Historical flags of the United states

Social Studies Review, Spring 2002

It seems that when trying to create bulletin boards that are related to history it is very difficult to come up with ideas that will get students involved with the bulletin board. This article centers on an idea for a bulletin board on the American Revolution. The idea came about with the assignment of creating a bulletin board that contains pertinent information on the subject chosen, but that is also interactive with students. The assignment was to be completed with a partner. Well, my partner and I chose to do a bulletin board on the American Revolution. We went to a shop called School Tools in our local area and picked out a kit for creating a bulletin board. The only problem was that the kit did not provide for much student interaction. The kit included precut placards about famous revolutionary people, events, documents, and maps. The only thing required of the student was that they read the various placards. This was a good start on the bulletin board. The kit provided important and relevant information to the Revolutionary War Period. The question of how to get students to become involved with the bulletin board still remained.

My answer to the student interaction question came from another local shop called the Flag Center and their field representative Maria Jarvis. The Flag Center has four inch by six-inch replicas of American Revolutionary War Flags from both the American and British side of the war. Between the two of us we came up with twentyfour different flags. These flags were to be placed within reach of students on the bulletin board. Under the fabric of the flag, the flag's name would be placed on a strip of paper. These strips could be laminated before cutting them out so they would last longer. Next to the flag would be a square of paper that contained a combination of the flag's description and history. These descriptions would be placed so that it was obvious which flag the description was talking about. The idea would be that students would read the descriptions and histories and try to guess the name of the flag. When the student had a guess then they could lift the flags fabric and the name of the flag would be revealed. Lessons taught in class could highlight the related flags posted on the bulletin board. This will give visual and even tactile learners something in which to relate the information they have learned about the American Revolution. Flags are very symbolic of our nation's struggles and feats of victory. Students will gain more respect for these symbols as well as have something they can touch. The fact that students can see and touch the flags will help make the history they represent a part of the student.

The information for the descriptions and histories of the flags came from three different sources. The first source was Maria Jarvis the field representative for The Flag Center. Maria is involved in Rendezvous activities that are re-enactment groups during the period of history between the Revolutionary War to just before the Civil War. She has been studying flags and their histories in order to publish a piece on the subject. The second source of information was a couple of excellent websites. The addresses are: http://www.luptravel.com/flag/flags/us.html and http://www.unitedstates-on-line.com/historyflags.html. This particular website listed pertinent information and has color representations of a number of Revolutionary War flags. The third resource is a flag-coloring book called Flags to Color From the American Revolution. This book is published by Bellerophon Books. They have an address in the back of this book which one can send a three-stamped, long envelope for a catalog: Bellerophon Books, 122 Helena Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93101.

A number of games can be instituted at the end of a unit on the Revolutionary War as a fun extension of the bulletin board. The teacher can pass out the descriptions to the students, then read out the flag names. The idea would be for the student with the correct description to stand up. If more than one student stands up, a discussion of which description is the correct one could ensue. At the end of the discussion a vote could be had in order for the class to decide which one they think is correct. If the class is wrong then the teacher can explain why it is a particular flag. This process can also be reversed, in which the teacher could hand out the flag names to students and read the descriptions. The teacher could also divide the class in half and pass out descriptions to one half and flag names to the other half. Each half could then take turns reading either the flag name or the description while the other half decides which flag or description fits with what is read. Points would be awarded to the half that correctly identifies the flag or description. This could also be something that could be done prior to taking a final examination in order to help students creatively prepare for such an exam. This process could be repeated with a unit on the Civil War. Flags mark nearly every major event in history and are not only relevant, but living history.