Want to learn more about the history of Flag Day? Here are 10 facts about the flag and its birthday to share with your students.
1. Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the American flag by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.
2. The American flag, as we know it today, consists of 13 horizontal red and white stripes, each representing the 13 original colonies of … Read more »
With Flag Day coming up, what special activities do you have planned to teach your students about the history and meaning of the US flag? One idea from our holiday ebook is to discuss with students how, and why, we should honor the flag.
The US Flag Code provides rules for display and care of the flag. We don’t let the flag … Read more »
With the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg approaching, defense scholar Tom Donnelly reviews a new book by noted Lincoln historian Allen Guelzo. Donnelly writes:
Gettysburg. The word is a looking glass for America, both as a blood-and-soil union and an ideal of liberty but also as an eternal striving to make the one realize the other. Gettysburg, like America, “contains multitudes.”
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Looking for summer reading? Summer is the perfect time to break out of one’s usual reading patterns and to explore new interests, ideas, and authors. For that reason, we think short stories make great summer reading. Here are 10 short stories that can be read in one sitting and that provoke deep thought and reflection:
1. Stephen Crane, “The Open Boat” (a gripping tale of survival)
2. John Updike, “Read more »
Did you know that the founder of Flag Day was a teacher? During the 1880s, a young school teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin by the name of Bernard J. Cigrand began advocating for a nationwide celebration of the flag.
In 1885, when he was 19 years old, Cigrand asked his students at the one-room schoolhouse he taught at to write essays on what the American flag meant to them. The following … Read more »
On June 14, we celebrate Flag Day, which commemorates the adoption of the American Flag in 1777. Though iconic today—it is hard to imagine World War II without also picturing the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima, or to think about 9/11 without also seeing the New York firefighters hoisting the red, white, and blue above the ruins of the World Trade Center—the American flag has a long and … Read more »
In Flanders Field
By John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from … Read more »
Distinguished scholar-teachers Amy and Leon Kass demonstrate how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civic education and how a pedagogical approach that stresses learning through inquiry can make primary sources come alive for students of all ages.
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