifesting the words of the UDHR.  Lesson plans are designed to encourage a progression of learning that starts with objective knowledge, moves to personal connection to both human rights concepts and issues, and then engagement to play a role in advancing UDHR principles.
Grade Level: middle – high school
Subject Area: social studies, language arts, drama, music

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