Flag Day is coming, a day to honor the flag of the United States. Flag Day is June 14th.
Fun Flag Facts:
- A vexillologist is someone who studies flags!
- Most flags have the colors red and white.
- Only Vatican City and the country of Switzerland have square flags.
- Most world flags are rectangle in shape. The flag of the country of Nepal is the only one which is not rectangular or square in shape.
- When Sir Edmond Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, summited Mt. Everest, the Union Jack, the flag of Great Britain, was placed.
- The idea of a National Flag Day, a day to honor our flag, was started by Bernard J. Cigrand, in 1885.
- There are currently 6 American flags on the moon.
- The country of Bhutan has a white dragon on its flag.
- From Old Saxon, "Fflaken," meaning "to fly or to float in the air," is where the word FLAG originated.
- The largest American flag is called the Superflag. It weighs 3,000 pounds and is the size of 2.8 football fields.
- A WHITE flag is the symbol of a truce or cease-fire.
- The last of the 50 stars represents the state of Hawaii.
Extension Activities:
- Take this Flag quiz
- Pretend you are an American flag on the moon or in a town or on a mountain top. What do you hear, see, feel, etc. as you wave in the air? Remember . . . on the moon, there is no atmosphere so the flag wouldn't wave!
- Write a haiku to describe the American flag. A haiku has 3 lines (5-7-5 syllables per line). Use descriptive words. Sentence structure isn’t necessary. To check syllables, place your hand under your chin. Each time the chin drops is a syllable. For example: elephant. Three drops = 3 syllables.
- Illustrate one of the flag facts.
Check out my Flag Webquest!
Gail