Lesson Plans – Refugees

Building a Race and Immigration Dialogue in the Global Economy (BRIDGE)
Source: The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, 2004
Curriculum with lessons on immigration, labor, and organizing.  Also see Building Immigrant Community Power Through Legislative Advocacy: A free downloadable workshop on taking action for immigration rights.
Grade Level: high school – adult
Subject Area: social studies, community service

Circle of Rights. Economic, Social & Cultural Rights Activism
Source: Circle of Rights: Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Activism: A Training Resource
Curriculum Module that provides an introduction to social, cultural, and economic rights. See especially Module 7, “Refugees and SEC Rights.”
Grade Level: high school – adult
Subject Area: social studies

Darfur is Dying
Source:  UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe
Video game for change that provides a window into the experience of the 2.5 million refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. Players must keep their refugee camp functioning in the face of possible attack by Janjaweed militias. Players can also learn more about the genocide in Darfur that has taken the lives of 400,000 people, and find ways to get involved to help stop this human rights and humanitarian crisis.
Grade Level:  middle – high school
Subject Area: social studies.

Fatnah’s Story: Giving Girls a Chance to Learn
Source: UNICEF
Lesson plans that raise awareness of the impact of gender inequality through the story of a refugee girl in Darfur. Offers ways to address gender equality in education.
Grade Level: middle school
Subject Area: social studies, geography

Finding Home
Source:  Expeditionary Learning, on behalf of Public Consulting Group, Inc. 
20-lesson module that explores universal themes and experiences of refugees across various times and cultures. Uses the memoir Inside Out & Back Again as a central text.
Grade Level: middle school
Subject Area: geography, social studies

Migrant Rights
Source: HRE USA
This lesson exposes students to contemporary international migrations and their relationship to human rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This lesson can be modified to address many different migratory themes, such as: international migration, historical accounts of migration/immigration to the United States, undocumented/illegal immigration, etc. This specific lesson discusses the international migration of Middle Eastern and African people to Europe during the fall of 2015.
Grade Level: high school
Subject Area: social studies

Passages Game 
Source:  USA for UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Simulation game that brings participants go through a number of steps that attempt to simulate the refugee experience, from flight to arrival in the refugee camp as well as the difficulties of integration.
Grade Level: high school
Subject Area: social studies, current events

Rights of Migrants Toolkit
Source: Advocates for Human Rights
Multi-faceted educational tools on the rights of migrants in the United States with background information, lesson plans, action opportunities, and resources.
Grade Level: middle school – adult
Subject area: social studies, current events

The Rights of Refugees
Source:  UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 2007
Lesson plan that approaches the refugee experience from a number of subject areas, including art, history, geography, math, and science. Topics include Refugees in History, Refugee Rights and Responsibilities, Refugee Women and Girls.
Grade Level: middle – high school
Subject Area: social studies, current events, art, language arts, geography

Statistical Analysis of Asylum Seekers and Refugees Worldwide
Source:  UDHR Poster Series and Teacher’s Guide, Amnesty International, 2002
Lesson on UDHR Article 14 using refugee statistics to calculate mean, median and mode figures and construct charts.
Grade Level: middle – high school
Subject Area: math, social studies

The Status and Rights of Refugees
Source:  UDHR Poster Series and Teacher’s Guide, Amnesty International, 2002
Lesson plan that defines and recreates the process of becoming a refugee.
Grade Level: middle – high school
Subject Area: social studies
Teaching Immigration with the Immigrant Stories Project
Source: Advocates for Human Rights
Helps students learn about aspects of United States immigration, past and present, through the personal experiences of immigrants and refugees. The lessons highlight digital stories from the Immigrant Stories collection: brief, original videos made by immigrants and refugees.
Grade level: high school
Subject area: social studies

The Uprooted: Refugees and the United States
Authors: David Donahue and Nancy Flowers, Source:  Hunter House Publisher, 2002
Full resource curriculum with lessons examine the difference between refugees and immigrants, the emotional trauma of flight and persecution, and the history of and influences on US refugee policy.
Grade Level: middle – high school
Subject Area: social studies, language arts, art

Voices of Iraqi Refugees
Source:  The Advocates for Human Rights, the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project, and independent artists, Nathan Fisher and Monica Haller, 2012
Collection of lesson for K-12 that familiarize students with the post-war condition of Iraqi immigrants.
Grade Level: high school
Subject Area: social studies, current events