For the first time in three centuries, the united part of the United Kingdom may be in trouble.
The Scottish National Party (SNP), the party that runs Scotland day-to-day, is urging the Scottish people to support independence from Britain. However it still wants to keep the Queen as official leader.
Last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Cameron went to Scotland to argue that Scotland should not separate from Great Britain.
Scotland and England have been together since 1707 when the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed under the rule of the British. Ireland and Wales were already under British rule at that time.
Only about one-third of Scots want to separate but the SNP believes this is the best way for Scotland to prosper. The party wants to hold a referendum (a vote by the people) in 2014 to ask the people if they want to separate. Opponents of the SNP, including British Prime Minister Cameron, want this referendum held a year earlier so the SNP won’t have time to gain more support for the idea.
Prime Minister Cameron has said there would be serious consequences if Scotland leaves Great Britain. Scotland has rich resources like oil, but their banks would not have enough money to cover their debts and loans. A split could also affect the armed forces (their military), the UK’s nuclear weapons in Scotland, and the United Kingdom’s status in the United Nations.
The last real try for separation was in 1745 when Bonnie Prince Charlie, a famous Scottish prince, tried to attack the British because he wanted to rule both Scotland and England. The British found out about the plan and increased their forces where the attack was to happen.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Kathleen Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Look at the map of the United Kingdom in the article and then find Scotland on a world map using a globe, an atlas or the Internet.
As you can see, Scotland is physically attached to Britain. Do you think this could cause any challenges if Scotland decides to become independent from Britain? Why or why not?
Reading Prompt: Reading Unfamiliar Words
This article may include some words that are new or unfamiliar. How did you solve the meaning of these words when you were reading? What strategies did you use? Which strategies were the most effective?
Junior and Intermediate
Predict the meaning of and rapidly solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues, including: semantic, syntactic, graphophonic cues (OME, Reading: 3.2).
Grammar Feature: Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are specific people, places and things. For example, The Academy Awards, India, The Raptors and McDonalds are all proper nouns. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.
Find all of the proper nouns in this article and identify whether they are people, places or things.
