Kindergarten teachers will connect American symbols to historical events in order to understand significance as they teach the symbols to students.  Working with Dr. Ted Green of Webster University, teachers will study the background of the national anthem and the American flag.

Teachers will travel to Fort McHenry in Baltimore to investigate the story of the great garrison flag.  Teachers will also visit the Flag House and the Star Spangled Banner Museum.  A one-day institute at the Smithsonian Institution will promote teaching with artifacts.  Teachers will be introduced to the Star Spangled Banner Preservation Project.

Throughout the school year, teachers will participate in book studies of Flag: An American Biography with author Marc Leepson and To the Flag:  The Unlikely History of the Pledge of Allegiance with author Richard Ellis.  Teachers will incorporate the concept into their classrooms and then return to the Smithsonian Institution for a three-day seminar.

Saturday seminars will promote the use of literacy strategies and historical thinking.  Teachers will share their expertise in a culminating social studies mini-conference.