The United Kingdom
Geography · Key Stage 1 · The School
Four countries, one kingdom
ENGLAND has the capital London. SCOTLAND has Edinburgh. WALES has Cardiff. NORTHERN IRELAND has Belfast. Together they make the United Kingdom. Great Britain is the big island. It holds England, Scotland and Wales. So Northern Ireland is in the UK, but not in Great Britain. People mix those two up constantly.
The seas around us
The NORTH SEA is to the east. The ENGLISH CHANNEL is to the south. The IRISH SEA is between Britain and Ireland. The ATLANTIC OCEAN is to the west. Britain is an island. That has shaped almost everything about its history, its weather and its food.
Finding places
On a map, north is up. South is down. East is right. West is left. Now say where each capital is. Edinburgh is north of London. Cardiff is west. Practise until it is automatic. Every later map skill is built on this one.
Try this. Clue one: its capital is Cardiff. Clue two: it lies west of England. Clue three: the sea to its west leads towards Ireland. Which country is it? WALES. Now try another. Clue one: its capital is Edinburgh. Clue two: it lies north of England. Clue three: the North Sea sits to its east. Which country is it? SCOTLAND. Three small clues, put together, are often enough to find the right answer — long before you need to see the country's name written down.