Active Citizenship and Democratic Action · 3rd Year

Active learning ideas

My Rights and Responsibilities at School

Active learning works well here because students need to move from abstract ideas to personal ownership of rights and responsibilities. When they investigate real cases, debate scenarios, and reflect on their own school, rights stop being distant rules and become their own protections and duties.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Myself and the Wider World - Rights and Responsibilities
• NCCA: Primary - Myself and the Wider World - Rules and Laws

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The UNCRC in Ireland

Groups are assigned one specific right (e.g., right to play, right to education). They must find one example of how Ireland succeeds in protecting this right and one area where the UN has criticized Ireland's progress.

What rights do I have in our school?

Facilitation Tip

Before starting the Collaborative Investigation, assign clear roles (researcher, note-taker, presenter) so every student contributes to the group’s understanding of the UNCRC’s application in Ireland.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If you have the right to learn in a quiet classroom, what responsibility does everyone else in the class have?' Facilitate a class discussion, guiding students to connect specific rights with concrete responsibilities and potential conflicts.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 40 min · Small Groups

Role Play: The Ombudsman's Office

Students act as investigators in the Ombudsman for Children's Office. They are given a fictional complaint from a young person (e.g., about school facilities or hospital care) and must decide if a right has been breached.

What responsibilities do I have to help everyone enjoy their rights?

Facilitation Tip

During the Role Play, provide students with a simple script template to structure their arguments, ensuring they balance rights with the ‘best interests’ principle.

What to look for

Provide students with scenario cards depicting common school situations (e.g., a student talking loudly during instruction, a student sharing resources). Ask them to identify the right being exercised or challenged and the corresponding responsibility that should be upheld.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Digital Rights

Students discuss whether the 'right to privacy' should prevent parents from checking their children's phones. They pair up to draft a 'Digital Rights Charter' for their own age group that balances safety and autonomy.

How can we help each other respect our rights and responsibilities?

Facilitation Tip

For the Think-Pair-Share on Digital Rights, give students 30 seconds of quiet think time first, then pair them with a peer who has a different viewpoint to broaden their perspectives.

What to look for

Ask students to write down one right they value at school and one specific action they can take today to help another student enjoy that right. Collect these to gauge understanding of the link between rights and personal action.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should anchor this topic in students’ lived experiences, using the UNCRC as a lens to examine school policies and daily interactions. Avoid overwhelming students with legal jargon; instead, focus on concrete examples they can relate to. Research shows that when students role-play rights-based dilemmas, they better internalize the connection between rights and responsibilities.

Successful learning looks like students confidently linking UNCRC principles to their school lives, recognizing conflicts between rights, and proposing fair solutions. They should articulate how rights require responsibilities and practice advocating for themselves and others in role-plays.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Collaborative Investigation on the UNCRC in Ireland, watch for students assuming rights mean unlimited freedom.

  Use the group’s findings on Ireland’s legal obligations to redirect students: ask them to compare the UNCRC’s articles with Irish laws, highlighting where responsibilities (like respecting others) are explicitly required.

• During Role Play: The Ombudsman's Office, watch for students treating the UNCRC as optional.

  Have students reference the 2012 Children’s Referendum in their arguments, forcing them to tie the convention to Irish constitutional law and Ireland’s legal obligations.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Role Play
• Think-Pair-Share