The Origins of the English Parliament

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.

Topic: The origins of the English Parliament

Level: B2 / C1

Time: 1 hour

Aims:

  • To develop students’ ability to read a historical text.
  • To familiarise students with the historical origins of the parliamentary system in Britain.

Materials:

  • PowerPoint slides related to the theme of ‘parliaments’ (you could print these and put them on the classroom walls).
  • A set of cut-out cards (copies of Task 1) for each group of four students.
  • A copy of all the worksheets for each student.

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