Symbols of

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Symbols of Our Nation
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• A symbol stands for the ideas in which
• people believe.
• EX Bald Eagle, Liberty Bell, American Flag
• A landmark is an important natural or
• human feature that marks a location.
• EX Mount Rushmore
• A statue is a monument built to honor or
• remember a person, an idea, or an event.
• EX Statue of Liberty

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• A monument is built to honor a person or an event
  in history.
• EX Washington Monument
• A memorial helps keep the memory of a person or
  an event alive.
• EX Lincoln Memorial

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American Flag
The American Flag Symbol

• 50 stars to represent the 50 states
• 13 stripes to represent the 13 original colonies
  
• 7 red stripes
• 6 white stripes
• White signifies purity and innocence,
• Red signifies toughness and bravery,
• Blue signifies justice, perseverance honesty

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Mount Rushmore Landmark

• Rock carving of the faces of four great U.S.
  Presidents
• George Washington
• Thomas Jefferson
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Abraham Lincoln
• This landmark is 60 feet high
• Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota

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Statue of Liberty Statue

• Stands on an island in New York Harbor.
• France gave the statue to the United States in
  1885.
• It took 8 years to build the Statue of Liberty
• It was a sign of friendship from France.
• It is now a symbol of freedom in the United States

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Washington Monument Monument

• Located in Washington, D.C.
• The Monument is a four sided stone structure
  which honors the Father of our Country George
  Washington
• It is 555 feet high and one of the tallest
  masonry structures in the world.
• There are 50 flags that surround the base of this
  monument to symbolize the fifty states.

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Lincoln Memorial Memorial

• Located in Washington, D.C.
• This memorial honors the 16th President of the
  United States, Abraham Lincoln.
• This memorial symbolizes President Lincolns
  belief that all people should be free.
• The statue of Lincoln is 19 feet high and weighs
  175 tons.
• The statue is facing the Washington Monument and
  the Capitol.
• The columns surrounding the walls of the memorial
  stand for the 36 states in the Union at the time
  of Lincolns death.
• The names of the 48 states in the Union are
  carved in the walls on the outside of the
  memorial.

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Design a new symbol
The President has asked for a new United States
symbol to be designed. Our class has been chosen
to help design this new symbol because of our
experience and creativity. You will be making a
U.S. symbol book that will include 6 current
symbols (landmarks, monuments, memorials,
statues) and the new symbol that you have
designed.
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Your Assignment

• You and your partner are going to research the
  symbols on the Internet
• Each page of your book will contain a picture of
  one of the existing U.S. symbols and a paragraph
  explaining where the symbol is located and 4
  other interesting facts about the symbol.
• The last page of your book will have a picture of
  your new symbol and a paragraph explaining why
  you chose this symbol (describe its importance)
• After collecting all your information you are
  going to create a slideshow using Microsoft
  PowerPoint and your Symbol Book about your 6
  symbols and newly created symbol.
• After your PowerPoint presentation is complete
  you and your partner will get up in front of the
  class and present it to us. You will need to
  tell about the new symbols color, shape,
  significance and symbolic representation.

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Scoring Rubric
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Resources
Berson, M., Howard, T., Salinas, C., Harcourt
Social Studies Our Communities (2008). Orlando,
Florida Hartcourt Inc. http//bensguide.gpo.gov/
3-5/symbols/lincoln.html http//bensguide.gpo.gov/
3-5/symbols/flag.html http//bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5
/symbols/mountrushmore.html http//bensguide.gpo.g
ov/3-5/symbols/wa_monument.html http//bensguide.g
po.gov/3-5/symbols/ladyliberty.html