Title of Unit: Civics Title of Lesson: The U.S.

Flag Lesson #2 Submitted By: Denise Crosby & Rachel Lowery

A. Summary of the Lesson Plan: This social studies lesson is designed for 2nd grade students to develop an understanding of the meaning of the U.S. Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance and how they represent our American beliefs. This lesson is adapted from http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/the_pledge_of_allegiance.html. B. Target Population: Grade Level: 2nd grade Skill Level: students at all learning levels Grouping: whole group reading & discussion, small group for activity; independent for assessment C. Materials: The Flag We Love by Pam Munoz Ryan Variety of small flags: race flags, state flags, the flag of the U.S., flags from other countries, church flag, team flag, school flag, etc) Other Literature books about the flag: A Flag For Our Country by Eve Spencer; F Is for Flag by Wendy Lewison; Red, White and Blue: The Story of the American Flag by John Herman Paper Chain instructions: http://www.freekidscrafts.com/paper_chain_flage393.html Printable American Flags http://www.apples4theteacher.com/coloringpages/usa-flags/ D. Objectives: o NV State Social Studies Standards o C13.2.4 Recognize the Pledge of Allegiance C13.2.5 Describe traditional patriotic activities, holidays, or symbols from around the world

Student-Friendly Standards I will understand the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance and appreciate the importance of the Pledge and the U.S. Flag.

E. Procedure: 1. Explain & Show: Bring in a variety of small flags for students to see (race flags, state flags, the flag of the United States, flags from other countries, a Girl Scout flag, a church flag, team flags, a school flag if you have one, etc.). Ask students to point out the flags that they have seen before. Where have they seen them? Why do they think people fly certain flags? What do they stand for? Draw students attention to the American flag. Explain that all this week we will be learning about our country's flag.
Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2013 Karen Powell- Instructor page 1

Title of Unit: Civics Title of Lesson: The U.S. Flag Lesson #2 Submitted By: Denise Crosby & Rachel Lowery

2. Introduce the vocabulary: symbol, pledge, allegiance, republic, nation, indivisible, liberty, justice 3. Introduce the title, author and illustrator of The Flag We Love. Ask students to look closely at the cover. Where is the American flag being flown in this picture? Where else do we often see the American flag being flown? Read the story aloud to students, stressing where the flag is being displayed in each picture (funerals, explorations, parades, sporting events, etc.) (Historical information is shared at the bottom of each page of the book and gives greater depth to the pictures and words, but you may only want to share as much as your students are interested and capable.) 4. Identify and have students come up and point out the stars and the colors of the stripes on the actual flag and identify what each symbol and color stands for. Then, show students a smaller, paper flag. Ask students to share what they notice about the flag (colors, count the number of stripes and stars, what it is attached to, etc.) Use interactive writing to begin to label the parts and colors of the flag. F. CLOSURE: Discuss, after reading the story, with the students about the importance of the flag and flag etiquette. As a class, work on creating the paper chain flag that can be displayed on a bulletin board, or in the hall. G. Assessment: What will you use to measure student understanding? Identify and label: Students will identify, color and label a U.S. flag with what each color stands for and what the stars and stripes stand for. Explain how you will know students understand the concepts from the lesson. Students will understand that the color red symbolizes courage, blue is for loyalty, white is for purity. They will also understand that the stripes represent the first 13 colonies/states and that each star represents one of the 50 states of the United States. H. Reflection: 1. Which part of the lesson do you think will be the easiest for you to teach? The easiest part of this lesson will be using the literature book as a tool for understanding the flag as a symbol of the U.S. and the vocabulary. 2. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach? I feel the most challenging part will be helping the students understand all the vocabulary words as some of the words are very abstract and difficult for them with their limited experience. 3. How will you follow up or extend this lesson? To extend this lesson, I will have the students learn about the Nevada State Flag.
Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2013 Karen Powell- Instructor page 2

Title of Unit: Civics Title of Lesson: The U.S. Flag Lesson #2 Submitted By: Denise Crosby & Rachel Lowery

4. What will you do for students who dont grasp the concepts? For the students who are having difficulty understanding the concepts of this lesson, I would use a graphic organizer to chart each key idea as we reread the text. 5. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change? I think this lesson is pretty straightforward and complete as is. It makes use of various teaching strategies and gives a nice overview of the flag as a symbol of the United States. 6. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part? The most difficult part of this lesson was creating an authentic assessment that would indeed measure understanding. Again, I feel that I would be using more oral assessment as a reference during the discussions with the students.

Nevada State College

EDEL 453 - Spring 2013

Karen Powell- Instructor

page 3

Title of Unit: Civics Title of Lesson: The U.S. Flag Lesson #2 Submitted By: Denise Crosby & Rachel Lowery

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/coloring-pages/usa-flags/

Nevada State College

EDEL 453 - Spring 2013

Karen Powell- Instructor

page 4