Study guide: U.S. Symbols and Stories
Recognize national symbols without assuming everyone has the same experiences.
Ideas to explain in your own words
- A symbol stands for an idea or group. The United States flag has thirteen stripes for the original colonies and fifty stars for states. The bald eagle is a national emblem. The Liberty Bell is linked with Philadelphia. The Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor.
- Places can be part of larger places. In our example, a town is within a state, and the state is within the United States. A continent is a very large land region. A town, state, country and continent are different kinds of places, not four names for one government.
- Historical people lived in the past, but a story about them must fit evidence. George Washington became the first U.S. president. Abraham Lincoln was president during the Civil War. Harriet Tubman helped enslaved people reach freedom. Rosa Parks challenged racial segregation. None of these descriptions tells a whole life.
- History studies people and events over time. A historic event happened in the past. A present community includes people living now. A commemoration remembers something, while a fictional story is invented. Native peoples belong to present communities as well as history; they did not disappear.
Useful vocabulary
- United States flag
- a national symbol with stars and stripes
- Bald eagle
- a bird used as a national emblem
- Town
- a local settlement
- State
- one of the United States’ member political areas
- George Washington
- the first president of the United States
- Abraham Lincoln
- U.S. president during the Civil War
- Historical event
- a real occurrence in the past
- Present community
- people living and participating now
Watch your reasoning
- Mixing up United States flag and Bald eagle. Re-read what each note says before choosing.
- Adding a detail that is not on the card. Point to the words that help explain your answer.
A worked review example
Worked example: The card says: “A picture shows fifty stars and thirteen stripes.” That matches United States flag. United States flag is a national symbol with stars and stripes. Compare the note for Liberty Bell: Liberty Bell is a historic bell associated with Philadelphia. That is a different clue.
Make a practice plan
- Read or listen to the notes in the four lessons. An adult can read aloud.
- Try each lesson’s main question and three practice questions. Say, draw or write what helped you choose.
- Use the review cards, then try the changed card in any lesson you want to practice again.
- Complete the four-box task. Then try the separate subject-test cards.