How do we know what makes us patriotic? What are our rights and responsibilities as citizens? The answers to these questions and more can be found in this unit. "Words of Patriotism: The Pledge of Allegiance," is a cross curricular unit addressing learning standards in both Language Arts and Social Studies. Even though this unit was written for first grade students, the content can be modified for kindergarten through second grade. The Pledge of Allegiance encompasses the ideals of our founding fathers: the ideas of liberty, justice, and citizenship. Students will make connections to these concepts through the exploration of each phrase in the pledge. U.S. symbols such as the American flag, the liberty bell, and the bald eagle are taught throughout the unit to give students access to visual representations. Through the paired use of literary and informational text, students will explore the patriotic roots of America. Each concept is introduced with a fictional text and the concept is further studied through the use of non-fiction. Students will compare and contrast information found in both genres of text. In addition to learning the Pledge of Allegiance and the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, students will also write a classroom pledge, classroom rules, and their own version of the preamble.

(Developed for Language Arts/Social Studies, grade 1; recommended for Language Arts/Social Studies, grades K-2)