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
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…
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…
Sentencing Myths (SmartLaw Subscription)
This short activity challenges young people’s perceptions of current sentencing guidelines. It can be run as a standalone activity or as an extension activity as part of a mock trial…
More Politics and Democracy resources
Migration of People
To help you engage your students in the topic of migration Young Citizens have developed a flexible teaching resource...
What is a Political Party?
This resource pack is the fourth of a four-part set which has been designed to introduce students to the...
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…
More Understanding Rules & The Law resources
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…
Controversial issues: guidance for schools
Children are alert to information and images they see in the media. These may graphically influence their view of the world, and not always positively. Graphic images on TV and…
What is Democracy?
This resource pack is the first of a four-part set which has been designed to introduce students to the...
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…
Standing up for Others (certificate)
Our pupil certificates are linked to 12 ethos statements, such as We Stand Up For Others. Each statement supports character development and the acquisition of key citizenship skills The values, skills…
We Treat Others with Respect (poster)
We treat others as we would like to be treated. We value listening to and learning from each other. To access this content, register for our School Subscription.