An image of the Magna Carta of King John AD 1215

Magna Carta

Find lesson plans on the themes around the Magna Carta for your teenage classes.

Magna Carta

Find lesson plans on the themes around the Magna Carta for your teenage classes.

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In this lesson, students analyse three extracts from Magna Carta-related poems by Rudyard Kipling, Hugh Chesterman and Thomas Love Peacock. Although the vocabulary will be challenging for many students, the worksheets and activities are designed to make these texts accessible.

Magna Carta in Poetry

This lesson provides some background to the Magna Carta by looking at the key characters of King Richard and King John, one loved, one hated. It gives students listening practice and develops a set of vocabulary to talk about personality.

King Richard and King John

The Magna Carta towns are places that, 800 years ago, were the most important cities in England. They have important historical connections with the Magna Carta. This lesson has a variety of texts: ‘spot the error’, a quiz, a multiple matching activity and role play information cards. It finishes with an optional writing activity, which can be set for homework.

Magna Carta towns

This lesson is to familiarise students with the development of the parliamentary system in England. It is a multi-skilled lesson and is mostly based on group work activities in order to maximise interaction and collaboration among students. Students will read the text about the Magna Carta and Simon de Montfort’s Parliament, and then take part in a group discussion about the influence of ordinary citizens on political decisions nowadays.

The Origins of the English Parliament

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