Curriculum Resources for Flag Day, June 14

from Education World ®

The first recognized formal observance of Flag Day took place in a Wisconsin school house in 1885 (we have grade school teacher Bernard J. Cigrand to thank for that). But it wasn?t until 1916 that Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day. Not until 1949 did it become National Flag Day through an Act of Congress.

Five Lessons on Flag Day

1. Our Flag Throughout History
   Students create a timeline of the history of the flag, which serves as a quick visual reference point for discussions of history as well as an interactive learning tool.
    
2. Hang a Flag Mural
   What better way to greet visitors to your school (or to your Town Hall) than with a student-created flag mural?
    
3. A Flag Divided
   Students learn about the flags of the Union and Confederacy, explore the symbolism of those flags, and create flags of their own.
    
4. This Is America! Flag Collage
   Students cut up magazines and newspapers to create an American flag collage -- a visual essay of their thoughts about "What America Means to Me."
    
5. Flags of Nations
   Students illustrate flags of countries where Spanish is the official language.

More Activity Ideas

Citizenship. Begin your celebration by taking a look at The Pledge of Allegiance in English, Spanish, French, or German. Then discuss the meaning of the words.

History -- create a timeline. Ask students to read The History of the American Flag, or the Evolution of the United States Flag, or History of the Flag. Then have them create a timeline of the ten dates they consider most important in our flag's history. Discuss with students the dates they chose and why they are important. Adjust the number of dates used according to the age and ability of your students.

Math -- explore proportion. Explain to students that United States flags may be different sizes, but all flags must be the same shape and corresponding parts of the flag must be in specific proportion to one another. Have students study the flag proportions determined by the United States government. Then ask them to use those specifications to determine the fly, star diameter, and stripe width of flags of different hoists. For example, you might ask what the fly of a flag should be if the hoist is 2 feet.

Current events -- stage a debate. Older students can stage a debate about the Constitutional Amendment Issue regarding flag burning. Encourage students to explore online and library resources to learn more about the issue and then ask for volunteers to present each side of the debate. Following the debate, discuss the issue and the points raised with students. Online, students can learn more about the issue at Citizens Flag Alliance, Inc. and The Flag-Burning Page. Some might consider those pages controversial, so please preview them to determine their suitability for your students and community.

Art -- draw a flag. Invite students to draw a picture of their country's flag, write a brief description of the flag's symbolism and history, and send the drawings along with photographs of themselves, to the Kidlink Flag Project. Students can visit the site to view previously submitted drawings of flags of many countries and see photographs of the artists.

Language -- write a speech. Encourage older students to read Flag Makers, a speech delivered by then Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane on Flag Day, 1914. Discuss the meaning of the speech. Invite students to also visit Inspiring speeches to read additional examples of historic speeches. Then have students write a speech about what their country's flag symbolizes for them. Ask volunteers to read their speeches to their classmates.

Extend the Celebration

Extend your Flag Day activities to include the study of state, tribal, maritime, and international flags.

Geography -- explore latitude and longitude. Provide students with a list of latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates and ask them to find the country at each location. Then have them explore Flags of All Countries. Here students can learn more about the geography, economy, government, and people of many countries. You might ask students to find a specific piece of information about each country you've highlighted in the activity. (For example, the "Geography" page connected to many flags offers information about the size of the country, including total land area and a simple comparison to the size of a U.S. state.)

Explore symbolism. Encourage your youngest students to visit Maritime Signal Flags Page, type in their name, and see it displayed in maritime flags. Older students can use International Signal Flags to write or translate signal flag messages.

Play a game. Invite students to play Flag Trivia and identify state flags.

Social studies -- make a map of Native American tribes. Invite students to go to Native American Flags, scroll down to the section beneath the teepee, and choose a Native American tribe. Have students click the name of that tribe and read about the tribe's flag, history, and culture. Ask students to note the present locations of tribal lands. Then have students create one or more facsimiles of their chosen tribe's flag. On a classroom bulletin board, display or create a large map of the United States and have students attach their flags to the correct locations on the map. Repeat the activity until the locations of all the tribes are identified on the map. Encourage students to explore additional links and resources to learn more about each Native American group.

More art -- design a flag. Encourage students to visit the home page of flag designer Dave Martucci to learn about Vexillology. Ask them to scroll down the page until they find the link to Vexillology, where they can read about the basic tenets of flag design and click and explore many different flag designs. Then invite students to design a personal or family flag. You might also want to arrange students into groups, have each group design a classroom flag, and vote for the winning design.

Language arts/spelling -- make a word list. Ask students to create words using the letters in Vexillology. Words could include vex, lily, loll, lox, golly, ox, yell, gel, gill, ill, go, logy, and log. Older students might use their words to create a word search and then challenge other students to solve it.

Social studies -- learn about your state. Encourage students to locate and learn about their state flag. Then ask them to explore library and online resources to learn about the history of their state and its flag and to discover the symbolism behind its design.

Play another game. Invite students to play Flagtag and match U.N. member countries with their flags. Encourage students to click the name of each member state whose flag they identify correctly to learn more about that country.