American Symbols
Kindergarten Social Studies,
by Cortney Nagler October 8, 2015
Would you like your students to understand some of the most iconic symbols in American culture? Well, you are
in luck! This lesson will allow your students to explore important American symbols and their meanings.
Learning Objectives
Student will identify important American symbols and explain their meaning.
Materials and preparation Key terms
American Symbols Cards symbol
Statue of Liberty worksheet
American Flag coloring page
Bald Eagle coloring page
Mount Rushmore coloring page
Pledge of Allegiance worksheet
Attachments
American Symbol Cards (PDF)
Statue of Liberty (PDF)
American Flag (PDF)
Bald Eagle (PDF)
Mount Rushmore (PDF)
Pledge of Allegiance (PDF)
Introduction (10 minutes)
Tell students that today they will be learning about some of the most important symbols in the United
States of America.
Ask students if they can define symbol. After discussion, define, and record, if necessary, a symbol as an
item that represents something else.
Ask students if they can name any American symbols.
Help guide them through this discussion by naming items such as the bald eagle, the American flag, and
the Statue of Liberty.
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (20 minutes)
Put one of the six American symbols cards under a document camera or have the kids gather in a tighter
space so they can see the picture.
Ask the children if they can identify the symbol you are holding up.
See if they can tell you anything about that symbol that you are showing them.
Next, read the corresponding card that goes along with that symbol.
Make sure to go through all six symbols.
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Guided Practice (60 minutes)
Note: Depending how many students you have, group them into groups of 3-4.
Choose a number of worksheets from those provided.
Using these worksheets create a number of stations for your students to rotate around.
Give students 5-10 minutes per station and have them rotate once the time is up.
Independent working time
Have your students complete their work in the different stations independently.
Differentiation
Enrichment: See if these students can come up with more examples of American symbols.
Support: The students will be working in groups. They can use the help of the other group members to
work through any issues they may be having.
Assessment (5 minutes)
Complete an assessment of each student by pulling them one-on-one while they are in groups and seeing
if they can tell you a couple facts about each symbol.
Review and closing (10 minutes)
After all the stations have been completed, have the class come back together.
Ask each student to tell the class one fact they learned and what their favorite activity was.
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United
States
Flag
Statue
of
Liberty
Bald
Eagle
This United States flag is also referred to as
the American flag. The flag contains thirteen
red and white horizontal stripes. These
stripes represent the first states in the
Union. Also, there is a blue rectangle
containing 50 white stars; they represent the
50 states in the United States. American
flags are displayed all over our nation and in
many public places including: schools,
government buildings, libraries, and many
more places.
The Statue of Liberty is a statue made of copper located
in New York City. The statue is a robed female who
represents a Roman Goddess and is holding a torch in her
hand. The Statue of Liberty was a gift given from France
and represents freedom and and the United States.
Inscribed on the statue is the date July 4, 1776; this is
the date of the American Declaration of Independence. We
celebrate this event every 4th of July.
The bald eagle the national bird and animal for the
entire United States of America. On June 20th, 1782
the bald eagle was chosen as the emblem of the United
States because it represents strength, long life,
majestic looking, freedom, and exists here in the U.S.
You can find the bald eagle on coins, the Great Seal,
and even dollar bills.
Liberty
Bell
Lincoln
Memorial
Mount
Rushmore
The Liberty Bell is a symbol of our American
Independence or freedom. It is located in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Liberty Bell
is important because it also symbolizes an
end to slavery throughout America.
The Lincoln Memorial is a national monument that is
located in Washington, D.C. It was built to honor Abraham
Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. The
Statue was sculpted by Daniel Chester French and is over
three times the actual size of Abraham Lincoln. The
construction of the memorial began in 1914 and was
dedicated in 1922. If you look on the back of the penny or
five dollar bill you will see the Lincoln Memorial on them.
Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills of South
Dakota. It took 14 years and over 400 men to carve the
faces into the side of a rock. The faces are 60 feet high
and are the faces of the following four presidents:
Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Theodore
Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. This monument is a
national treasure honoring four very important
Presidents of the United States.
Name
Statue of Liberty Date
United States of
America To parents
Have your child trace a path through the maze with his or her finger before using
a pencil. Next, have your child use a pencil to complete the maze. When your
child is done, give him or her plenty of praise.
n Draw a line through the maze from the arrow ( ) to the star ( ).
Reprinted with permission from My Book of
Mazes Around the World: Ages 5-7 (Kumon, 2007).
Find more worksheets at
www.education.com/worksheets.
n Draw a line through the maze from the arrow ( ) to the star ( ).
Reprinted with permission from My Book of
Mazes Around the World: Ages 5-7 (Kumon, 2007).
Find more worksheets at
www.education.com/worksheets.
Color The U.S. Flag
The U.S. Flag has thirteen stripes to represent the thirteen original colonies. There are 50 stars for all 50 states.
How many stars were on the original flag, designed in 1777?
Answer: 13
Copyright © 2010-2011 by Education.com Created by : www.education.com/worksheets
Color The Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is the national emblem of the United States.
Copyright © 2010-2011 by Education.com Created by : www.education.com/worksheets
Mount Rushmore
Did You Know?
Mount Rushmore was built to represent the first 150
years of the history of the United States. It features
four presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets
Social
The Pledge of Allegiance
Studies
Writing
Select the word from the word bank to fill in the blank space in the Pledge
of Allegiance below.
America Justice
stands
Nation Liberty allegiance
country All
me
I pledge ________________ to the flag,
of the United States of ______________,
and to the Republic for which it ___________:
one ___________ under God, indivisible,
with _____________ and ____________
for __________.
Copyright © 2010-2011 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets
