{"id":1227,"date":"2008-11-19T22:01:53","date_gmt":"2008-11-20T03:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/1227"},"modified":"2008-11-19T22:01:53","modified_gmt":"2008-11-20T03:01:53","slug":"1227","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2008\/11\/19\/1227\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Civics With Children’s Literature: I Pledge Allegiance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"raschka_pledge.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bill Martin Jr. and Michael\u00a0 Sampson are two men which came together in 1978 after meeting at a conference in Arizona. Both men have a passion for children's books and have written many award winning books together. In 2004 Bill Martin Jr. died, but this hasn't stopped Michael Sampson from publishing books that they had worked on together. Michael Sampson plans on publishing a poetry collection that Bill Martin and Michael Sampson have been working on for years in early 2009\u20ac\u00a6 make sure to check that out!<\/p>\n

I pledge allegiance<\/a>\u00a0is a wonderful book for early\u00a0elementary students\u00a0which introduces the Pledge through text and pictures. It starts off with the word "I" and has a picture of a child, one single child. This book really allows students to see what each word\u00a0in the Pledge of Allegiance means. One of my favorite pages\u00a0talks about the words "the republic" I enjoyed this explanation because this can be very difficult for children to understand but there are tons of people standing around in red and blue and it states\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

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The United States of America is a republic, which means that we the people elect leaders who make out laws.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I found this to be an easy way of explaining a typically difficult\u00a0vocabulary. As a teacher this book is a wonderful depiction of what the students are expected to say at the beginning of every day. Instead of just saying the words, its important that each student understands what those words that they say everyday really mean.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong>
\nStudents will know and understand the words in the Pledge of Allegiance. They will also recognize the American Flag once they are done reading this book. This touches on the VA SOL k.9.<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n