Soldiers of the Kashmir Freedom Fighters are in search of new recruits at nine-year-old Rafiq’s school in rural Kashmir. They scrawl a line in chalk on the schoolroom wall. Any boy whose height reaches the line will be taken to fight. Rafiq is tall for his age and becomes the first boy to cross into a life of brutality and terrorism. So begins Rafiq’s transformation from child to boy soldier, indoctrinated into a cause of fanatical belief. But even when he no longer recognises himself, his family remembers the boy he was and hopes he will return.

The books on this shortlist for the 2018 Kate Greenaway and Carnegie Medal winners were chosen by expert youth librarians. Proving our theory that all good books engage with human rights, we’ve found deep themes of justice, truth and freedom to explore in every one. All of these books are eligible for the Amnesty CILIP Honour, for books that best uphold, illuminate or celebrate human rights and the values that underpin them. Click each to find human rights education resources that you can use to explore human rights with children and young people.

This Words That Burn bitesize blog series explores the power of poetry. We will introduce you to some incredible poets and share simple activities you can do to inspire your own poetry. You can find links to all the blog posts below: Blog 1: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/classroom-community/words-burn-introducing-our-bitesize-poetry-series Blog 2: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/classroom-community/words-burn-reflect-through-poetry Blog 3: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/classroom-community/words-burn-feel-through-poetry Blog 4: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/classroom-community/words-burn-question-through-poetry Blog 5: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/classroom-community/words-burn-listen-through-poetry Blog 6: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/classroom-community/words-burn-dream-through-poetry Blog 7: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/classroom-community/words-burn-demand-through-poetry Blog 7: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/classroom-community/words-burn-celebrate-through-poetry If you find these resources useful you can also find our full Words That Burn resources on TES or on the Amnesty website.

Session 8 - power Throughout history, words and poetry have been used to challenge, protest and inspire change. In this session students watch Inja perform his poem Freedom and explore poems about race and privilege before creating their own protest poems. About Words that Burn Words That Burn challenges you to take action for human rights through poetry. Using this resource secondary schools can explore human rights through poetry, with 10 free educational resources designed to help students develop their own writing and performance style. This is national project to explore and express human rights through poetry by Amnesty International in partnership with Cheltenham festivals.

Session 9 - respect In this session students look at the subtleties and connotations of language, and the impact words have in describing a person or event and how that influences us. They read The Right Word by Imtiaz Dharker, which explores how we see and label other people, before creating their own poem about respect. About Words that Burn Words That Burn challenges you to take action for human rights through poetry. Using this resource secondary schools can explore human rights through poetry, with 10 free educational resources designed to help students develop their own writing and performance style. This is national project to explore and express human rights through poetry by Amnesty International in partnership with Cheltenham festivals.

Session 9 - words that burn Case studies and films show that we all have the power to stand up for human rights through poetry. As an example, three well-known poets take on Amnesty International’s Make a Difference in a Minute challenge – to perform a human rights poem in one minute. Challenge your students to do this too. Every term session plan 10 can be used to introduce your students to a particular human rights theme and individual at risk of human rights violation. Students can write their own poems and discover the impact their voice and their poetry can have. About Words that Burn Words That Burn challenges you to take action for human rights through poetry. Using this resource secondary schools can explore human rights through poetry, with 10 free educational resources designed to help students develop their own writing and performance style. This is national project to explore and express human rights through poetry by Amnesty International in partnership with Cheltenham festivals.

Session 7 - speak up In this session students explore how words can help process feelings of anger and helplessness – and bring about self-empowerment and social change – by reading poetry about racism, police violence and disability. They then write their own work about power and privilege. About Words that Burn Words That Burn challenges you to take action for human rights through poetry. Using this resource secondary schools can explore human rights through poetry, with 10 free educational resources designed to help students develop their own writing and performance style. This is national project to explore and express human rights through poetry by Amnesty International in partnership with Cheltenham festivals.

Session 6 - dignity In this session students read poems about equality and discrimination – and can watch performances by the poets bringing their words to life. This will inspire them to write a poem from the perspective of someone who has experienced hate crime. About Words that Burn Words That Burn challenges you to take action for human rights through poetry. Using this resource secondary schools can explore human rights through poetry, with 10 free educational resources designed to help students develop their own writing and performance style. This is national project to explore and express human rights through poetry by Amnesty International in partnership with Cheltenham festivals.

Session 5 - witness In this session poet Emtithal Mahmoud asks students to ‘bear witness’ to her experiences of genocide in Darfur. Students look at poetic responses to war and human rights abuses to understand that poetry can destroy silence and create remembrance. They then choose a photograph and let events speak through their writing. About Words that Burn Words That Burn challenges you to take action for human rights through poetry. Using this resource secondary schools can explore human rights through poetry, with 10 free educational resources designed to help students develop their own writing and performance style. This is national project to explore and express human rights through poetry by Amnesty International in partnership with Cheltenham festivals.

Session 4 - change In this session students learn that everyone has a role to play in upholding human rights – in their school, community and world. They read poetry that acknowledges struggles and difficulties but also possibilities to positively change the world. Students write their own dream for the future triggered by I Dream A World by Langston Hughes. About Words that Burn Words That Burn challenges you to take action for human rights through poetry. Using this resource secondary schools can explore human rights through poetry, with 10 free educational resources designed to help students develop their own writing and performance style. This is national project to explore and express human rights through poetry by Amnesty International in partnership with Cheltenham festivals.

Cover Image The Little Boy With His Hands Up © Universal History Archive/Rex/Shutterstock Session 3 - freedom In this session we explore a photo from World War II that inspired a famous poem, The Boy With His Hands Up by Yala Korwin. Students explore how to use language to take a stand after reading poetry written in response to injustice. After looking at human rights law, students write a poem in response to a photograph of a human rights violation. About Words that Burn Words That Burn challenges you to take action for human rights through poetry. Using this resource secondary schools can explore human rights through poetry, with 10 free educational resources designed to help students develop their own writing and performance style. This is national project to explore and express human rights through poetry by Amnesty International in partnership with Cheltenham festivals.

Session 1: being heard In session 1 talented spoken-word artists reveal their urge to write in a documentary which helps students explore the right to freedom of expression. Students then read thought provoking human rights poetry and create similes and metaphors for freedom. With poems by Joe Coelho, Pat Parker, Walt Whitman, Elsa Wiezell, Grace Nichols, Sarah Crossan, Oscar Wilde, Martin Niemöller, Rachel Rooney About Words that Burn Words That Burn challenges you to take action for human rights through poetry. Using this resource secondary schools can explore human rights through poetry, with free educational resources designed to help students develop their own writing and performance style. This is national project to explore and express human rights through poetry by Amnesty International in partnership with Cheltenham festivals.

Amnesty and CILIP, the library and information association, are working to develop children’s understanding of human rights through the outstanding books shortlisted for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals. All the books are also eligible for the Amnesty CILIP Honour, for illuminating, upholding or celebrating human rights. The Medals and Honour winners will be announced on 19th June. We have created special Story Explorer resources to help adults, young people and children explore the human rights values at the heart of all the shortlisted books.