Magna Carta - Limited Government

AP Psychology	Current Events	Resource Room (SETSS)
Period 1	Periods 3 & 5	Period 8
Mr. Ott	Mr. Ott	Mr. Ott

Essential Question: How did the Magna Carta set the stage for constitutional law and government?

Opening Move/Do Now: What does limited government mean to you?

Lesson Overview:

Item	Approx Time
Opening Move	3-5 Min
Activity	30 Min
Discussion	10 Min

King John - Magna Carta

The first king to give up some of his power was John. He is famous as Prince John in make believe stories of Robin Hood. In the stories he is a wicked and foolish prince who taxes the people of England unfairly. Some historians say John was just as foolish in real life. Others say he was simply unlucky!

The problems King John faced:

• CHURCH
  • John disagreed with the Pope about how to run the Church. From 1208 until 1213, the Pope banned all church services in England and English people feared that they would all go to HELL! Some Church leaders blamed John for the trouble
• LOST WARS
  • John went to war twice against the French king. His army was badly beaten both times. He lost almost all the land that his father had gained in France!
• RAISED TAXES
  • John raised taxes in England to pay for the wars. This upset his BARONS! He ordered them to pay far more tax than earlier kings had done!

In 1214 many barons rebelled against John. They believed that he could not rule the country properly and was treating them unfairly.

Magna Carta, 1215

In 1215, they surrounded the King and his Army on a field at Runnymede and forced him to sign the Magna Carta or Great Charter.

• King John I forced to accept it.
• A list of demands made by the nobility.
• Created a CONTRACT between the king and the aristocracy.
• Established principles which limited the power of the king:
• Not to imprison nobles without trial
• That trials must be in courts: trial by jury with peers; not held in secret by King
• To have fair taxation for the nobles
• To let freemen travel wherever they like
• Not to interfere in Church matters
• Not to seize crops without paying for them

Classwork & Homework

Lesson PowerPoint: The Magna Carta (1215)

Lesson Video:

• Magna Carta Short Version
• David Starkey's Magna Carta

Lesson Activity:

• Role Playing Cards
• Negotiating Phrases and Stages
• Magna Cara Overview
• Magna Carta Grievance Paper

Homework: Assignments

Special Education Modifications

• Teaching Model: Co-Teaching
• Special Education Teacher will work with All students General Ed and Special Ed.
  • Special Ed Students:
    • Teacher will read-aloud to students when necessary.
    • Teachers will break down assignments into smaller tasks.
    • Teachers will work with students on vocabulary acquisition by breaking down words into prefixes/suffixes and etymology.
    • Teachers will group students according to learning style inventory as a homogeneous group.
    • Teachers will keep students on-task by managing distractions and on-task behavior.
    • Teachers will modify note-taking by modeling notes from PowerPoint to chalkboard/whiteboard.
    • Teachers will differentiate lessons by using; verbal cues for auditory learners, graphic organizers for visual learners, and hands-on cues for tactile learners.