Unit Plan: Pledging Allegiance to the U.S.

Flag
Lesson Plan for: Monday
Grade: 1
st
grade
Social Studies Strand: Civics
Submitted By: Katheryn Brown

EDEL 453: Teaching Elementary School Social Science
Nevada State College spring 2014
Instructor: Karen Powell




Lesson Plan #4 - Civics submitted by: Katheryn Brown

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 2

B. Summary of the Lesson Plan:
This social studies lesson is designed for 1
st
grade students; to teach students what the Pledge of
Allegiance is and why we say it while focusing on the American Flag.
This lesson uses the Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbook School and Family (p. 38 - 39).

C. Basic Information:
Grade Level: first grade
Time to Complete this Lesson: 50 minutes
Groupings:
Whole group discussions, questions and answers
Whole group reading, pages 38 & 39
Small group, create the American flag
I ndependent for assessment, worksheet

D. Materials:
Houghton Mifflin Social Studies: School and Family, Grade 1,
Teacher's Edition; Core Lesson 2; pages 38, 39

Integrating Language Arts and Social Studies 25 Strategies for K-8
Inquiry-based Learning
Author: Leah M./ Hunter Melber Editor: Leah M. Melber
Strategy #24; page 173

Pledge of Allegiance classroom word wall chart

Lesson Plan #4 - Civics submitted by: Katheryn Brown

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 3
1 worksheet per student
(www.jumpstart.com)

1 sheet each color/each group: Red, White, Blue construction paper


Materials cont.:

glue, scissors, 50 white star stickers and 1pencil for each small group


E. Objectives:
o NV State Social Studies Standards
C13.1.4 Recognize the Pledge of Allegiance
o Student-Friendly Standards
C13.1.4 I will learn about the United States Pledge of Allegiance
Key Themes:
Making observations
Identifying patterns
Questioning

F. Vocabulary
Pledge: a promise
United States Flag: a symbol of our great nation
G. Procedure:
Lesson Plan #4 - Civics submitted by: Katheryn Brown

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 4
1. Refer to notes on Core Lesson 2, Teachers Edition, pages 38 & 39

Explain:
a) What the children in the picture are doing

Ask:
a) Why do people in our country say the Pledge of Allegiance?
b) Why is it important that we stand when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?


Introduce the key vocabulary words:
1) Pledge 2) United States Flag

Ask students to stand next to their desks while you refer to the
Pledge of Allegiance classroom word wall chart

Read each sentence fragment and show the students the pictures that relate to each fragment.
Read each sentence fragment again and ask students to repeat them with you.
Ask students to place their right hand on their heart and say the Pledge of Allegiance together.

Explain:
When we say the Pledge of Alliance, we show we care about our country.

Group discussion asking the students to describe the United States flag and what each color
represents.

Explain:
What each colored stripe on the United States flag represents and why there are 50 stars.

Divide students into 4 groups. Each group will work together to make an American Flag with the
exact number of stars and stripes.


H. Assessment:
What will you use to measure student understanding?
Group discussion:
Each group will give the class a presentation about their flag. Each group will be given one of
the four following questions to answer during their presentation:
1) Why are there 50 white stars on the flag?
2) Why are there13 stripes on the flag?
3) What do the 7 red stripes mean?
4) What do the 6 white stripes mean?
Lesson Plan #4 - Civics submitted by: Katheryn Brown

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 5
Bonus question: What does the blue background behind the stars mean?


Independent assessment:
Each student will complete the jumpstart worksheet using the Pledge of Allegiance classroom
word wall chart as a resource.

Explain how you will know students understand the concepts from the lesson.
Using the worksheet will show if the students are able to identify words in the Pledge of
Allegiance and recognize it.
I. Closure:
Review/Assess Houghton Mifflin Social Studies textbook School and Family (pages 38 & 39)
Stand as a class and read together the Pledge of Allegiance classroom word wall chart.
J. 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 the group discussion on the flag colors, stars, and
stripes. This will also give me a way to assess what they know about the pledge and the flag.
2. Which part will be most challenging for you to teach?
The most challenging part of this lesson will be explaining the large vocabulary words in the
pledge. Examples: indivisible, allegiance, republic
3. How will you follow up or extend this lesson?
Using strategy #24, I will continue the lesson on flags from around the world, creating a
book of flags for students to use as a classroom resource.
4. What can you do for students who dont grasp the concepts?
I will extend the study to include realistic visuals of our American flag, children standing
while pledging to the flag, and interactive activities online as a fun free time activity.
5. Which part of the lesson, if any, do you think might need to change?
The Houghton Mifflin Social Studies: School and Family, Grade 1 focusses on job as the
vocabulary word. In order to meet the standard of Recognizing the Pledge of Allegiance, I
changed the vocabulary lesson to words that pertained to recognition and not examples.
6. When you were writing this lesson plan, what was the most difficult part?
Lesson Plan #4 - Civics submitted by: Katheryn Brown

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 6
The most difficult part of writing this lesson is making sure my young students will
understand what the pledge really represents and why it is important to respect it. I think by
starting the lesson with an assessment about what they already understand will help me in
describing a pretty involved lesson. I can extend this lesson with more strategies if needed.
7. Explain the strategy from Integrating Language Arts & Social Studies that you
included in this lesson plan.
Strategy #24 helped me write this lesson that not only gives my students an understanding of
the Pledge of Allegiance, but helps them make observations, identify patterns, and discuss
the reasons why our flag is colored and shaped the way it is.








Pledge of Allegiance classroom word wall chart:


Lesson Plan #4 - Civics submitted by: Katheryn Brown

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 7



Lesson Plan #4 - Civics submitted by: Katheryn Brown

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 8

Lesson Plan #4 - Civics submitted by: Katheryn Brown

Nevada State College EDEL 453 - Spring 2014 Karen Powell- Instructor page 9








13 white stars - 1 for each colony
13 red and white stripes - 1 for each
colony
blue background for stars
5 pointed stars
50 white stars - 1 for each state
13 stripes - 1 for each original colony
7 red stripes - bravery
6 white stripes - freedom/liberty
blue background - justice/fairness
5 pointed stars