Flag Day recognizes the June day in 1777 when the Continental Congress adopted the "Stars and Stripes" as the official flag of the United States. Following are classroom activities to recognize and celebrate Flag Day--June 14.
THE LESSON
Collect a variety of books and other resources on the subject of the U.S. flag. In the days leading up to June 14, invite students to use the Internet and the other resources you've collected to learn more about the U.S. flag. Ask students to record in their notebooks any facts they find that they didn't know before about the flag or Flag Day. Set aside a special time a day or two before Flag Day for students to share the facts they've collected. Those facts might include a few of the following:
The Great Debate: Who Designed the U.S. Flag?
Who designed the U.S. flag? Ask that question of your students, and chances are they'll say Betsy Ross designed the U.S. flag. But did she?
No one knows for sure who designed the U.S. flag or who created the first one. Today, most experts agree that Francis Hopkinson, a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey, designed the flag. But, in 1870, William J. Canby claimed that his grandmother, a seamstress from Philadelphia named Betsy Ross, made the first U.S. flag.
Challenge students to use the Internet and other resources to learn more about this debate and to come to their own conclusions about who designed the first U.S. flag.
Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World® Editor in Chief
Copyright 2015 © Education World
Last updated May/19/ 2015
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