Introduction: What the nine units have to offer (Class 1– 9)

Exploring children’s rights begins in the first class and gets progressively more complex towards the end of obligatory schooling. How this is to be achieved is the subject of this handbook for teach­ers.

Nine units made up of a series of lesson se­quences give concrete examples and suggestions for the implementation of children’s rights for the first year of primary school to the final year of obligatory secondary education. In this way, it uses a spiral curriculum model.

The following elements serve as a guideline:

• A brief introduction with information on the con­ceptual framework and on learning by example.
• Nine class projects (units) for each class (1-9) made up of four lessons each.
• Detailed lesson plans.
• Task-based learning: each unit has a project as its goal.
• Learning settings that are open and coopera­tive, that fit with the principles of Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights.
• An appendix with various teaching materials (including the Convention on the Rights of the Child) and background information on children’s rights.

Each of the nine units has the learning objectives laid out with a table covering key contents, instruc­tions and questions to support the teacher. At the top, each table shows the key themes and con­tents from the perspective of the teacher, and below are key questions for pupils. The table helps teachers to anticipate pupils’ questions, but above all, it helps to keep in mind the learning objectives of each unit. The tables differentiate between the three dimensions of “experiencing”, “getting to know” and “implementing” children’s rights. The following handbook therefore takes into account all three aspects: task-based exploration, cognitive elements of knowledge acquisition and application in everyday life.

Parts II and III offer a set of background infor­mation and teaching materials as can be found on the Internet or in other relevant texts. The idea was however, to compile a set of essential resources that can be immediately used in lessons without much additional research. Additionally, the short texts offer information for presentations for both teachers and pupils. The illustrated children’s rights at the very end of the handbook can be used in various lessons in different ways. They are ver­satile and offer many additional learning oppor­tunities. They provide a visual stimulus for many activities and can also be used as a memory game or flash cards. Feedback from teachers from many different countries have shown that besides the explorative approach, elements of practice and learning off by heart can be very useful. However, this cannot replace dealing with important ques­tions and deepening understanding step-by-step

Fotos: Lea Gut, Fredy Suter