© Oddizzi Guided Reading 2015Page 1

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK is in northern Europe

Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, South Downs

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is in northern Europe.

The UK is its shorter name!

The UK has lots of green countryside, national parks, rivers and mountains.

Here are some of the most famous physical features: the South Downs, with its white cliffs, the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands.

The United Kingdom has many cities, including London and Edinburgh. They are home to cathedrals, shopping centres and parks.

There are also lots of smaller towns and villages across the country. The UK has many castles too.

Where is the UK?

One country or four?

Physical features

Duart Castle, Isle of Mull, Scotland

Human features

The United Kingdom is made up of four smaller countries: • England• Scotland

• Wales• Northern Ireland

They each have their own football teams, flags and governments. The UK’s Prime Minister is the person in charge. The Queen is the Head of State.

Image Credit © Thinkstock/Getty Images

© Oddizzi Guided Reading 2015Page 2

UNITED KINGDOM

Key words:

Red deer

Sikh men wear a turban as part of their faith

There are many types of wild animals in the UK. Bats, badgers, foxes, rabbits and river otters can all be found in England. In Scotland lives the red deer, it is a large mammal with huge antlers.

Animals and birds

Many cultures

Over 64 million people live in the United Kingdom. Many of these have strong links to other countries around the world. People in their family may live abroad.

castles cathedrals cities countries cultures

freedom religion speech

In the UK, people enjoy the right to freedom of speech. This means that by law everyone has the right to say what they think.

Some people living in the UK follow cultural traditions, like wearing clothing, that are linked to their religion.

There are more than 500 different types of birds to spot in the UK. The robin, blackbird and magpie are all common birds.

There are even wild, green parrots in South London and Surrey!

Image Credit © Thinkstock/Getty Images

© Oddizzi Guided Reading 2015Page 1

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK is in northern Europe

Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, South Downs

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is in northern Europe. It is just 34 km (21 miles) across the English Channel from France. The UK is its shorter name!

The UK is well-known for its green countryside, national parks and mountains. These places are visited by millions of tourists each year.

You might have heard of some of the most famous: the South Downs, with its white cliffs, the Lake District, Snowdonia and the Scottish Highlands.

The United Kingdom has many cities, including London, Canterbury and Edinburgh. They are home to grand cathedrals, busy shopping centres and large parks. There are also many thousands of smaller towns and villages across the country. The UK has historic castles too.

Where is the UK?

One country or four?

Physical features

Duart Castle, Isle of Mull, Scotland

Human features

The United Kingdom is made up of four smaller countries: • England• Scotland

• Wales• Northern Ireland

They each have their own football and rugby teams, flags, governments and school rules. The UK’s Prime Minister is the person in charge. The Queen is the Head of State.

Image Credit © Thinkstock/Getty Images

© Oddizzi Guided Reading 2015Page 2

UNITED KINGDOM

Key words:

Red deer

Sikh men wear a turban as part of their faith

There are many different types of wild animals in the UK today. Bats, badgers, foxes, rabbits and river otters can all be found in England. In Scotland lives the red deer. It is a large mammal with impressive antlers.

Animals and birds

Many cultures

Over 64 million people live in the United Kingdom. Many of these have strong links to other countries around the world.

cathedrals castles cities countries cultures

freedom religion speech tourists

In the UK, people enjoy the right to freedom of speech. This means that by law everyone has the right to say what they think.

Some people living in the UK follow cultural traditions, like wearing clothing, that are linked to their religion.

There are more than 500 different types of birds to spot in the UK. The robin, blackbird and magpie are all common birds. There are even wild, green parrots in South London and Surrey!

Image Credit © Thinkstock/Getty Images

Ch

eck Yo

ur U

nd

erstan

din

g – U

nited

Kin

gd

om

© O

dd

izzi Gu

ided

Read

ing 2

01

5

1. W

hich

senten

ces are true an

d w

hich

are false? Tick th

e answ

er. Se

nte

nce

Tru

e

False Th

e U

nited

Kin

gdo

m is

kno

wn

as ‘the U

K’ fo

r sho

rt.

David

Cam

eron

is Head

of

State.

The

English

Ch

ann

el is b

etween

the U

K an

d Fran

ce.

Over 6

4 millio

n p

eop

le live in

th

e UK

.

The

rob

in is a rare b

ird in

the

UK

.

2.

Nam

e the fo

ur co

un

tries that m

ake up

the U

K.

_______________

_____

___ _____

____

___

____

___

_____

_______________

_______

_ _______

____

_______

_____

_

3. W

hat d

oe

s freed

om

of sp

eech

mean

?

_______________________

________

____

______

____

_____

_______________________

________

____

______

____

_____

4. W

hich

of th

ese hu

man

features fo

un

d in

the U

K is th

e old

est?

Tick the an

swer.

sho

pp

ing cen

tres

p

arks

cathed

rals

castles

5. D

raw an

anim

al that lives in

the U

K.

6.

___________________________

______

____

______

______

_

___________________________

______

____

______

______

_

__________________________________________________

Extensio

n A

ctivity: Im

agine

you

are on

ho

liday in

the

Un

ited K

ingd

om

. Write a p

ostcard

to O

dd

and

Izzi telling

them

all abo

ut th

e UK

.

Tell me, O

dd

, on

e thin

g yo

u h

ave lea

rned

ab

ou

t the U

K th

at yo

u d

idn

’t kno

w b

efore.

kno

wb

efore.

Vo

cabu

lary Bu

ilder – U

nited

Kin

gd

om

© O

dd

izzi Gu

ided

Read

ing 2

01

5

1. W

rite the sh

orter n

ame fo

r the U

nited

Kin

gdo

m o

f Great

Britain

and

No

rthern

Ireland

. _______

____

______

____

2. Fin

d tw

o ad

jectives u

sed to

describ

e an

y of th

e UK

’s ph

ysical

features.

____________________

___ &

______

___

___

______

_____

3. D

raw a lin

e to lin

k each key w

ord

to its d

efinitio

n.

Terms

D

efinitio

ns

4.

Circle th

e adjectives an

d u

nd

erline th

e no

un

s belo

w.

a) The

re are lots o

f small to

wn

s and

big cities in

the U

K.

b) Th

e red

dee

r is fou

nd

in Sco

tland

.

5. C

ho

ose tw

o o

f the ke

y wo

rds b

elow

and

write a n

ew

senten

ce for e

ach.

bad

gers cou

ntrysid

e Qu

een p

arks

Wo

rd

Senten

ce

Example: Q

ue

en

The

Qu

een

lives in B

uckin

gham

Palace.

____________________________

____

________________________________

________________________________

________________________________

6. M

ake th

e sen

tence b

elow

mo

re descrip

tive.

A ro

bin

is a bird

. _________________

____

_____

____

___ _________________________________________________

Cath

edrals

City

Prim

e Min

ister

A large settlem

en

t wh

ere

lots o

f peo

ple live

The p

erson

in ch

arge of

the

cou

ntry

Large, stron

g chu

rches

Explo

re Text Features

© O

dd

izzi Gu

ided

Read

ing 2

01

5

1. W

hat typ

e of text is th

is? Ho

w d

o yo

u kn

ow

?

Co

mp

lete the sen

tences.

This is a(n

) ___________________________

___ text. I kn

ow

this b

ecause __

_____

______

____

_____

____

______

______

_

______________

______

____

_______

____

______

____

____

2. W

hat is th

e main

title of th

e text?

3. Fin

d a su

btitle an

d co

py it b

elow

.

4. H

ow

do

the su

btitles h

elp yo

u u

nd

erstand

the text?

Sub

titles help

me u

nd

erstand

the text b

ecause __

______

___

________________________________________

__________

________________________________________

__________

5. D

raw a n

ew p

icture an

d w

rite a captio

n fo

r it.

6. W

hy are cap

tion

s inclu

ded

generally b

elow

pictu

res?

___________________________

______

____

______

______

_ _______________________

________

____

______

____

_____

7.

Create yo

ur o

wn

key w

ord

s! Ch

oo

se five wo

rds

from

the text th

at you

thin

k are very imp

ortan

t.

^ Fur seals rest on the