Great American Symbols

Imagine you just set foot on American soil for the first time. You don't know anyone and you only know a few English words. You've heard stories about the greatness that can be achieved in this land known as America and you are excited for your new adventure. You have seen some of the great American symbols on posters, newspapers and even the internet but you don't know what they mean or why they are important to the American citizens. The government would like children to create posters that will be displayed to inform new citizens of these symbols and encourage them to learn more about these important parts of America and our history.

Your task is to create a poster that has some of the great American symbols on it. You will need to describe what makes this a great American symbol and what makes it special to the citizens of our country. You will also need to draw this symbol or landmark so that the people looking at your poster will know what you are talking about. Think of the American flag, it symbolizes what makes our country great and also the history of our country. The 50 stars represent the states and the 13 stripes represent the origianl colonies. Americans take pride in their flag and it is known by every citizen as a symbol of freedom and those that have fought to keep this freedom. There are many other symbols and landmarks that citizens take pride in and that show our American pride. Research these symbols and landmarks and add those that you feel are most important for a new American citizen to be familiar with. To get full credit on the poster you will need to include 5 symbols and/or landmarks as well as a brief description with the information you feel is most important for new citizens to know.

When you are researching the American symbols be sure to keep one thing in mind, why are these symbols important to Americans and why should new citizens learn about it?

To begin, look through the websites posted and decide which symbols you want to include in your poster. Before you start on your poster board write all your ideas down on notebook paper. Include the name of the symbol or landmark, a brief description about it's importance and a sketch. When you have your outline done on notebook paper you will be ready to start your poster.

Here are a few websites to get you started.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/symbols/

http://www.brownielocks.com/patrioticsymbols.html

http://www.kidport.com/reflib/socialstudies/landmarks/Landmarks.htm

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This assignment is to help you learn more about our great American symbols and landmarks. There are several of these symbols that you can chose from so find the 5 that YOU feel are most important. Be creative and have fun with it but I also hope that you learn more about the symbols you pick.

This poster will be displayed in the hallway for family literacy night. You will also be sharing these posters with the rest of the class so be sure YOU take pride in your work.

If you complete the poster early here are a few games you may play.

http://matchthememory.com/kimbrowning

http://www.wartgames.com/themes/american/symbols.html