Have you ever heard of Celebrate Freedom Week? It’s okay, I hadn’t either until teaching first grade in Texas! September 17 is Constitution Day, but the entire week that contains September 17 is called Celebrate Freedom week! Actually, five states celebrate this week, but actually not all at the same time which is interesting!
I know the constitution is a big concept for our little ones to grasp, but I think it’s so important to introduce them to it and talk about how lucky we are to have our freedoms. Constitution Day is included in the state standards in Texas too. The standard states that students should identify Constitution Day as a celebration of American freedom.
I’m not sure how deep you got into your search for resources to teach this, but let me tell you. There isn’t a lot out there on this topic for this age level. So that’s why I put together this post! Read on for some Celebrate Freedom Week teaching ideas!
Our Favorite Freedoms Anchor Chart
Freedom can be a very abstract topic for students to think about; especially because in a lot of ways kids don’t always feel like they have freedom because well, they are kids! I think it helps to talk about how our families are different and they are free to make different choices and really bring the topics of discussion on to their level. A good way to start this discussion is with sports teams. Encourage students to tell you their favorite sports teams. Students will quickly notice that there are many different favorite sports teams. Next, ask questions like these to encourage discussion:
- Is it okay for differnet fmailies to cheer for different sport’s teams?
- Who decided what sports team your family likes and cheers for?
- What if your family was told they could only like the Texas Rangers?
This will help students begin to understand that in our country we have different freedoms and can freely make many choices that others can not.
Together make this anchor chart called, Our Favorite Freedoms Anchor Chart. The pieces are included inside of this Celebrate Freedom Week product. Create a list as a class with some of your favorite freedoms. Here are a few ideas of things that have been included on my class list:
- Voting
- Freedom to choose your favorite team
- Freedom to choose a place of worship
- Freedom to choose schools for your kids
- Freedom to choose how to spend your money
- Freedom to choose a job
- Freedom to learn
Favorite Freedom Writing
After brainstorming ideas about freedom together, students will be ready to write or draw their own favorite freedoms. Inside of my Celebrate Freedom Week product differentiated writing prompts are included for students drawing and students who are ready to write.
Celebrate Freedom Week Craft
After your students understand freedom, they will be ready to complete this Celebrate Freedom craft and writing activity. This product, Celebrate Freedom Week Craft and Writing contains everything you need to make the crafts shown below!
Students will create a patriotic kid craft and pair it with writing that best fits their needs. Students can write or draw their favorite freedom to go with the craft! This is a great activity for Constitution Day and to tie in social studies with writing! It always make a great hallway display too!
I hope this post gave you some ideas for teaching about Celebrate Freedom Week!