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
Where do you stand?
Over a series of short sessions, pupils will have the opportunity to consider topical issues related to their school life. Pupils will consider the strength of arguments for and against…
How Can I Make a Difference?
In this lesson pupils will think about how they can plan a social action project. They will be led through key steps by following the example of the Go-Givers. …
More Politics and Democracy resources
Fake News: The Evolution of Media
In this lesson, students explore how media has changed since the 1900s and the impact this has had on...
Sentencing Guidelines (SmartLaw Subscription)
This lesson asks students to consider the key findings of a harassment trial and conclude what sentence should be given to the guilty party. During the course of the lesson…
What is a Digital Citizen?
In the delivery of this resource your students will explore what is meant by the term ‘digital citizen’. They...
More Understanding Rules & The Law resources
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…
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…
What Happens When Rules are Broken?
Pupils consider what happens when rules are broken. They explore what consequences are, how we can ensure that consequences are fair and what information someone might need to have before…
More KS2 (ages 7-11) resources
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…
We are Change-Makers (poster)
We stand up for what we believe in and use our voice for good. To access this content, register for our School Subscription.