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
All at Sea: a story about fairness and the rule of law
During this lesson pupils use the story ‘All at Sea’ to explore how a group of citizens should organise a new society under a challenging set of circumstances. Each chapter…
Home Learning Pack
This home-learning pack has been designed to support SMSC, Citizenship and PSHE learning within a home environment. All the activities described have been taken from Go-Givers resources and adapted to…
More Politics and Democracy resources
An Introduction to Human Rights
In this lesson students will explore our rights and responsibilities and how they are protected in law. They are challenged to consider if there are circumstances when human rights could…
COVID and the Economy
During this session, students will critically examine some of the key economic considerations of the pandemic. They will explore the actions the Government has taken to save lives and what…
Ethics, Innovation and the Law
Aimed at KS4 and Post-16, your students will: Explore the way technology is developing and the impacts this has on them and society Learn about the laws that regulate the…
More Understanding Rules & The Law resources
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…
Rights and Responsibilities
In this lesson pupils will develop an understanding of the terms ‘rights’ and ‘responsibilities’ and how they balance one another. They will then discuss and prepare a class charter that…
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…
More KS2 (ages 7-11) resources
Brexit: Part 2 – Negotiations
Through the example of Brexit talks, this lesson introduces pupils to the concept of negotiation and the skills required to succeed in negotiations. Activities are designed to give pupils the…
How Should We Farm?
In this lesson pupils will learn about different farming methods. They will consider the advantages and disadvantages of these methods and learn how to identify labels that indicate how food…
Water: Our Most Precious Resource
In this lesson pupils will learn about the qualities of water and why it is vital to life on Earth. They will consider the problems facing people who cannot…