Great Britain Unit for Fourth Grade
Great Britain is one of our around the world units for fourth grade. There are a lot of reasons for this, including the wide amount of global history that was impacted by Great Britain expansion, but my kids are part English and that was my main motivation.
We touched on Great Britain colonialism. My fourth graders are HUGE Hamilton fans (You can find our Hamilton Unit ideas here) so they often think of the English as the enemy. I don’t shy away from the uglier parts of history with my kids, but I also want them to see both sides and the British have done more than march around the world colonizing things.
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Our unit centered on literature. I consider this to be one of, possibly the, greatest gift that Great Britain has given the world. From Shakespeare and Austen, to Dahl and JK Rowling and everything in between the British are remarkably entertaining and prolific.
Whether you are learning about Great Britain in a classroom or homeschool or planning a trip abroad, this unit is a fun place to start learning more about Great Britain.
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Books to Read
- Harry Potter series
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- The BFG or any books by Roald Dahl. Many of these also have movie versions that can be fun to compare to the books.
- All Creatures Great & Small and then watch the new series or the original from the BBC
- Finding Winnie – the true story of Winnie the Pooh
- Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen – a picture book biography
- Flibbertigibbety Words – a picture book about William Shakespeare
- For younger siblings, make sure to read Peter Rabbit and plenty of Winnie the Pooh.
- All Aboard for London Bus – a collection of poems
Activities about Great Britain inspired by Great Books
First, here’s a good Intro to Great Britain week of activities with a printable map from Unremarkable Files. It’s a good place to start and here are some London Themed coloring sheets.
- Harry Potter Unit
- Narnia Unit from Homescholar and watch The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie.
- There are lesson plans for THE BFG and other books on Roald Dahl’s website.
- Cute Winnie the Pooh themed unit from We Are Teachers.
- I also loved this post from We Are Teachers on Using Picture Book Biographies with a class. It’s applications extend across curriculum areas and beyond this unit.
Plan a Trip to the United Kingdom
This is the dream right? Learn about somewhere and then go there. It is definitely high on our list of places to visit. Here are some helpful posts to aid you in planning a trip.
- Best Places to Visit in the UK with Kids – this is a great well rounded trip or collection of trips to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from Travel Melodies.
- Child Centered Trip to London – from Our Family Passport. This one is focused on London solely, but it is quite detailed.
- A Family Guide to London – this one is from the Wanderlust Family and I always find their posts useful. This one loads of practical information.
Book Inspired Locations I Want to Visit
- Scotland’s The Isle of Skye is considered Giant Country since The BFG movie was released in 2016. It is also where other famous things have been filmed in Scotland such as Game of Thrones.
- AA Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood: Ashdown Forest, Sussex. You can pick up a map of the forest allowing you to follow in the great bear’s footsteps from the visitor center. The path culminates at Pooh’s much-loved bridge where you can take a moment to play Pooh Sticks. Read about our Hike in the 100 Acre Wood here!
- Aylesbury which is home to the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery or Great Missenden which is home to the Roald Dahl Museum.
- Beatrix Potter’s home is also in the Lake District and you can tour Hill Top Farm and beautiful gardens that inspired Peter Rabbit.
There are so many more – Lord of the Rings, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, The Borrowers, The Secret Garden, and so many others.
Harry Potter Locations You Can Visit:
- York’s historic Shambles, which dates as far back as the 14th century, has grown in popularity amongst Harry Potter fans over the years. It is remarkably similar looking to Diagon Alley in the films.
- King’s Cross Station in London where platform 9 and 3/4 is located. This is also where parts of Paddington Bear, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins and A Little Princess were set.
- Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire is where many of the interior shots set at Hogwarts were filmed.
- There is also a Harry Potter themed hotel in London – you can read a review on Sunny in London.
