Overview
During this lessons pupils will look at the history of the Magna Carta and consider how it has helped shape the laws we have today.
Pupils consider what ‘fairness’ and ‘justice’ mean by taking on the role of head teacher at a new school, deciding what rules the school should have. The lesson concludes with pupils exploring what is meant by the following clause from the Magna Carta, ‘no free man shall be imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions … except by the lawful judgement of his peers’ and how this is put into practice in today’s justice system.
You might like to run this lesson as a precursor to the lesson ‘Why do we have rules?’ which looks at how laws are made in the UK in more detail.
More Lessons resources
Conflict: Part 2 – Mediation
In this lesson pupils will discuss the principles of simple mediation strategies and apply these in role play scenarios to explore how people can voice and resolve their differences. The…
Youth Justice (SmartLaw Subscription)
During this lesson, students will explore the process a young person goes through when they commit, or are suspected of committing a crime. They will also examine different types of…
More Politics and Democracy resources
Why Do We Pay Taxes? (Part 2)
Pupils will learn that councils are responsible for local spending decisions and can raise additional funds for public services through council taxes. To access this content, register for our School…
Climate Action: Using the Law to Drive Change
In 2021, COP26 was hosted in Glasgow. It was seen as a pivotal moment in tackling the global climate...
Create a Local Council Budget
Students critically consider the needs of a fictitious town and how to spend it’s £250 million budget wisely. Working...
More Understanding Rules & The Law resources
Sexting and the Law (SmartLaw Subscription)
This lesson explores what the law says in relation to the sending of sexually explicit images by those aged under 18. The lesson examines two scenarios of young people involved…
Taking Responsibility (assembly)
During this assembly pupils consider what the word responsibility means. You can find the ‘Taking responsibility’ lesson plan on the KS1 lesson page. The PowerPoint for the lesson is the…
Taking Responsibility
This lesson is based around the clever traditional poem about four children named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. It introduces children to the idea of taking responsibility in the context…
More KS2 (ages 7-11) resources
Thinking Before you Act (certificate)
Our pupil certificates are linked to 12 ethos statements, such as We Think Before We Act. Each statement supports character development and the acquisition of key citizenship skills The values, skills…
Challenging Stereotypes
This lesson is divided into two parts. In the first section of the lesson pupils will develop an understanding of the term ‘stereotype’, identify examples of stereotypical opinions and discuss…
Conflicting Rights
In this lesson pupils will revisit their knowledge of human rights to consider situations in which people’s rights may appear in conflict with one another. Pupils will debate how they…