The Reading / Listening - Magna Carta - Level 5

Climate protestors tried to damage one of the world's most famous documents – the Magna Carta. Two women in their 80s went to the British Library in London and attacked the case that contained the Magna Carta. The women damaged the glass using a hammer and a chisel. Police charged them with criminal damage. The British Library said security staff prevented the women from doing further damage. The Magna Carta stayed safe. The women are from the Just Stop Oil protest group. They held up a sign that read: "The government is breaking the law."

The Magna Carta is a royal charter that was agreed to in 1215. It states that everyone is equal under the law. It guarantees that everyone should have a fair trial, with a jury. Historians say the document influenced the development of Western democracy, and the U.S. Constitution. The two protestors said: "The Magna Carta is…of great importance…to our freedoms and to our laws. But, there will be no freedom, no lawfulness, no rights, if we allow climate breakdown to become the catastrophe that is now threatened."

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Magna Carta - Level 4 or  Magna Carta - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/may/11/two-women-charged-magna-carta-protest-in-london
  • https://www.foxnews.com/world/climate-activists-attack-case-holding-original-magna-carta-london
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. one of the world's most
  2. Two women
  3. a hammer
  4. Police charged them with
  5. staff prevented the women from
  6. from the Just Stop Oil
  7. They held
The government is breaking
  1. criminal damage
  2. up a sign
  3. doing further damage
  4. in their 80s
  5. the law
  6. and a chisel
  7. protest group
  8. famous documents

Paragraph 2

  1. The Magna Carta is a royal
  2. everyone is equal
  3. everyone should have a fair
  4. the development of Western
  5. The Magna Carta is
  6. there will
  7. climate
  8. the catastrophe that is
  1. trial
  2. breakdown
  3. of great importance
  4. charter
  5. now threatened
  6. under the law
  7. be no freedom
  8. democracy

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Climate (1) ___________________ damage one of the world's most famous documents – the Magna Carta. Two women in their 80s went to the British Library in London and (2) __________________ that contained the Magna Carta. The women damaged the glass using a hammer (3) ___________________. Police charged them (4) ___________________. The British Library said security staff prevented the women from (5) ___________________. The Magna Carta stayed safe. The women are from the Just Stop Oil protest group. They held up a sign that read: "The government is (6) ___________________."

The Magna Carta is (7) ___________________ that was agreed to in 1215. It states that everyone is (8) ___________________ law. It guarantees that everyone should have a fair trial, (9) ___________________. Historians say the document influenced the development of Western democracy, and the U.S. Constitution. (10) ___________________ said: "The Magna Carta is…of great importance... (11) ___________________ and to our laws. But, there will be no freedom, no lawfulness, no rights, if we allow climate breakdown to become the catastrophe that (12) ___________________."

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Climateprotestorstriedtodamageoneoftheworld'smostfamousdocu
ments–theMagnaCarta.Twowomenintheir80swenttotheBritishLib
raryinLondonandattackedthecasethatcontainedtheMagnaCarta.The
womendamagedtheglassusingahammerandachisel.Policechargedt
hemwithcriminaldamage.TheBritishLibrarysaidsecuritystaffprevent
edthewomenfromdoingfurtherdamage.TheMagnaCartastayedsafe.
ThewomenarefromtheJustStopOilprotestgroup.Theyheldupasignth
atread:"Thegovernmentisbreakingthelaw."TheMagnaCartaisaroyal
charterthatwasagreedtoin1215.Itstatesthateveryoneisequalundert
helaw.Itguaranteesthateveryoneshouldhaveafairtrial,withajury.His
torianssaythedocumentinfluencedthedevelopmentofWesterndemo
cracy,andtheU.S.Constitution.Thetwoprotestorssaid:"TheMagnaCa
rtais…ofgreatimportance...toourfreedomsandtoourlaws.But,therew
illbenofreedom,nolawfulness,norights,ifweallowclimatebreakdownt
obecomethecatastrophethatisnowthreatened."

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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