EDSITEment - Lesson Plan

Did you know that the original Pledge of Allegiance did not contain the phrase "of America"? In 1923, the words were added to avoid confusion among immigrants as to which country they were pledging their allegiance! The pledge was officially amended again on June 14, 1954, by a joint resolution of Congress approved by President Eisenhower, to read "one nation under God." But no matter how it has changed over the years, the Pledge has remained a time-honored salute to the American flag, one of our most cherished national symbols.

In this unit, students will learn what a symbol is, and how this particular symbol—the American flag—is an important part of our everyday lives. Learning the history of the flag will help instill in students respect for our national symbol and help them learn appropriate etiquette regarding our flag. Students will learn that other symbols of our country, such as the President and certain holidays, like Flag Day, are important to us as well. Students can also contribute symbols from their familial, ethnic and national cultures to show the diversity of American society and its links to other parts of the world.

Learning Objectives

After completing the lessons in this unit, students will be able to:

Tell what a symbol is and give examples of a symbol, such as the American flag.
Give examples of other countries and their flags.
Understand the relationship of city to state to country.
Explain how symbols relate to objects and actions, how one thing can stand for another.
Talk about the design of the American flag, i.e., what the colors mean, and that the 13 stripes represent the original 13 colonies.
Discuss the legend of Betsy Ross (1752-1836).
Learn about Flag Day (June 14).

Understand of meanings of words and phrases in the Pledge of Allegiance: pledge, allegiance, United States of America, Republic, stands, nation, under God, indivisible, liberty, justice, for all (optional lesson for grade 2).

Guiding Question:

What is a symbol? What does the symbol, our American flag, stand for? Why do countries have flags? Why are flags important to countries? How did the design of our American flag emerge to its present stage? What do other countries' flags look like?

Preparing to Teach this Lesson

For the lessons in this unit, you will need a classroom flag and pictures of the American flag, which are generally available in newspapers and library resources, as well as online.

The resources below will provide you with appropriate photographs for lessons 1 and 2. Locate them and print them out for class use. Unless otherwise noted, all photographs are available on the EDSITEment-reviewed website American Memory.
For Lesson l
- Jimmy Carter, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front, next to an American flag
  The books in this photo are also a symbol, representing education. Current photos of President George W. Bush may also be integrated into this lesson.
- Old Glory (To find this image, search American Memory for the exact phrase "Old Glory Goes Marching On"): Old Glory has 48 stars, representing the period from 1912 to 1959, when Alaska was admitted as the 49th state.
For Lesson 2
- Making the Flag (To find this image, search American Memory for the exact phrase "Detroit Publishing: Making the Flag")
- Betsy Ross House (To find this image, search American Memory for the exact phrase "Betsy Ross House"): Betsy Ross' home is located at 239 Arch Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Stars and Stripes Forever
  Available through the Digital Scriptorium, this historic sheet music includes a picture of the composer, John Philip Sousa.

Familiarize yourself with the following background information about the American flag.

The colors of the flag
The only specific reference to the three colors comes from a report by the Secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson. Mr. Thomson said: "White signifies purity and innocence; Red, hardiness and valour; and Blue, vigilance, perseverance and justice." Other American writers have suggested that red stands for blood shed fighting for our country, white symbolizes loyalty, and blue, the unity of our citizens bound together as one nation. The colors also echo the colors of the British flag, and the original drafts of the flag included the Union Jack in place of the section now containing the stars.

The stars on the flag
The number of stars on the flag has always represented the number of states in the Union. The original flag had 13 stars—one for each of the 13 original colonies (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island). It then rose to 15 when Vermont (1791) and Kentucky (1792) were added; 20 with the admission of Tennessee (1796), Ohio (1803), Louisiana (1812), Indiana (1816) and Mississippi (1817); and 21 with Illinois (1818). In 1818, Congress passed The Flag Act, which stipulates that the flag will always have 13 stripes, and that stars will be added for new states each July 4 only. From that point on, the flag changed frequently:

Number of Stars	State and Year Admitted to Union
23	Alabama (1819) and Maine (1820)
24	Missouri (1821)
25	Arkansas (1836)
26	Michigan (1837)
28	Florida and Texas (both 1845)
29	Iowa (1846)
30	Wisconsin (1848)
31	California (1850)
32	Minnesota (1858)
33	Oregon (1859)
34	Kansas (1861)
35	West Virginia (1863)
36	Nevada (1864)
37	Nebraska (1867)
38	Colorado (1876)
43	North Dakota (1889), South Dakota (1889), Montana (1889), Washington, (1889) and Idaho (1890)
44	Wyoming (1890)
45	Utah (1896)
46	Oklahoma (1907)
48	New Mexico and Arizona (both 1912)
50	Alaska and Hawaii (both 1959)

The stripes on the flag
The red and white stripes represent each of the original 13 colonies. The first "Stars and Stripes" had 13 stars and 13 stripes. The U.S. Congress declared on June 14, 1777: "The flag of the United States will be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white [and] . . . the union [canton] be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."

Flag talk
The flag may be alternately called a "jack" (also a reference to naval flags), an "ensign" (used by sailors referring to the flag on their ship), "standard" (used by amilitary officer or soldier; a person carrying the flag is called a standard bearer); and "colors" (a man or woman asked to serve in the military is "called to the colors" and the "colors are raised" each morning). Nicknames for the American flag are "Old Glory," the "Stars and Stripes," and the "Star-Spangled Banner." Vexilology is the study of the history of flags. A person engaged in this pursuit is called a vexilologist.

Flag dates
July 4, 1776: The Declaration of Independence is signed. A new flag with stars and stripes is designed.

June 14, 1777: Congress passes a law making the Stars and Stripes America's official flag.

Sept. 13, 1814: Francis Scott Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner" after the British attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland.

1818: Congress passes the Flag Act, which declares that the American flag will always have 13 stripes. Stars will be added to the canton to reflect new states only on July 4.

1892: Francis Bellamy writes the Pledge of Allegiance.

1916: President Woodrow Wilson proclaims June 14 as (unofficial) Flag Day.

1942: Congress passes the Flag Code, which lists the rules and proper etiquette for handling the American flag.

Aug. 3, 1949: President Harry Truman signs congressional legislation making June 14 National Flag Day.

Note to the teacher: These lessons introduce students to different countries and help them learn about the different entities of nation, state, and city, which all might have their own flags. The lessons employ visual as well as auditory and oral skills. Fine motor skills are utilized in cutting and pasting activities and in coloring, though ability to use detail will be determined by grade levels and skills within each grade. Multi-modal lessons encourage students with special needs to use their skill strengths in responding within each lesson format.

Suggested Activities

Lesson 1: The American Flag: A Symbol of Our Country
Lesson 2: The History of the American Flag and Flag Day
Lesson 3: The Pledge of Allegiance (optional lesson for grade 2)
Extending the Lesson

Lesson 1 The American Flag: A Symbol of Our Country

Begin by explaining to students that they will discover what a symbol is (something that stands for, or represents, something else). You might start the discussion by talking about symbols you use in the classroom — perhaps a smiley face or gold star that is awarded for good behavior or good work in the classroom. Students who participate in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or those who play on a sports team may have uniforms — a uniform is also a symbol, and a way of tying people together.

Ask students to identify other symbols they notice in the classroom or throughout the school. As they name symbols, list their answers in a chart on the board. Then ask students to describe what each of these symbols stands for, and add their descriptions to the chart. The American flag should emerge as a symbol during this discussion; begin to turn the conversation to focus on the flag and what it represents to students.

Use the following questions to help guide class discussion:

What are the colors of our flag? What do the colors mean (represent)?
What are the parts of our flag called?
How many stars can we count on the canton? What do the 50 stars represent?
What daily activity do we do in school that shows how important the American flag is to us?
Where else do we see the American flag? (At the post office, White House, office buildings, government buildings, cemeteries, and so on.)

Through the discussion, help students to discover that the American flag is an important symbol for many people throughout the U.S. and in other parts of the world. A country's flag is a source of cultural or national pride and a feeling of being part of something — sort of like a team or a club.

Other U.S. symbols are:

The 50 state flags.
The flag of the President of the United States.
The Bald Eagle, the national bird.
"Uncle Sam," from the famous "I Want You!" World War I recruiting poster by James Montgomery Flagg.

To conclude this lesson, students can draw and color the American flag, color a pre-drawn flag, or create a cut-and-paste flag using construction paper. Remind students that the seven red stripes should be pasted in alternate patterns (beginning with four short red stripes and ending with three long red stripes). The blue canton should be colored or glued on last and then stars drawn (small circles in white chalk may be drawn to represent stars) or pasted onto it.

Introduce this lesson by saying that our American flag did not always look like it does today. Share with children the changes to our flag's canton as new states were added to the Union. Images of the complete history of official U.S. flags, from the first 13-star flag to today's 50-star flag, can be found on the United States Flag page, available through a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed Internet Public Library. This resource also includes images of the state flags of the U.S. and several flags used during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. (Note: Many of the books included in the Resources section, below, include images of the first official flag with 13 stars, as well as the 48-star flag.)

The colors red, white, and blue come from the joining of two flags—St. George's Cross (England, 1200s), a simple red cross on a white background, and St. Andrew's Cross (Scotland, 1200s), a white cross placed like an X, corner to corner, on a blue background. In 1606, after England and Scotland had joined together, the new flag, the Union Jack, became the first official flag of Great Britain.

Provide children with the following:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
Of the United States of America,
And to the Republic for which it stands,
One Nation under God, indivisible.
With liberty and justice for all.

The following basic definitions of these words are generally suited to children of this grade level:

The national standards and skills/concepts employed in these lessons are "long range" in nature, and internalized by students at different rates and with varying degrees. No formal evaluation or test is suggested as a follow-up to these lessons. However, at various and appropriate times, such as during the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and on Flag Day, teachers may wish to review and reinforce concepts of these lessons with students. Teachers will also observe students' reactions and integration of concepts by student activities, discussions, and questions.

Stars and Stripes Forever: Flag Facts for Flag Day

Introduction

Learning Objectives

Guiding Question:

Preparing to Teach this Lesson

Suggested Activities

Extending the Lesson

Selected EDSITEment Websites