Discover United Kingdom
K-12 Program
The United Kingdom (UK for short) is known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain consists of Scotland, England, and Wales. The people of the UK are mostly considered English, at 81.5 % of the population and Scottish at 9.6% of the population. English is spoken mostly throughout the UK, with Welsch accounting for about 26% of the population of Wales and a Scottish form of Gaelic for about 60,000 people in Scotland.
The capital is located in London, the biggest city in all of the UK. The countries operate on a Constitutional Monarchy form of government. England has been a unified entity since the 10th century, and Great Britain is under the leadership of Queen Elizabeth II, since February of 1952. The heir to the throne is Prince Charles, son of the Queen.
Today, the UK is a leading trading and financial power, as well as a world leader in the 21st century. The UK has struggled through much turmoil and the UK had rebuilt itself after the wars into a modern and prosperous European Nation. To discover more about the UK continue exploring the following sites and enjoy the activities below.
Two great general information sites on the United Kingdom:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/uk.html
http://geography.about.com/library/maps/bluk.htm
A great site offering several maps of the United Kingdom:
http://www.embassyworld.com/maps/Maps_Of_Great_Britain.html
A site offering maps, geography, and generally information about the United Kingdom:
http://www.theodora.com/maps/united_kingdom_maps.html
Pictures of the United Kingdom:
http://www.uk-photos.co.uk/
http://www.photoatlas.com/pics/pictures_of_uk.html
Great learning resources for home and school offered by the BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/