Primary Level Lesson: Betsy Ross and the American Flag
By Lindsay McPherson
Context: Grade K or 1 (VA SOL, National Standards – Art); whole group; 1 hour (or spread over
several days)
Objectives:
1. By participating in a discussion about the Charles Weisgerber’s 1893 painting The Birth
of Our Nation’s Flag, students will identify the importance of the flag as a national
symbol and Betsy Ross as a historical figure.
2. Using KidPix, students will demonstrate their understanding of a symbol by creating
their own flag.
3. By presenting and explaining their flags, students will demonstrate their ability to
discuss the ideas and emotions that are communicated through art.
Materials/Time/Space: Charles Weisgerber’s 1893 painting The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag poster
or on powerpoint, KidPix program, computers or COWs, 1 hour, whole class, demo flag created on
KidPix, Betsy Ross by Alexandra Wallner, model car
Lesson Description:
Introduction: Read the book Betsy Ross by Alexandra Wallner. Discuss why Ross is important.
Afterwards ask the students to identify the American flag in the classroom. Ask them what that flag
means to them. Then explain what a symbol is, and that the flag is a symbol of America. To
illustrate the meaning of a symbol, ask student to imagine a car. Then show them a model of a car.
Explain that a model is smaller version of something larger. Then draw a picture of a car on the
whiteboard. Explain that a symbol is something that represents a real life object. Be sure that
students understand what a symbol is. As a symbol, the American flag is very important to us. Tell
the students that as an important symbol, the flag has given people ideas, or inspiration, of what to
paint or draw. Ask the students if there is anything in their life that gives them ideas, or inspires
them, to paint, draw, or dance. Introduce the painting The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag, telling them
that Betsy Ross and her flag inspired Charles Weisgerber to paint the this work of art. Explain that
they are going to look at the painting. Encourage them to look at the painting closely and imagine
that they were there. This will help them to talk and think about what the painting is showing.
Content Focus:
Key Questions: Objective: What do you think the people are doing? Who is in the painting?
What things do you see in the painting? What colors do you see in the painting? What does the
flag in the painting look like? How did the woman make the flag? Reflective: What do you notice
most about this painting? Why is the woman giving the man the flag? What part of the painting
have you seen before? What does this painting make you think of? How did the woman in the
painting make the flag? What is the man in the painting doing? Interpretive: What is the artist
trying to say by painting this? What does that flag mean to you and to the people in the painting?
What do the colors in the painting mean? What are the people in the painting feeling? Decisional:
How can you relate to the painting? Why is this flag important in the painting? How do you think
the flag makes the people in the painting feel? What would you say if you were the man sitting in
the painting? What would you say if you the woman sitting in the painting?
Explain to the students that the flag in the painting was the first American flag. Since then, the flag
has changed because our country changed by growing, and the symbol changed to show that growth
and change because it was something we were very proud of. Ask them to think of what colors,
shapes and patterns they would use to symbolize themselves. Explain that with their construction
paper, crayons, glue and creative minds, they are going to create a flag to symbolize them, just like
Betsy Ross did to symbolize our country. Provide the students with an example that you made of
yourself, and explain why you made it that way. After setting up the materials, ask the students to
do the same thing.
Closing: After the flags are completed, allow the children to explain how their flag symbolizes
themselves. Ask some of them to talk about their flags and what they symbolize. Then ask the
students what they learned about making flags and why they are important. Tell them that Charles
Wiesgerber’s painting inspired a lot of people and helped them to remember when our country came
together to win a war against the British. It was a scary time, living during war, and many people
saw the American flag as a symbol of hope. It helped them get through the hard times. When
Wiesgerber painted this painting, he wanted people to remember that time. Ask students what they
think when they look at the American flag. Do they think that Betsy Ross was happy to sew a flag?
Isn’t she an artist also, because she made something we still treasure today? Help the students make
one final connection between art, symbols and history.
Assessment: Formative: Assess students’ knowledge of Betsy Ross and the first American flag
during their discussion after the reading of Betsy Ross and during the discussion on The Birth of Our
Nation’s Flag. Assess students’ understandings of shapes, patterns, primary colors and line
characteristics through the students’ use of them while making their flag. Summative: Multiple
choice quiz on Betsy Ross, the American flag, and The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag.
Background Information:
Betsy Ross, was born in New Jersey, but grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She grew up in a
Quaker family and was the eighth of 17 children. While many people refer to her as a seamstress,
her education and study was in upholstery. At the age of 19, Betsy ran away with John Ross, and
they married in New Jersey. Betsy and her husband opened their own upholstery shop in
Philadelphia and worked together until an unfortunate event cut John’s life short during the
Revolutionary War. Betsy worked in the shop and making extra money by sewing uniforms, tents,
blankets and other things needed for the war. It was during this time, according to oral tradition,
that George Washington, Robert Morris and John Ross approached Betsy in her shop and asked her
to sew a flag that he had sketched. On June 14, 1777, Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes, the
flag that Betsy sewed first, as the national flag. Afterwards, Betsy continued to make flags. While
there is lack of actual proof that Betsy Ross actually sewed the first flag, there are several
supporting reasons for it being so. One is that John Ross was her deceased husband’s uncle and a
member of the flag committee, so he may have chosen Betsy. Another is that Betsy was paid a
large sum of money on May 29, 1777 by the Pennsylvania State Navy Board for making flags.
Charles Weisgerber’s painting Birth of Our Nation’s Flag, was presented at the Columbian
Exposition in Chicago in 1893. It generated new interest in the Betsy Ross story, one that not many
people knew of at the time. Many historians attribute Weisgerber’s painting as the reason that so
many people attribute the first flag to Betsy Ross. According to family lore, the inspiration for the
flag was a one-thousand dollar prize for a rendition of a Philadelphia event. He was then inspired to
enter a painting of Betsy Ross when he passed the Ross house and sign that said “Home of Betsy
Ross: seamstress, upholsterer, and maker of the first American flag.” After the contest and the
Columbian Exposition, Weisgerber and a group decided to buy the Ross house in 1898. The plan
was to turn the dilapidated house into a museum dedicated to Betsy Ross and her accomplishments.
It is unknown if Weisgerber painted any other paintings. Key terms: American flag, Betsy Ross,
Revolutionary War, thirteen colonies, symbol. A symbol is defined as something that is a sign,
picture or other representational object of something that is real.
Assessment
1.
Circle the flag that was our nation’s first flag, made by Betsy Ross.
2.
What kind of symbol was in the painting, The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag, by Charles
Weisgerber?
a. The Presidents
b. The thirteen original colonies
c. George Washington
3.
What shapes were used in the Nation’s first flag?
a. Stars
b. Triangles
c. Ovals
Resources
The Betsy Ross House. (2008). The Flag. Retrieved September 26, 2008, from
http://betsyrosshouse.org/hist_flag/.
The Betsy Ross House. (2008). The House. Retrieved September 26, 2008, from
http://betsyrosshouse.org/hist_house/.
The Betsy Ross House. (2008). The Woman. Retrieved September 26, 2008, from
http://betsyrosshouse.org/hist_woman/.
Weisgerber, C. (1893). The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag [Painting]. State Museum of Pennsylvania,
Harrison, Pennsylvania. Retrieved September 24, 2008, from
http://www.explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=693.
Standards: History and Social Science Standards of Learning in Virginia: K.1 - The student
will recognize that history describes events and people of other times and places by identifying
examples of past events in legends, stories, and historical accounts of Betsy Ross; K.9 - The student
will recognize the American flag; 1.11 The student will recognize the symbols and traditional
practices that honor and foster patriotism in the United States by identifying the American flag.
Visual Art Standards of Learning in Virginia: K.2 - The student will express ideas and feelings
through the creation of works of art. K.3 - The student will identify and use colors—red, blue,
yellow, green, orange, violet, brown, black, and white; textures—sight and touch; line and line
characteristics—straight/curved, thick/thin, long/short, vertical/horizontal, and diagonal; shape—
circle, square, triangle, rectangle, and oval; and patterns—natural and man-made. K.4 - The student
will create a work of art that commemorates a personal or historical event. K.11 - The student will
identify people who make art as “artists” (e.g., painters, sculptors, printmakers, architects, graphic
designers). K.12 - The student will identify the purposes for creating works of art. 1.3 - The
student will identify and use primary colors—red, blue, and yellow; line and line variations—
zigzag, dotted, wavy, and spiral; texture—visual and tactile; shape—geometric and organic; and
patterns—alternating and repeating. 1.4 - The student will create works of art inspired by stories,
poems, and themes. 1.6 - The student will use personal experiences and simulated situations as
subject matter in works of art. 1.12 - The student will recognize and describe how art is an integral
part of one’s own culture. 1.13 - The student will identify and describe works of art that
communicate feelings, ideas, and information. 1.14 - The student will identify American cultural
symbols and events depicted in art.
National Standards for Art Education (Visual Arts): (K-4) Content Standard: #3 - Choosing
and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas. Students: a. explore and understand
prospective content for works of art; b. select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to
communicate meaning. #4 - Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.
Students: a. know that the visual arts have both a history and specific relationships to various
cultures; b. identify specific works of art as belonging to particular cultures, times, and places; c.
demonstrate how history, culture, and the visual arts can influence each other in making and
studying works of art. #5 - Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their
work and the work of others. Students: a. understand there are various purposes for creating works
of visual art; b. describe how people's experiences influence the development of specific artworks;
c. understand there are different responses to specific artworks
Reflection
This lesson, which focuses on the history of the American Flag and Betsy Ross, includes an
activity in which the students make their own flags. This activity serves several purposes: to foster
creativity, teach students how to use images and lines as symbols, identify American cultural
symbols and events depicted in art, and to create a historical connection between the students and
Betsy Ross. Instead of having the students create flags out of construction paper, which can be time
consuming and creatively limiting, students will use the computer program, Kid Pix, to make their
own flags on the computer. By doing so, students can expand their use of objects, lines, patterns,
and colors to symbolize more things than they might be able to with just construction paper and
glue. Kid Pix is an especially useful program for illustrating how computers can be used in the
creative process. Teachers can also illuminate the differences between the way we create art today
and how Betsy Ross created art 200 years ago. There is also the added advantage of using
technology because it always creates a great deal of interest with the students.
Technology in this lesson is supporting the pedagogy of teachers working with students and
creating a lesson that is real world relevant. At my practicum school, Mount Vernon Elementary,
we have what are called COWs (Computers on Wheels) and by reserving one of those for the
lessons, teachers can provide each student with their own laptop. Providing K-1 students with their
own computer is putting a lot of responsibility on a young child. However, by doing this, teachers
are challenging students by giving them responsibility and freedom to use technology in a creative
way. If having individual laptops is not possible, having students work in groups is another way to
have them work on computers. I would pair a computer proficient student up with a beginner so
that there could be some classmate teaching. When using KidPix, students will still have the ability
to express their creativity in their flags, just as they would have with construction paper.
If this plan did not work, it would be just as easy to pull out the construction paper and glue,
which is what I had planned on doing previously. The only thing I might have to change about the
lesson is the amount of time that I allow students to work on their flags. Because an advantage of
KidPix is reducing time, I would need to allow more time for construction paper. I could also give
the students some inspiration by drawing symbols and shapes on the board, or modeling the process
of making a flag. To help those students with physical disabilities who will encounter problems
with cutting and drawing, I would try to work with them, or have one of my higher level students
work with them. Either way, this lesson is successful enough to stand alone without technology, but
there are certainly added advantages of using KidPix.
Using KidPix has a great relative advantage, especially in a young K-1 classroom. While
these students are still very excited about learning and coming to school, they are beginning to take
on responsibilities of a student. Yet, teachers can still engage students and teach them responsibility
by giving them the chance to work with technology. KidPix is a user friendly program that allows
students to create wonderful pictures that they may not be able to create in such depth with physical
materials. It also gives students who might have physical disabilities the chance to create a personal
masterpiece. In this lesson, Kid Pix allows students to make flags using lines, shapes, and symbols.
It extends student’s creative ability beyond that of construction paper and glue. Because the stamps
in KidPix can inspire students, they can spend less time cutting out symbols and choosing colors
and just quickly choose stamps, colors and tools to get down to creating their flag. Not only does
KidPix and technology move this lesson along, students can be proud of something that they
produced on the computer.
Examples of Models and Products from KidPix