Great Sites for Teaching About ... Flag Day
Education World's Great Sites for Teaching About ... pages highlight Web sites to help educators work timely themes into their lessons. June brings the celebration of the Star-Spangled Banner on Flag Day. This week's sites are among the best on the Web for integrating the flag into your curriculum.
- Betsy Ross Home Page
http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/
Hosted by U.S. History.org, this site celebrates the life and legend of this famous seamstress from Philadelphia. Visitors can take a virtual tour of her home and learn the story behind the making of our nation's first flag. The site provides fun Flag Trivia and a Flag Timeline, which is easily adaptable to the classroom. The flag etiquette page tells how to show proper respect for Old Glory, and another page challenges visitors to cut a five-pointed star with one snip of the scissors.
- Flag Day
http://www.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/flagday.html
The U.S. Embassy in Sweden presents this page on Flag Day, complete with a history of the flag and the holiday, as well as some interesting trivia. Did you know, for example, that no other flag in the world requires 64 pieces of fabric in order to construct it or that in American Samoa, Flag Day is celebrated on April 17? The site also provides the Pledge of Allegiance and the words and music to Francis Scott Key's "The Star-Spangled Banner."
- Flag Day Ideas
http://www.childfun.com/themes/flag.shtml
Childfun.com offers songs and arts and crafts activities to help young students celebrate Flag Day. Students will love the flag songs sung to such familiar melodies as "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Tear paper art, star cookie-cutter prints, graham cracker flags, and stars-and-stripes sponge painting are just some of the great kid-tested ideas shared here. Be sure to try the red, white, and blue snack -- it's healthful and delicious!
- Our Flag
http://www.legion.org/?section=our_flag
The American Legion presents this site of information about the U.S. flag. Some sections include the Flag Code, Folding the Flag, The History of the Pledge of Allegiance, and Disposal of Unserviceable Flags. Frequently Asked Questions About the Flag provides reliable facts on proper use and care, answering such questions as Can the flag be washed or dry-cleaned? and What is the significance of the gold fringe which we see on some American flags? This site is a great asset for any class studying the heritage of this national emblem.
- Flag Day Quest
http://www2.lhric.org/kat/flag.htm
Designed by first-grade teachers in the Kent Primary School in Carmel, New York, this simple challenge is formatted as a WebQuest and contains two sets of questions on the American flag. Resources listed are the Flag Pledge Web site and the Betsy Ross Home Page. The site's link to the Betsy Ross page does not work, but you can link here or note the URL: http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/. Challenge your students to do the extra-credit activity and design their own flag! It's perfect for elementary students.
- Fort McHenry
http://www.bcpl.net/~etowner/patriots.html
This site is bursting with information and activities for students studying the flag and its history. Included are A Virtual Tour; Fort History; The Hidden World of Fort McHenry, an archeological treasure hunt, Flags at Fort McHenry; A Penny for Your Thoughts, a look at money from the era of 1812; and The Fort McHenry Guard. When your students are done touring, they can take the Pop Quiz to see how much they learned. This site has many possibilities for the classroom!
- The Flag of the United States of America
http://www.usflag.org/
As they enter this site, visitors are welcomed by the voice of President John F. Kennedy proclaiming, "Ask not what your country can do for you. ..." The entire site carries this patriotic tone, giving proper credit to the flag as the symbol of all the things Americans hold dear. The site includes The History of Flag Day, the Evolution of the United States Flag, origins of the nickname "Old Glory", related Links, and Patriotic Writings.
Article by Walter McKenzie
Education World®
Copyright © 2005 Education World
Originally published 06/2001
Links last updated 04/27/2005