MagnaCarta.

=The Magna Carta (The Great Charter)= toc

Activity 1: Booklet
Open up your "Medieval Booklet" and go to the page on the "Magna Carta". (After the Battle of Hastings). Read the text and complete questions 1 - 6 in a new Word document. Make sure you give the document a good title + today's date. Note: You have to print off your Word doc and stick it in your workbook.

Activity 2: Reading / Writing
When Richard I (aka Richard the Lionheart) died in 1199, his brother John became king. He was a very different sort of man, much cleverer than Richard, but people did not trust him. He didn't trust other people, either. John was not a successful king. His great enemy, the King of France, managed to drive the English out of most of the lands which John's father had ruled. John even lost Normandy, the birthplace of William I. He lost so many battles that people called him 'Softsword'.

John also upset the Pope by creating a fuss when the Archbishop of Canterbury died. The Pope picked a priest called Stephen Langton for the job but John tried to keep him out of the country. The Pope was furious but he got his own back on John. He forced all the churches in England to close. For seven years, no one could get properly married or have a Christian burial. People were very upset and, of course, they blamed King John. Meanwhile, John was going round the churches stealing their valuables. But, in the end, he had to give in. Stephen Langton helped the barons to list all the rights they thought they should have. It was such a long list that they called it 'Magna Carta', which means 'Great Charter'.

This was not the end of John's troubles. The barons were also angry at the way he treated them. He punished them with very heavy fines, he made them pay big taxes when their fathers died; he insulted some and sent others abroad. After John lost yet another battle in France, some barons decided they had had enough. In effect, they gave the King a choice: he must give them their nghts or it would mean war.

In June 1215, John finally agreed to it and he put his seal to it at Runnymede, an island in the River Thames. The Charter mainly repeated things to which earlier kings had agreed. But in later years, English people looked back to the Charter. They reminded other kings of the rights which King John had given everyone in 1215. However, the truth is that he did not give these rights to everyone. Most of the people at that time were villeins - and they got little out of the Charter. The Charter listed the rights for freemen, not for the peasants.

Yet it was important. It began the idea that there are certain laws which even kings had to accept. And some of the rights which the barons got in 1215 are now enjoyed by all of us. John wanted to break his promise to the barons but he died in 1216 before he could do much about it. The next king was John's son, Henry, but he was only nine years old. The barons, led by Simon de Montfort, forced him to go even further than John had done. In 1265, Simon set up a 'Parliament' which met to advise the King. The name came from the French word 'parler', meaning 'to talk'. Nobles and bishops came to these meetings. They were joined by two knights from each county and two people from each town. Eventually, these people met in two separate groups - the Lords and Commons. The British Parliament still meets like this today.

Write out this paragraph, choosing one word from each bracket to complete the sentences.
 * Writing activity:**

//King John was the (brother/son/father) of King Richard I. People gave him the nickname of (Bluebeard/Hothead/Softsword) because he lost many battles in France. He quarrelled with the Pope over who should be Archbishop of (Canterbury/York) and the Pope closed the churches for (6/7/8) years. He made the barons angry by making them pay heavy fines and taxes. In 1215, the Barons forced him to accept Magna (Carter/Carta).//

**Activity 3: Cloze**


(A "Cloze" is a missing word exercise) Copy the text below in your Word document and fill in the missing words.


 * Word Bank:**
 * ** seal **
 * unfair **
 * barons **
 * unpopularity ** || ** Medieval **
 * Magna **
 * taxes **
 * power ** || ** Church **
 * England **
 * trial **
 * Constitution ** || ** government **
 * Latin **
 * Bill **
 * military ** ||

The Magna Carta is an important historical document that took some --- away from the King and gave some rights and freedoms to the people. Magna Carta means "Great Charter" in --. On June 15, 1215, the barons of M England confronted King John at Runnymede, and forced the king to put his --- on the Magna Carta.

King John had been an unpopular king who abused his power, oppressed his subjects, and angered the --- by increasing - and demanding many soldiers for his campaigns abroad. King John was excommunicated (banned) from the Catholic by the Pope in 1209, further increasing his -.

The barons wrote the -- Carta, which contained 63 clauses promising all freemen access to courts and a fair ---, eliminating --- fines and punishments, giving power to the Catholic Church in England, and addressing many lesser issues.

Although King John violated many of the clauses in the Magna Carta, later kings of -- were eventually forced to comply with its terms.

The Magna Carta was one of the forerunners of modern British law, the US - and its Amendments (the of Rights), and the guiding documents of many other countries that have further expanded the rights and liberties of the people and limited the power of the -.

Activity 4: Research + Summary
Using the internet as your source, create //**a well presented document**// entitled: The Magna Carta. Make sure you address the following questions / issues:


 * 1) What is the Magna Carta?
 * 2) What was the purpose of the Magna Carta?
 * 3) Who wrote the Magna Carta?
 * 4) Important Facts about the Magna Carta.
 * 5) Why is the Magna Carta important to us today?
 * 6) Download the small map of England and Ireland on this page. Open it up in Paint. Indicate where "Runnymede" is located. (Use the internet or an atlas to find its location). Paste this map back in your Word Doc.
 * 7) You need to include a bibliography: for each source you need to give the exact URL.
 * 8) Include images, maps, colours or fonts etc.

New angle: You can use Word, but you can also expand your work by using some of these online tools:


 * 1) http://www.glogster.com/
 * 2) http://prezi.com Sign up as a student: @http://prezi.com/profile/signup/edu/
 * 3) www.vuvox.com Interactive scrollable content, add hotspots. Very cool.
 * 4) @http://voicethread.com/ You need to sign up first, then click create. Only use this if the microphone on your computer works.
 * 5) @http://posterous.com/ So simple, just email stuff to post@posterous.com