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Overview:
Most students can recognize their country's flag, but have they ever thought about how it was designed and what it represents? It is important that they start thinking about the ways in which people have joined together to form nations, states, and other unions. Learning about national flags will help students in this process. They will consider how a flag represents a country's people and resources and why a flag can evoke emotions.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, history, art, social studies
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 13: "How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface"
Time:
Two hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- Drawing materials
Objectives:
Students will
- discuss their feelings about being alone versus being with other people;
- discuss the ways in which people in the United States identify with their country and with other people in the country;
- hypothesize what it would be like if all the states were actually distinct countries, with their own languages, food, etc.;
- discuss the significance of a national flag;
- view and describe a few flags from around the world; and
- design a new American flag, using ideas about the United States gathered from the Web.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Ask students what they like and don't like about working and playing by themselves. What are the good and bad things about being alone? Ask them what they like and don't like about working and playing with other people or on teams.
Development:
Tell students that being a citizen of a country is kind of like being on a team. You sometimes have to work hard to get along with the other people in your country, and the rules don't always seem fair to everyone, but citizens of the country can benefit from cooperating with other residents.
Ask students what they think might make the people of the United States feel like they aqre all part of the same country, despite it's being so big with so many different types of people. You might suggest to them that people in the United States are proud of the country's history, natural beauty, and diversity.
Ask students what they think it would be like if each state of the United States were a different country, with different languages, money, food, and customs. Do they think it's better that they are all part of the same country? Why or why not?
Ask students to describe the American flag. What do the stars and stripes stand for? Do they think it's a good symbol for the country? Tell them that other countries have flags, too. Have students go to National Geographic's Flags and Facts and look at some flags from around the world.
Ask students to choose a few flags that seem particularly interesting and to explain what they find intriguing about those flags. What feelings do the flags give them? If they lived in one of those countries, do they think they would be proud of their flag? What do they think the countries might be like, based on what the flags show?
Closing:
Ask students why they think it is important for a country to have its own flag. Why do they think all these countries have flags, and why do most of the flags look different from one another? Discuss their responses.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Have students draw pictures of the real American flag and write short sentences describing what the stars and stripes represent. Then ask them what feelings they get when they look at the flag or when they sing the national anthem at a ball game or elsewhere. Why do they think a flag or song can make people feel a certain way?
Help students find their state flag or a picture of the flag and explain what's on it. Do they think the flag is a good depiction of the state? Do they think it serves as a good symbol for the people of the state? What would they change about the flag if they had the chance?
Extending the Lesson:
Ask students to imagine that the President of the United States has decided that he wants to create a new American flag, and he has asked your class to design it. Have students create these new flags on construction paper, either individually, in pairs, in small groups, or as a class. Their flags should show scenes or symbols that depict their ideas about the things that make the United States interesting.
In order to figure out what to include in their flags, have students view the pictures at the following Web sites, plus any others you think exemplify unique qualities of the United States:
John Donohue's National Park Photos
Postcards from America Gallery
Hang the new flags around the school or classroom, and have students explain to the class why they have chosen their particular flag designs. What do the flags show about the country as a whole? How do the flags represent the things that residents of the United States have in common, as part of a "team"? Do they think most people in the country would be proud of their new flags?
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