The Magna Carta, human rights and freedoms
Lesson plan
Topic: The influence of the Magna Carta on the subsequent development of human rights and freedoms
Level: C1+
Time: 90 minutes
Aims

To develop students’ vocabulary of the concepts surrounding human rights/freedoms

To develop students’ ability to debate and support their standpoint

To raise students’ awareness of the Magna Carta and its influence on human rights and the concept
of freedom
Introduction
This lesson is about the influence of the Magna Carta on the development of human rights, including
subsequent legislation. It examines one of the key clauses of the Magna Carta, still part of English law
today, and provides students with the concepts and language required to take part in a debate on rights
and freedoms.
The quotation from the Magna Carta used in task 1 can be accessed from:
http://www.bl.uk/treasures/magnacarta/basics/basics.html
Procedure
Warmer – Discussion of human rights and freedoms (20 mins)

Elicit the meaning of human rights/freedoms from students. Write some key ideas arising from their
suggestions on the board for them to note down.

Divide students into groups, and distribute warmer. Check students understand statements,
explaining any new vocabulary. In groups, students decide whether the statements are
always/never/sometimes true, and in what circumstances (e.g. taking away someone’s liberty might
be justifiable if they are imprisoned for a crime). Groups report back to class.

Indicate that there are not necessarily any correct answers here; there may well be grey areas.
Task 1 – Rights established by the Magna Carta (15 mins)

Ask students if they know when/where people started to have human rights legally/where the notion
of human rights came from.
Suggested answers
Declaration of Rights of Man (USA, France); Declaration of Rights of Woman (France); Bill of Rights (USA);
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations), etc.

Explain that the Magna Carta predates these (1215), was the inspiration for such documents and
dealt with some of the same issues.

Ask students to read the quotation from the Magna Carta in Task 1 (on page 2), work in pairs and
answer the questions.
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The Magna Carta, human rights and freedoms
Lesson plan
Suggested answers
1. Rights covered: freedom, right to own possessions, not to be imprisoned, not to be hurt/harmed –
unless an individual has broken the law and has been judged by their peers to have done so; if an
individual is accused of a crime, they have the right to a fair trial (by jury).
2. Women are not included; the text refers only to men, possibly because “man”/”men” is sometimes
taken to mean “people”, but also possibly because women have traditionally had less power/fewer
rights.
3. Students’ choice.
N.B. the meaning of “free man” is not what would be expected in a modern context – under the feudal
system at the time the Magna Carta was written, the King was at the top of society, and could demand
land/money from the nobility, who in turn could make similar demands on those at the bottom of society.
Free men were those who were not in this bottom group.
Task 2 – Vocabulary (15 mins)

Distribute Task 2 and ask students to complete the matching and gap-fill activities. This recaps
some of the vocabulary used in the warmer and will give students a range of vocabulary to use in
Task 3.
Answers
inalienable
cannot be removed or taken away
violate
destroy or disobey a law or right
injustice
unfair treatment
trial
hearing in court to decide whether someone is guilty or innocent of a crime
safeguard
protect from harm
right to privacy
being able to keep one’s own personal life a secret
liberty
freedom or power to act or think in the way one chooses
responsibility
duty to act in a particular way
1. Everyone has a responsibility to protect the rights of others.
2. Documents such as the Magna Carta established the notion that we all have inalienable rights, and
nobody can take these from us.
3. It is illegal to violate someone’s human rights.
4. In some places, there are many examples of injustice, in spite of international human rights
legislation.
5. Liberty is one of the most fundamental human rights.
6. The right to a fair trial in court and to be judged by one’s peers was established by the Magna Carta.
7. Amnesty International exists to safeguard human rights all over the world.
8. Our personal lives are protected by the right to privacy.
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The Magna Carta, human rights and freedoms
Lesson plan
Task 3 – Ranking human rights in order of importance (15 mins)

Ask students to work with a partner, ranking the human rights in task 3 in order of importance.

Elicit expressions to help students to rank human rights:

o
___ is of more/less (greater/lesser) importance than ___
o
___ is of little/great/fundamental/ paramount importance
o
___ is fairly (un)important/ inconsequential/ trivial/(in)significant/(ir)relevant compared with
___, etc.
Students report back to class, discussing reasons for their order with class. Emphasise that there is
no “correct” answer here – it is a matter of opinion.
Task 4 – Group debates (25 mins)

Divide the class into three groups, giving each a scenario from task 4. Check the students
understand any new vocabulary and ask them to identify which rights/freedoms are at risk in each
scenario.

Sub-divide each group into group a and group b, and ask them to debate one side of the scenario,
acting as an advocate for the individual in each case. Each sub-group must try to convince the other
that their side of the argument is more important (the vocabulary from task 2 and the ranking
expressions from task 3 will be useful here).
Group 1a: Individual liberty to act as one pleases vs
Group 1b: Right not to be harmed/to be safeguarded
These groups could consider cases such as the smoking ban (enforced by law in some countries). Whose
right takes precedence – the right of non-smokers to have a safe, healthy environment/clean air, or the right
of smokers to do as they wish? Consider: the unexpected effects of the smoking ban in countries where it is
enforced, e.g. pub beer gardens have become “smoking gardens” - unpleasant (and arguably a threat to
health?) for non-smokers.
Group 2a: The individual’s right to privacy vs
Group 2b: Freedom of expression/press freedom
These groups could consider questions such as what constitutes a report that is “in the public interest”. Do
celebrities give up the right to a private life by seeking/courting fame? Does the public have a right to know
about the lives of people just because they are famous?
Group 3a: The individual’s right to privacy vs
Group 3b: Everyone’s right/society’s right to safety/security
These groups could consider whether governments have the right to read/listen to our electronic/telephonic
communications (e.g. in cases of crime or counter-terrorism). Do national security concerns override the
right of individuals to privacy?
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The Magna Carta, human rights and freedoms
Lesson plan

Groups report back to class on the conclusions reached/outcome of their debates.
Extension - Class discussion on a world without rights and freedoms (if students finish previous tasks
early):

Ask students to discuss how life would be different if there were no rules/laws regarding human
rights.
Homework suggestion – Writing task

Students write a short essay on the following, using the ideas discussed in class:
People have rights, but they also have responsibilities. What responsibilities do we have as citizens? Which
are the most important of these, in your view, and why?
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