Teaching Symbols in Primary Grades

Teaching Symbols in Primary Grades

Hey y'all! Are you working on learning about state or US symbols? Every year my littles learn about symbols in social studies, but have a hard time understanding WHY these symbols exist and the significance of them.

One way I teach the significance of symbols and the WHY behind them is with this personal symbols book. After introducing symbols, students begin to reflect on what their symbols would be--what is significant to them.

Students draw their flag, find a song that is meaningful to them, and illustrate their personal flower. They also identify their bird, color, animal, and anything else they'd like to include. They also have to explain why they chose each thing as their symbol.

This is a fun way to share more about ourselves and what is meaningful to each of us. For older students, this makes a great beginning of the year activity.

You can pick up a copy of this for your classroom here.

At the end of the unit, we make a class book highlighting all of the things that America is. Each student gets a letter (or two) and draws something that is meaningful to America. It doesn't HAVE to be a US symbols necessarily, just something significant to the US.

This book is ALWAYS a hit and even the most reluctant learners get excited about creating their page for the book. Oh, and it's FREE. You can get a copy of this book here.

What are some of your favorite ways to teach about symbols? Let me know in the comments.

I hope you found some new ideas for your classroom. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow me on TPT for all the latest updates, ideas, and resources. I hope you have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you soon. 

Stay cozy,