Addition to Patriotic Unit

I love the book I Am America by Charles R. Smith Jr.. I read this to my students and we talk about how we are all alike and different in many ways. We make a list of all the things that they love to do, what color their eyes and hair are, and their ages. Then I walk them through how I make a poem about myself following the pattern in the book I Am America. I take a photo or have each student draw a picture of his or herself and post it above their poem.

I Am America

Click here for a free copy:

I Am America Poetry

We read The Pledge of Allegiance by Scholastic, I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin Jr.. We make torn paper American flags to display in the hall along with our poems. (The trick is to glue the white strips onto a red piece of construction paper. Have the blue rectangle cut for them, and then have the students tear around the edges. Glue the blue rectangle on after you glue the white stripes.)  We also make Pledge of Allegiance books where we write about what each line of the Pledge of Allegiance means. (I will see if I can scan it in later.) 

The Pledge of Allegiance

I Pledge Allegiance

Another great read is Our American Flag by Mary Firestone.

Our American Flag