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PENNSVALLEY
Lesson 14:
Political Features of the British Isles
Locatedoff thenorthwestern coast of themainland, the
A)British Isles
areEurope’s largest group
of islands. The British Isles include two large islands,
B) Great Britain
(Europe’s largest island) and
C) Ireland
, and a number of smaller islands. Great Britain is made up of
D) England
,
E) Scotland
,
and
F) Wales
. These areas of Great Britain have unified with
G) Northern Ireland
to form an
independent country known as the
H) United Kingdom
. The remainder of Ireland–more than 80
percent of the total island–is also an independent country, and is called the
I) Republicof Ireland
.All
of Irelandwas once controlledbyGreat Britain. In1922, after years of conflict becauseof the religious
and political differences, the southern portion of Ireland became a separate nation.
To the north of Great Britain, off the coast of Scotland, are smaller groups of islands.They include
the
J) Outer Hebrides
,
K) Shetland
, and
L) Orkney Islands
. Off the western coast of Great Britain
in the Irish Sea is the
M) Isle of Man
. Although the island is self-governing, it is considered a crown
possession, or owned by the United Kingdom. The
N) Channel Islands
are located in the English
Channel that separatesGreat Britain fromFrance.Fourmain islands–Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and
Sark–are part of this group. They are also self-governing but they are dependent on the United
Kingdom for economic and political support.
ACTIVITY 1:
Go to the political map of Europe in your classroom atlas. Locate the British Isles. To help you find
the British Isles, you may want to use the Geographical Regions of Europe map in Lesson 13
(
LLB=Lesson 13
) for reference.
1.Refer to your classroomatlas to locateeachof thepolitical featuresabove that are in
boldfaced
print.
2.Use thecapital letters tohelpyou locate theboldfacedpolitical featureson theactivitymaponpage27.
3. As you locate each feature, fill in the blank space at the bottom of your activitymap.
4. Shade in the landareasbelonging to theUnitedKingdomand theRepublicof Irelandusingdifferent
colored pencils.
Click
&
Learn
Using the Internet, visit
England’s awesome
prehistoric stone circle
known as Stonehenge.
Add an entry to your
Travel Journal (BLM)
documenting your visit.
British Isles
