From the Stars and Stripes to the majestic bald eagle, there are several iconic symbols of America. All of which are important symbols to teach kids about. Moreover, symbols that should be FUN to learn about! Enter our American Symbols for Kids unit! Designed with a project based learning approach, this unit will teach first and second grade students everything they need to know about iconic American symbols. Did we mention that this will all be completed in one day?!
A one day unit? Yes, one day. Let us explain why.
As educators, we know all too well that instructional time is interrupted several times during the school year. Whether it is testing, winter break, or field day, there are a lot of times when instruction is interrupted. However, this doesn’t mean learning should stop.
While teachers don’t always have control over these interruptions, every teacher deserves options that help make the instructional time they are left with count! This is why we created our one day units, like our American Symbols for kids unit.
Don’t let the fact that these mini units can be completed in one day fool you though. Students will learn A LOT in one day! Not only will they learn a lot, but they will be engaged throughout the entire process as they engage in hands on activities.
Let’s explore how these units provide hands on learning and follow a project based learning approach by looking at the American Symbols for kids lesson plans.
American Symbols: Project Based Learning Themed Lesson Plans
The most important thing to know about the lesson plans in this American Symbols Unit is that they are ready to go! This means that these lesson plans provide you with ALL of the information you need to easily and successfully implement this unit in your classroom TOMORROW!
With the guided instruction provided, you will be able to engage your students in a full day of learning about American Symbols. Students will explore the American flag, Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, and bald eagle. Moreover, they will learn about these iconic symbols through the lens of working to become a National Parks guide!
Inviting students to explore these symbols as steps to becoming a National Park guide is one way they get to engage in their learning from a real-world perspective. This is one of the key elements that make this an authentic project based learning experience. In addition, the types of learning activities they engage with for each subject further enhance this type of learning.
Let’s explore some of those activities below!
American Symbols Worksheets
We must admit that the heading for this section is a bit misleading because while we have included some worksheet-type activities in this unit, the worksheets may not be what you are expecting. The worksheets in this unit go beyond the standard worksheet where students sit at their desks and only work on paper. Instead, these American Symbol worksheets are simply used to record active learning.
Take our math activity for example. In this activity, students are asked to measure the Statue of Liberty and record their measurements on a worksheet. While they use a worksheet to record their measurements, the act of measuring the Statue of Liberty is a hands on activity. Moreover, they are measuring an American Symbol which connects the activity to a real world experience.
In this example, the worksheet is the tool used to support the students’ learning experience. However, the learning activity itself is engaging and hands on. The worksheet simply provides a place to document what they learned through their experience of measuring the Statue of Liberty.
This math worksheet is just one of the many ways that students will track their learning while becoming National Park Guides. Let’s look at the other ways they will show what they’ve learned throughout the day.
American Symbols Reading and Writing Activities
A unit wouldn’t be complete without reading and writing activities. Therefore, we created both a reading and writing activity to further students’ exploration of American Symbols.
Like the math activity shared above, these activities were also designed using a project based learning approach. Therefore, students will continue to engage in their learning through real life experiences.
Students begin their day by reading about the different American Symbols they will explore throughout the day. This reading activity is designed as a Jigsaw activity which gives students several opportunities to practice their speaking and listening skills, in addition to their reading skills.
We provided an American Symbols worksheet to help guide the students with their reading. This worksheet provides students with space to identify three key parts of each symbol: what it stands for, what it looks like, and facts about it. By identifying these three key areas of each symbol, each student will be able to share what they learned about their group’s symbol and then teach it to their peers in a new group.
After reading about American Symbols and teaching each other about each symbol, students get to write about what they learned. Moreover, students get to choose what type of writing they would like to do!
Each student will choose from four: an informational card, a brochure, a flipbook, or a tour guide script. These four options support project based learning by asking students to write in a format that is connected to the real world experience of becoming a National Park guide.
American Symbols STEM Project
In addition to math, reading, and writing, students will also get to explore American Symbols through the lens of science! This isn’t just a silly science project though. This STEM project engages students’ critical thinking skills as they work through the engineering process.
In this STEM project that is designed for first and second graders, students will need to work together to build a flagpole. This isn’t just any ol’ flagpole though. There are specific criteria the students must meet to be successful in this project.
To make this a challenging project that engages students and activates their critical thinking, students have to build the tallest flagpole they can with the specific materials provided. Moreover, they have to make sure the flagpole is stable and can stand without tipping over.
Before beginning the project, students will explore helpful vocabulary and an informational text that helps them prepare to build. After they build the flagpole, they must test it to make sure it meets the criteria. Then, at the very end, they will reflect on their experience. All essential steps to a successful STEM project!
Art Activities for American Symbols
As you can from the activities above, students will be engaged in rigorous (yet fun) learning activities from the beginning of the day. While core academics are an integral part of the unit it doesn’t mean there is no room for the more creative side. Therefore, in addition to the core content areas above this unit also has an art activity.
Just because this art activity is creative does not mean it doesn’t align with the rigor of the rest of this mini unit. In fact, this activity is the culmination of each student’s training to become a National Park Guide!
After going through the 4-Part Training of learning about American Symbols, teaching others about American symbols, measuring an American Symbol, and building a flagpole of the American Flag, students get to create their own American Symbol!
The perfect way to bring this full day of project based learning to a close!
American Symbols Activities for 1st Grade
The five core activities above are designed to support learning in a first or second grade classroom. Moreover, as explained above, they are designed to cover an entire day of instruction in this mini unit on American Symbols.
While the five activities above will provide you with enough core instruction for a full day of learning, we know every classroom is different! Therefore, we created some additional activities to use in both first and second grade.
These additional American Symbols activities can be used to extend learning or as a replacement for one of the activities above. You choose how to use them based on the needs in your classroom. The best part is, they are just there IF you need them!
By following the lesson plans for the core content activities above your students will engage with every subject and standard needed. So, if you don’t get a chance to explore the additional activities, don’t worry! Your students will not miss out on any key instructional materials.
Whether you use the additional activities or stick with the five key ones above, we wish you and your students an exciting exploration of American Symbols!
Looking for more one day project based learning units? Take a peek at our other mini units!
