The Pledge of Allegiance

Flag Day just wouldn't be complete without saying or learning about The Pledge of Allegiance.

If you'd like to teach your students how to sign The Pledge of Allegiance as well as say it, click on the link.

Francis Bellamy wrote the pledge in 1892 as a poem for children, but the vocabulary is NOT kid-friendly.

I think the vocabulary of the pledge is pretty much over most young students' heads.

I often find them saying "invisible" and thinking that as well, when they are saying the pledge, so I think it's important to define these words for your students and not just have them memorize something they don't understand. 

Click on the link to view/print my Pledge Definition Booklet

Making learning the Pledge Easier:

There's a wonderful book called The Pledge of Allegiance by Sampson and Martin that I read before I teach my students the pledge. This also comes in big book form.  You can get it used on Amazon for only $1.98 + $3.99 for shipping and handling.

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They break the poem down into easy-to-understand "kid-friendly" language.

"I pledge (A pledge is a promise) allegiance to (Allegiance is loyalty) the flag (A flag is a symbol that stands for a place, a thing, or an idea. Making a promise to a flag usually means the same thing as making a promise to whatever the flag stands for.)."

The book also covers some of the history behind the pledge and the flag. The illustrator, Raschka's patriotic red-white and blue collage work, does an excellent job depicting ideas like liberty and justice in a unique way with a deft stroke and a few scraps that children can easily understand.  i.e. for “Allegiance is loyalty." children see a dog wagging his tail.

After reading this simple, yet respectful book, students have a handle on the meaning of the words and the feelings they should have when saying them.

After I explain what the pledge means,  I  help my students learn the words, with the help of a story and pictures, by reading Scholastic's book The Pledge of Allegiance. This book also comes in a Spanish edition.

Click on the link to view/print The Pledge Of Allegiance writing skill sheet, a flag to color, flag slap bracelets and several other flag skill sheets.

For an I can say The Pledge certificate, click on the link.

I also have an easy reader entitled: My Flag.  It includes 12 skill sheets and has 3 different endings you can choose from. Click on the link to check out this fun cut and glue booklet.

Why not become a subscriber and be able to print everything at no additional cost for an entire year.

The Man Credited With Writing the Pledge:

Francis Bellamy:

When I was researching Francis Bellamy I found some interesting trivia as well. 

'I didn't know that there was controversy around the fact that some argued he was not the sole author of the pledge.

Some say that The Pledge of Allegiance never would have been written and promoted if The Youth's Companion had not existed in 1892.

Daniel Ford, the magazines owner and editor, are pretty much forgotten.  He was a successful businessman who knew how to interest both children and their parents in reading.

The Youth's Companion magazine from 1892 -1929 promoted the Pledge of Allegiance. They claimed that  James Bailey Upham, (Ford`s nephew) along with staff at the magazine helped write the Pledge.

Have you ever wondered why there’s a flag flying at all the public schools?  You can give credit for that to this same magazine’s ad campaigns for that as well.

One very successful ad urged students to write The Companion to receive 100 cards stating: "This Certificate entitles the holder thereof to one share in the patriotic influence of a Flag over the schoolhouse."

The cards, sold for only a dime, and brought in the ten dollars to buy a flag that was sold by the magazine. The Board of Education was asked to furnish the flagstaff.

This campaign resulted in about twenty-five thousand schools buying the American flag in the year 1891.

Later, flying the flag over schools became law.  To read more about this very interesting magazine and the history it played in The Pledge of Allegiance click on the link.

If you'd like to read more about Francis Bellamy click on the links. Bellamy 1 discusses the argument of who wrote the pledge. Bellamy 1

Bellamy 2 gives you his bio as well as an interesting excerpt in his own words of why he chose the words he did for The Pledge of Allegiance.

They also have a photo of children doing the "Bellamy salute."  The practice of this salute was later dropped by the instruction of then president Roosevelt, as this same salute was picked up by Nazi Germany.

That's why to this day we hold our right hand over our heart when we say the pledge! Amazing the things you can learn when researching to write a blog article!  I need to be on a game show or something.

I hope you learned some things as well and that you enjoy learning as much with your students as I do with mine!  Have a wonderful time celebrating the Red White And Blue.

As always, if there's an idea that you do with your students, I'd enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com