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Lesson Plans – Human Trafficking

End Trafficking
Middle school   High school
Source: Teach UNICEF
Four lesson unit of interactive lessons that define trafficking, offer survivor stories, and suggest ways to take action. Excellent photo essay.
Grade Level: middle – high school
Subject Area: social studies, geography, current events

History, Human Rights, and the Power of One: Modern-Day Slavery in the USA and Youth for Sale
Source: Fredrick Douglass Family Initiative and Not My Life
Two history-based modules that focus on the problem of slavery in the USA by introducing the legal framework of abolition in the U.S. (including the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act) along with stories from survivors of slavery, from the past and present. The second module, “Youth for Sale,” provides a basic understanding of the labor and sexual exploitation of children around the world
Grade Level: middle – high school
Subject Area: social studies, current events

Juliana Dogbadzie
Source: Speak Truth to Power Curriculum, RFK Center
Activities based on the Juliana Dogbadzi story of escape from a modern form of slavery.
Grade Level: high school
Subject Area: social studies, world religions, women’s studies

Let’s Take Action
Source: HRE USA
This lesson uses the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as well as clips from the documentaries “China’s African Takeover” by Unreported World and The Dark Side of Chocolate as an avenue to introduce violations of child rights. Students will create an action plan to address CRC violations and raise awareness about children’s rights.
Grade Level: middle school
Subject Area: social studies

Not My Life
Middle school High school
Source: Teach UNICEF
Four-lesson unit with interactive lessons define trafficking, offer survivor stories, and suggest ways to take action. Excellent  photo essay.
Grade Level: middle – high school
Subject Area: social studies, geography

Slavery and Human Rights
Source: Anti-Slavery International
Explores contemporary forms of slavery such as bonded labor and human trafficking.
Grade Level:  middle – high school
Subject Area: social studies, current events

Slavery Curriculum
Source: Liberty Asia
5-Module interactive curriculum that defines human trafficking, its causes and its solution.
Grade Level: high school
Subject Area: social studies, current events

Slavery Still Exists Today
Source: HRE USA
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Kevin Bales of Free the Slaves estimates that there are 30 million enslaved people on the earth today. Students have the distinct opportunity to make a difference by raising awareness and communicating effective measures. This lesson seeks to inspire students to confront modern-day slavery through the mobilization of an awareness campaign.
Grade Level: high school
Subject Area: social studies

Stop Human Trafficking: An Educator’s Manual
Source: International Organisation for Migration, South Africa
Lesson plans, posters, action ideas. Created in South Africa but easily adaptable.
Grade Level: high school
Subject Area: social studies, current events

Understanding Modern-Day Slavery
Source: Advocates for Human Rights
Considers modern forms of slavery, misconceptions of contemporary human trafficking, and trafficking as a human rights violation.
Grade Level: high school
Subject Area: social studies, current events

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The core values of HRE USA and its partner organizations include transparency and critical thinking skills. We believe that human rights--and human rights education--belong to everyone, and that the full realization of human rights means that access to human rights education materials must never be conditioned upon the subscription to any particular religious faith, ideology, political affiliation, or membership in any particular organization and that any organizational connections should be openly acknowledged.