(30 minutes)

OBJECTIVE
Students evaluate the responsibility they commit to each morning when pledging allegiance to their country.

MATERIALS
Pledge Anew handout, lined paper, pens/pencils

GET READY

• Copy the Pledge Anew handout so that you have a copy for each student.
• Make sure you have paper and pens/pencils for each student.
• Have paper and crayons available.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Say, Sometimes when people repeat something over and over again they forget what they are saying. They may even confuse the words they are repeating. This is often the case with students saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
• After having students say the Pledge of Allegiance, ask them what they think it means. Ask them what the phrase "liberty and justice for all" means to them. Inform your students that Francis Bellamy first wrote the Pledge in 1892. Ask them why they think he wrote it.
• Tell your students that they are going to write the pledge in their own words. Give each student a copy of the Pledge Anew handout and advise them to use words they would normally use themselves.
• Students who finish early can create a picture that accompanies their interpretation of the Pledge.
• Ask students to share their work with the rest of the class.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• Why do you think the Pledge was first written?
• What do the real words mean?
• What is your favorite phrase? Why?
• What does it mean to show allegiance to America?
• Can our actions show allegiance as well as our words? How?
• What are you promising when you recite the Pledge?
• Did somebody else's "translation" seem very different from your own? Is any one person's interpretation wrong?

DOWNLOAD THIS ACTIVITY WITH HANDOUT