Objectives
- Students will practice working in cooperative groups.
- Students will practice holding large and small group discussions.
- Students will learn various facts about the history of the U.S. flag.
Materials
- U.S. Flag Handout
- Almanacs, Encyclopedias
- Poster paper
- Pens, markers
Procedures
- Put students in groups of three or four. To get your students thinking about the flag and its meaning in our culture, start by asking them to brainstorm about the U.S. flag. They will have four minutes to come up with three facts or themes about the U.S. flag. For example: What kinds of controversies have arisen concerning the flag? What does the flag represent? Who created the flag?
- After four minutes, ask the presenter from each group to read the facts/themes that the group came up with.
- Discuss the topics briefly to see how much your students know about the U.S. flag, and the controversies surrounding it.
- Assign each group of students a topic from the handout. You should have a few dictionaries, almanacs, or handouts of facts ready for the groups to peruse for additional information.
- Have the groups read the content you've given them and then ask them to answer the related questions as thoroughly as they can.
- After the students read the material and write answers to the questions, have them present the information to the class.
- Students should take notes on the content (you decide whether to quiz them in the future). Then have students read the answers to the questions; this should lead into a discussion.
Alternative to writing: Students can simply discuss the questions or pictorially represent the flag, the pledge, Betsy Ross, feelings about flag burning, etc., on large white paper for display in the classroom.
