Lesson Five

Island Flags
(meaning of flag)

Instructional Objectives:
Students will develop an awareness of some traditional symbols of the U.S.
Students will access the Internet.
Students will increase their computer skills.
Students will become familiar with American symbols.
Students will increase their knowledge of American history and culture.
Students will use telecommunication to gain knowledge and to share their discoveries.

Time Required:
30 minute session for discussing patriotic symbols (Internet); 30 minutes whole class time to explain, demo and discuss assignment, individual time at the computer to create the flags and type their explanations.
 

Advance Preparation and Prerequisite Knowledge/Skills:

• know how to use the Internet
• have "Flag" sites bookmarked
• know how to use a drawing program (teacher and students)

Materials/Resources Needed:

• computer with Internet
• word processing program (optional)
• Kid Pix, Paint or other program which allows the students to create an illustration and add text

Vocabulary:
Patriotic, symbols.

Procedures:
Session 1 - Patriotic symbols

• As a class visit http://bensguide.gpo.gov/k-2/symbols/ on the Internet and discuss the meaning of the various patriotic symbols
• Visit some of the sites mentioned above and discuss the visuals about the flags (differences, colors, shapes, etc.), and find out about the meaning of the visuals (what the colors represent, etc.)

• Give the students time to explore these sites individually (supervised...computer lab is good)

Session 2 - Assignment/Demo/Individual time

• Tell the students that they will be creating a flag for their imaginary islands. Explain that they will need to pay attention to what shapes and color they use and why, because they will be writting about the meaning of their flag
• Using a video converter, LCD projector or SmartBoard if available demostrate how to draw a flag using a program such as Microsoft's Paint
• Assign the tasks of drawing their flags and writing the meaning of their flags. Give the students individual computer time (or computer lab time) to complete the task

Activities:
Explore and learn about patriotic symbols on the Internet.
Design a flag using Microsoft Paint program.
Write the meaning of the imaginary island flag.
E-mail work to other students.

Extensions or Follow-up (related Special Projects, events):

• Create the flags out of fabric.
• Write a "patriotic" song for your island. ( For inspiration use the video U.S. Songs and Poems, American History for Children video Series. Schlessinger Video Productions.)
• Start a journal or scrapbook of your imaginary island. (use An Island Scrapbook, Dawn to Dusk on a Barrier Island, by Virginia Wright-Frierson. Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers)

Homework:
Explain the meaning of the American Flag to one or more family members.
If you have Internet at home (or you can go to your local public library, or maybe a Boys and Girls Club), do the following online pursuit for patriotism (an Internet treasure hunt) with an adult.
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/as/education/projects/hunts/patriotism.html

Evaluation:
Flag- Does the flag have the following:
 

A Title	10 points
Creativity	10 points
Good Design	10 points
An Explanation for the colors	10 points
An Explanation for the Shapes	10 points

50 points = 100% = A

Illustrative Materials (worksheets, handouts, graphic organizers, photos, maps, and answer keys):
None used.

Student Work Samples: