Learn about human rights at home.
We offer education programs and resources to support teachers and students in their efforts to keep learning during the COVID‐19 pandemic.
We have adapted some of our education programs and resources to support teachers and students in their efforts to keep learning at home. The Museum’s education programs team understands that these are difficult times for teachers and students. We hope these resources can engage your students in meaningful learning.
For help accessing programs online or for any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can reach us at education@humanrights.ca.
An upstander is someone who recognizes injustice, knows their personal strengths, and uses those strengths to create positive change.
Grades 5–8
Introduce students to fundamental human rights concepts and well‐known upstanders and challenge them to become upstanders in their own unique ways.
This bilingual resource is designed for middle years students as a cross‐curricular, multi‐week unit. It promotes reflection, dialogue and meaningful action for human rights. Be an Upstander at Home encourages students to read, write, research and communicate ideas about rights and responsibilities and then to develop action plans to address a human rights injustice in their own communities.
Students can meet their English Language Arts and Social Studies learning outcomes as they use their strengths to create change. These learning activities may also apply to outcomes for Art, Music, Foods or other subjects.
This adapted version of the Be an Upstander teacher guide simplifies the project into four at‐home lessons, incorporating the video introduction and the interactive web resource. The first three lessons introduce students to upstanders and human rights and connect with their personal learning. The final lesson challenges students to become human rights upstanders by completing a small, action‐oriented inquiry project.
Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.
Bringing the Museum to you, wherever your class is! We offer virtual field trips for students in K‑12. No need to leave home or the classroom to experience the Museum’s architecture and engage in discussion and reflection on human rights.
Our programs are designed to be inclusive and accessible for students of all needs and ages. Each of our curriculum‐based programs allows students to explore and discuss human rights issues through hands‐on learning and activities.
You can now explore Museum exhibits and architecture using two pre‐recorded virtual tours. (To connect your students with a Museum guide for a live virtual lesson, check out the Live virtual lesson: Deliberating Charter rights.)
We have prepared suggested lesson plans to accompany these tours.
In this 20‐minute video, you follow a Museum guide through two galleries on the Museum’s second level – Indigenous Perspectives and Canadian Journeys. You’ll see the 360‐degree “basket” theatre adorned with 13 spirit panels inspired by the visions of Indigenous youth, an 800‐year‐old moccasin print and the glowing alabaster rampways. You’ll also join the guide on the “Lights of Inclusion” floor projection, then hear about Canadian human rights defender Viola Desmond at the exhibit devoted to her story.
In this 10‐minute video, follow a Museum guide up glowing alabaster ramps to the 7th-floor Inspiring Change gallery. You'll see a tree that has been covered in crocheted squares of yarn by African and Canadian grandmothers, music‐listening stations and a "Join the Conversation" station where visitors leave their own inspiring messages. Then, travel up the glass elevator to the Israel Asper Tower of Hope observation platform for panoramic views of Winnipeg.
