Be Human! Be Proud!

•The Grade 3/4 class will learn about Human Rights – what it entails, what are some ways in which people are denied human rights in the society and what can be done to uplift them.
•Students will create posters to spread messages about Human Rights around the school, thus ENGAGING in active and participatory citizenship.
•In small groups, the students will identify some Canadian Defenders of Human Rights.
•Individually, students will research the chosen persons and create presentations about them detailing the contributions of these people. They will be presenting to their class and to CONNECT with the rest of the community and the world, we will upload the presentations on to our school blog to be showcased.

Update (April 9, 2012)

As part of this project, the grade 3/4 students have been researching about human rights in the school’s computer lab. They have stumbled upon some great web resources that unfold to them in an easy, kid-friendly language as to what human rights mean and how they can be protected. They have also tried making connections to what they have learnt and read in the past that connects with human rights – for instance, stories related to black history month and oppression, or real examples they have seen and heard of related to infringement of human rights. Great, meaningful learning indeed!

Update (April 19, 2012)

It is amazing to see students' creativity with technology, given the right tools. The context of Human Rights has come alive for them.

Update (May 30, 2012)

The students in Grades 3 and 4 were very proud when they got to see their 'Human Rights' posters printed out in colour and laminated. The students had been told that the posters would be put up around the school and so they kept their target audience in mind as they made the posters. They included themes of anti-bullying, togetherness, peace for all, self-esteem as they talked about Human Rights in their posters.
Our principal was really proud of the students' work as well and has offered to plaque a few of these (with school money) to be put up in the school for the long-term.

Update (June 4, 2012)

School students gaze at the walls full of meaningful, educative, colourful Human-Rights posters created by their schoolmates as part of the "Be Human!Be Proud!" project.

In the meantime, the students involved in the project are excitedly working on learning about and creating powerpoints about some Canadian Human Rights Defenders.

Update (June 26, 2012)

Our 'Be Human! Be Proud!' project is now complete! Students in the grade 3 and 4 classes created and presented some creative powerpoints related to their research about Canadian Human Rights defenders. For most of them, powerpoint was a new tool and they had a lot of fun exploring its various features and learning to use it for presentations! They presented in front of their class. Their powerpoints are now being uploaded to the school blog (www.corlissdesigns.edublogs.org) for everyone to check out. It was a very valuable experience for the students to learn about human rights and how some people have spent their entire lives working for these rights. Even though Microsoft Office cost us a lot, in the end it was absolutely worth it. Students now have learnt a skill that they can use over and over to spread their message and present their thoughts in today's digital world.