Q. Which 3 National Flags make up the Union Jack?
The Welsh flag
isn’t included!
All - Explain where the Union Jack came from.
Most - Show understanding of how the United
Kingdom was formed.
Some – Identify the key reasons for the Acts of
Union and show understanding of different
interpretations of this.
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Produce your own Union Flag
Add colour (important!)
Annotate the flag to explain what each part
represents, and why it was included.
Add notes - which country is missing? Can
you think of any reasons why this may be the
case?
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Produce a map showing England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. Annotate
information around the map…
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Research and explain the following for each
country (Wales, Scotland, Ireland) …
 Why did England want to control them?
 How did England do this?
 How did people react to this?
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1. Which countries make up the United Kingdom?
2. What saint does the English flag represent?
3. Surrounded by Wales, Scotland and Ireland, what did England fear?
4. When, and under which famous monarch, were England and Wales
officially joined?
5. What saint does the Scottish flag represent?
6. What other country did King James VI of Scotland become King of?
7. When was the first Union Flag created?
8. When was the flag of St. Patrick added to the Union Flag?
9. What was the Union Flag designed as?
10. What does ‘Jack’ of ‘Union Jack’ mean?
11. Nations of the United Kingdom often prefer to use their own
national flag now - why do you think this is?
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Possible ways to improve your work…
 Can you draw and explain links between different
events?
 Find out about “devolution” and consider whether
we live in a truly ‘United’ Kingdom today.
 ‘Great Britain’ and ‘United Kingdom’ are actually
not the same thing. What is the difference?
 Some Scottish people will vote to leave the UK,
later this year – why???
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You will need to show evidence of the
following in your presentation…
 Research
 Presentation Skills
 That you answer the question
 You will be peer assessed on this: your fellow
students will look at your presented work
Why is Great Britain a United Kingdom?
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England was the most powerful nation in the
British Isles. England was often at war with
other countries.
Surrounded by Wales, Scotland and Ireland,
she feared that these neighbouring countries
could be used as a base for attack and could
gang up with England's enemies.
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Wales was conquered by England in the 13th
Century. There had been rebellions and the
biggest threat were the English Marcher lords
who controlled half the land.
In 1536, under Henry VIII, the Act of Union
joined England and Wales officially. The
Marcher Lordships were abolished and
English law was extended to cover all of
Wales.
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In 1603 James VI of Scotland became
James I of England. Despite sharing a
monarch, England and Scotland kept
their own Parliaments.
It was only in 1707 that they were
joined by the Act of Union and the first
union flag was created. This was due to
fears that Scotland and France would
join together to replace the new king
George, with James the son of James
II.
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Henry VII had claimed control of Ireland in the
15th Century, it wasn’t until the 17th Century
that there was an almost complete takeover of
Irish land by English and Scottish settlers.
In 1690 the last of a number of rebellions was
put down. Power now lay in the hands of the
Protestants. The flag of St. Patrick was added in
1801 to make the Union Jack we have today.
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Only Northern Ireland is connected to the United
Kingdom today.
 As Wales became part of England in 1536, she is
represented by the English Flag.
 Scotland is represented by the diagonal white lines
and the blue background of the Union Flag.
 Northern Ireland is represented by the diagonal red
lines. These were a later addition to the flag of 1707.
 England is represented by the horizontal and vertical
red lines, together with the white lines in the
background.
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The Union Flag was designed as a symbol of
unity between the four countries. As you have
seen, each country is represented. It soon
became known as the Union Jack. The word
’Jack’ means a flag on a small mast at the
front of a ship.
This is our national flag.
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Freedom – speech about Scottish
independence
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Flower of Scotland – Scottish Anthem
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What does the above films tell us about a
“United Kingdom”?
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The Jacobite Risings were a series of
uprisings, rebellions, and wars in the British
Isles occurring between 1688 and 1746. The
uprisings were aimed at returning James VII
of Scotland and II of England, and later his
descendants of the House of Stuart, to the
throne after he was deposed by Parliament
during the Glorious Revolution (1688)
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http://resources.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/britain.
html
http://resources.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/uk.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_
seapower/acts_of_union_01.shtml