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Source set · 6 sources ✓ Lesson ready

Where do our rights come from?

From Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights to Hobbes, Locke, and the Declaration, students trace ideas about rights and government.

Timeline of key events →Gallery Walk: cartoon stations →

Teach it

✓ Lesson ready

A ready-to-run lesson for this set: Socratic Seminar. Slides include a hook, one slide per source, directions, a take-a-stand vote, an exit ticket, and a teacher script in the speaker notes.

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1. Hook: a striking quote 3-5 min

And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short.
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651)

Ask: Hobbes describes life with no government. Do you agree? Where would your rights come from if there were no government?

2. Main activity: Socratic Seminar

Grouping: Fishbowl: inner circle of 8 to 10 speakers, outer circle of observers; switch halfway

Setup: Opening question: “Where do our rights come from: from a ruler’s promise, from laws a people win, or from nature (or God)?” Strong answers quote the sources and notice how the idea changed from 1215 to 1789.

Materials (printables are in the Lesson Plan Doc)
  • Evidence cards for all 6 sources (printable pages in the Lesson Plan Doc)
  • Seminar prep sheet
  • Observer tally sheet
  1. Prepare 8 min
    Students read the six cards in date order and fill in the prep sheet.
  2. Round 1 12 min
    Inner circle discusses the opening question, citing a source each time.
  3. Switch 2 min
    Outer circle moves in.
  4. Round 2 12 min
    Follow-up question: Hobbes and Locke both start with life without government. Why do they reach different conclusions about the power of rulers?
  5. Debrief 6 min
    Observers share one strong comment and one point no one raised.
  6. Exit ticket 5 min
    Students answer on a slip before leaving.

Take a stand: Where do our rights come from?

  • A. From agreements with rulers (Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights)
  • B. From a strong government that keeps order (Hobbes, Leviathan)
  • C. From nature or our Creator (Locke, Declaration of Independence)
  • D. From the people, through written declarations (Declaration of the Rights of Man)

3. Pacing options

15-minute bell-ringer

  • 3 min Hook: Hobbes
  • 8 min Compare Magna Carta (1215) with the Declaration of Independence (1776): what is different about where rights come from?
  • 4 min Exit ticket question 1

Full 50-minute lesson

  • 4 min Hook: Hobbes
  • 8 min Prepare
  • 12 min Round 1
  • 12 min Round 2
  • 6 min Debrief and vote
  • 5 min Exit ticket
  • 3 min Buffer

4. Exit ticket

  1. Which source’s answer to “Where do rights come from?” do you find most convincing? Explain.
  2. Trace one idea from Magna Carta or Locke to the Declaration of Independence.

5. Differentiation

Support

Extension

  • Compare the Declaration of Independence and the Rights of Man: what does each include that the other leaves out?
  • Research the Petition of Right (1628) and place it on the timeline.

Suggested sequence

  1. Magna Carta
    Document · National Archives · World: Medieval (500-1500) · Grades 6-8, 9-12 · ⏱ 10 min
    1215 charter limiting royal power, with translation.
    Ask: How did a medieval charter shape American rights?
    Open with this source to frame the question.
    Original ↗Copy DocCopy AdaptedSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  2. English Bill of Rights 1689
    Document · Yale Avalon Project · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 10 min
    Act declaring rights of subjects.
    Ask: Which English rights did Americans inherit?
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  3. Leviathan (Thomas Hobbes)
    Document · Project Gutenberg · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 30+ min
    Hobbes's 1651 argument for strong government.
    Ask: Do people need strong government to live in peace?
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  4. Second Treatise of Government (John Locke)
    Document · Project Gutenberg · World: Early Modern (1450-1750) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 30+ min
    Locke's 1690 argument for natural rights and government by consent.
    Ask: How did Locke shape American founding ideas?
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  5. Declaration of Independence
    Document · National Archives · Revolution & New Nation (1754-1820) · Grades 6-8, 9-12 · ⏱ 15 min
    Full transcript of the 1776 Declaration of Independence.
    Ask: What justifies a people in breaking away from their government?
    Original ↗Copy DocCopy AdaptedSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP▶ Watch
  6. Declaration of the Rights of Man
    Document · Yale Avalon Project · World: Revolutions (1750-1900) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 10 min
    1789 French declaration.
    Ask: How did revolutionary ideas spread across the Atlantic?
    Close with this source before writing.
    Original ↗Copy DocCopy AdaptedSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP

Watch

Free videos to pair with this set. Preview before showing in class.

Teach with (more from Hillsdale): Civics Unit 1: The Principles of America (free K-12 curriculum unit)

Culminating writing prompt

Using evidence from at least three sources in this set, write an argument that answers the question: “Where do our rights come from?” Cite each source by title, explain how its author, audience, and purpose affect its reliability, and respond to at least one counterargument.

Printable writing sheet (make a copy)

Students can plan with the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning organizer.