Symbols of US

The third graders in Ms. Day’s class decided that they wanted to learn about the American symbols that influence our thoughts and feelings about our country. The students learned not only the significance of American symbols but also how these symbols relate to different aspects of American history, folk tales, and science.

The decision of how these symbols became part of American culture involved the students in reading about the symbols’ origins. Each child chose an American symbol and researched its relationship to the main idea by using concept mapping (Kidspiration) to organize their thoughts and ideas. With a focus chosen, the students led by their teacher began research by reading and writing about his or her American symbols. The reading specialist also helped in choosing the appropriate books. The students gladly shared their knowledge with anyone asking them about their learning experiences.

The “piece de resistance” was the creation and development of a PowerPoint presentation and video. The students studying a particular American symbol did an individual slide that made up their class product. The final product was the video of the class singing “This Land is Your Land” dedicated to their principal fighting in Afghanistan.

Their products symbolized how they developed their thoughts and feelings about America though learning about its symbols and how these symbols affect many parts of the American culture.