Great Britain Unit Study

Topic
Introduce the unit on Great Britain by explaining the project the students will complete
at home. The students will choose a type of person or specific person and create a paper
doll to represent them. These paper dolls will be displayed in the hallway along with the
butcher paper holding interesting facts about Great Britain.
Location
Show students a map of Great Britain through Google Maps. Identify the four sections
of Great Britain on the map.
Zoom out of the map of Great Britain and zoom into the map of the United States. Ask
students to identify on the map where Pennsylvania is. Type into Directions tab
Mechanicsburg and London. The map will not provide directions, but it will show
with a dotted line the distance between the two countries.
Ask students to think with a partner about various methods that could be used to
travel to Great Britain.
Tell students that they will be talking about Great Britain; however, that is the
shortened version of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Ask
students if they can figure out why that is the name of the country. As students think,
pull up the paper map of Great Britain already traced.
With the help of the students, label the enlarged map with the names of the
kingdoms and providences within Great Britain. (Kingdoms = England and Scotland
& Providence = Wales and Northern Ireland)
Fill out the paper identifying the providences and kingdoms of Great Britain.
Pass out the four maps of each section of Great Britain. Tell students riddles to
determine which map belongs with which section.
Watch video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pilKZ5VO-ak (up to 0:48)
With help of the students, label the capitals and major cities of the sections. (London,
Manchester, York, Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburg, Glasgow, Aberdeen,
Cardiff, Swansea, Belfast)
Create a key for the map identifying the capitals, city, and individual borders.
Landmarks
Read book, B is for Big Ben to introduce the things that will be discussed in the unit.
Talk about individual landmarks that are important around Great Britain. Discuss
their importance and where they lie on the map.
Have students color in the black and white miniature pictures of the landmarks and
as a class place them on the map according to where they are located.
Stonehedge, Windsor Castle, Hadrians Wall, Beaumans Castle, Caernarfon Castle,
Edinburg Castle, Arthurs Stone, Dundrum Castle, York Minister
London Landmarks
Talk about individual landmarks that are important in London. Discuss their
importance and where they lie on the map of London.
Blow up a map of London and discuss that this is the capital of the entire Great
Britain and of England. Due to its importance in history, there are many in London.
Have students color in the black and white miniature pictures of the landmarks and
as a class place them on the map according to where they are located.
Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, West Minster Abbey (Throne),
Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, London Eye, Globe Theatre, Tower of London, Tower
Bridge, and Parliament.
Watch London Tourism Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtWeqZsuzpE

Completed?

Landforms
Create a vocabulary page for landform
Talk about individual landforms that are important in Great Britain. Discuss their
importance and where they lie on the map of London.
Have students color in the black and white miniature pictures of the landforms and
as a class place them on the map according to where they are located.
River Thames, White Cliffs of Dover, Cadair Idris, Scottish Highlands, Giants
Causeway, Atlantic Ocean, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, English Channel, North Sea
Important People
Give students a small biography of an individual person. Students work with
partners to create a biocube on the person. Once all are complete, they will share
with the class.
Royal Family
o Queen Elizabeth I
o Queen Elizabeth II
o Prince William
o Princess Diana
o Duchess Catherine
Prime Minister-David Cameron
Shakespeare
JK Rowling
Andy Murray-Tennis
David Beckham-Soccer
The Beatles
Charles Darwin
Isaac Newton
Weather
Track the weather in London, Edinburg, Cardiff, and Belfast for two weeks as a class.
Create a bar graph of the weather conditions (sunny, windy, rain, etc) and a bar
graph of the actual temperature of the cities.
Compare this to the weather that the United States is currently experiencing
Discuss with students that weather in Great Britain and how that impacts the way of
life in Great Britain.
Transportation
Review with students various methods of transportation and the most popular
methods used in the United States.
Show student pictures of the methods of transportation used in Great Britain.
Ask students to try and match a picture with a name of the transportation.
Discuss the types of transportation that is used in Great Britain.
Double Decker Bus, Tube, Eurostar, Trains, Boats
Symbols
National Flower-Rose
National Tree- Oak
National Animal-Lion
National Seal
Telephone Booth
Students will watch a video on the symbols of Great Britain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n59KR9s2Td0
Students will color in black and white pictures and write a sentence about each.

Traditions
Afternoon Tea
Anthem- Watch video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9EC3Gy6Nk
Birthday- Children open their presents as soon as they wake up
Bonfire Night Nov 5th- A huge bonfire is lit
Boxing Day- Dec 26th A day to go shopping (Like Black Friday)
May Day- May 1st- Dance around a May pole and crowning a may queen
Morris Dancing- Watch video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sArAC2_ow2k
Food
Fish and Chips
Tea and Scones
Students will learn about traditional food enjoyed in Great Britain.
Students will color in black and white pictures and write a sentence about each.
Jobs
Beefeater- protect the Queen
Policemen- No weapons, very friendly
Parliament/ Lawyers-Wear wigs still
Discuss the importance of each of these jobs in Great Britain.
As a class create a poster explaining the jobs of the Beefeaters and some interesting
facts about them.
Sports
Soccer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB0spy6xsPk
Cricket- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3qRZF4iKmkPolo
Tennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqKssPlENK4
Watch video and make a bar graph on which sport the students would like to play
and which sport was their favorite.
Discuss the major sporting competitions in Great Britain.
Legends
King Arthur
Robin Hood
Teach students what a legend means. Create a vocabulary poster on the word legend.
Read the books The Story of Robin Hood by Rob Lloyd Jones and King Arthur: The
Sword in the Stone by Hudson Talbott
Students will color in black and white pictures and write a sentence about each.
British Words v American Words
Discuss the differences between words in America and Great Britain
Each student will get a small picture that they will need to color in. Students will
write the British word in the blank provided.
Activities / Crafts
British Flag with Perler Beads
Stonehenge with Model Magic or clay
Build your own castle with Model Magic
Beefeaters out of Clothespin
Crown Jewels out of paper
Tea Party! With a visit from the Queen!