KING JOHN’S DOWNFALL: 1205-1216
EDEXCEL HISTORY GCSE (9-1) OPTION B - KEY TOPIC 3
THE REIGNS OF KING RICHARD I AND KING JOHN, (1189-1216)
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· Students should appreciate the significance of King John’s conflicts with the Papacy during the 1200s and 1210s,
· Students should understand the factors contributing to low baronial support for King John and how this declining support led to the First Barons’ War,
· Students should understand the condition of England in 1216 when a minor acceded to the throne.
· Video: Magna Carta—The Document and Its Importance [Length: 05:55]
Recommended Pre-Reading For Teachers
· Magna Carta: A Primer (The Road to Runnymede) pg. 21-26
· Magna Carta: A Primer (Magna Carta’s Provisions) pg. 29-36
· Magna Carta: A Primer (The Charter’s Immediate Effects) pg. 39-43
· What caused King John’s dispute with the Pope and how was it resolved?
· What was the Interdict and how did it impact everyday life?
· What factors led to worsening relations between King John and the baronial class?
· How did the provisions of Magna Carta reflect the barons’ grievances?
· What happened in the immediate aftermath of Magna Carta?
· Begin the lesson with a general class discussion on what students know about Magna Carta—its origins, purpose, and significance today.
· Play The Baron’s Revolt video module and ask students whether they think that King John was the “worst king in English history.” Ask them to explain their answer and list their reasons in order of importance.
· Ask students to read the following extracts from the learning resources section, then use the quiz
resource to test their knowledge of the lesson’s key questions (read the questions aloud and get students to mark their partner’s answers):
Extract 1: from “Q&A: the legal significance of Magna Carta”
Extract 2: from “Magna Carta: A Primer”
· Play Magna Carta—The Document and Its Importance video module. Ask students whether they think that King John and the barons realized the significance of Magna Carta at the time. Ask them to explain their answer, considering whether Magna Carta was pragmatic or a grand political treatise.
· Split students into groups of three, with each student representing King John, a baron, and Pope Innocent III respectively. Ask students to roleplay each figure and debate their point of view, with King John defending himself from the criticisms of the Pope and the baron.
· Ask students to write a short newspaper article from the point of view of an English baron
immediately after the signing of Magna Carta, detailing the victories won for the baronial class,
· Ask students to split their page in two. Instruct them to list Magna Carta principles in order of their importance to the barons on one side of the page, and in order of their importance to modern Britain on the other side of the page.
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