On the third of July, 2010 I decided to once again commit to blogging at least weekly. Seems that this July, we are celebrating the 4th on the 3rd - which may be a symptom of our nation to commercialize everything and forget why we are celebrating - not just to watch the spectacular fireworks or go to cook outs, but instead to honor the beginning of our great country.Interestingly enough, the American colonies actually separated from Great Britain on July 2, 1776. On July 2, the Second Continental Congress approved a resolution of independence proposed by Richard Henry Lee in June of the same year. After the resolution was approved, the founding fathers began working on our Declaration of Independence - primarily written by Thomas Jefferson - and approved it on July 4.
For some wonderful interactive online resources that investigate our flag and our history, look no further than our Smithsonian (home of Bones' anthropology department) for some great materials. Students can Collect stars, Listen to contest winners of the O Say Can You See competition, Explore the history of the flag and our fight for independence, and Share stories with others. Click on the link to explore the site: http://americanhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/default.aspx
Another activity that high school students will really enjoy this summer is an interactive site called the Art of the Explosion located at http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/fireworks/index.html to discover how artist Cai Guo-Qiang created a fireworks tornado for the Kennedy Center’s Festival of China. Then students can design their own fireworks display in this online exploration of pyrotechnics from ARTSEDGE.
An awefully cute game to play with your children or students can be found here: http://www.famlit.org/onlineactivities/find-the-flag/swf/index.htm This is good for younger children and trivia fiends. I could only find 24 - don't know where the last one was...
This detailed lesson for elementary students works on a variety of levels - and allows students to share their stories with others in the nation. Educator guide can be found here: http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/pdf/SSB_PhotoShare_Educators_Guide.pdf
