The United States of America and Canada

The English Speaking World - materiały dodatkowe

Poziom A1

Szkoła Podstawowa

Flags - drawing and describing

The United States of America and Canada

Teaching point - describing a flag (colours and shapes)

Materials - the map of the United States of America and Canada,

Classroom activity

Step 1

Before displaying the map of the United States of America and Canada ask students to draw a Polish flag. Practise describing the flag introducing such vocabulary items and expressions as:

The flag is rectangular in shape.

white and red

stripes/bands

a combination of two colours

they represent/symbolize/stand for

independence/freedom

fight for freedom

blood/sacrifice

Description of the Polish flag:

Example:Poland’s flag is rectangular in shape. It has two horizontal stripes that are white and red. The white stripe is on the top. These two colours are symbols of freedom and fight for independence.

Step 2

Now show the students the flags of the US and Canada. Introduce the following vocabulary items and expressions they may need to describe the flags by asking your students to match the words in the table to their definitions:

a) rectangle / b) star / c) stripe / d) maple / e) band / f) vertical

Definitions:

a shape with five or more points that represents a point of light in the sky
a band of colour among one or more colours
a flat shape with four straight sides forming four right angles
a tree with many pointed leaves which grows in the northern half of the world e.g. Canada
a line of a colour or pattern different to that of the area or material on either side of it
forming an angle of 90 degrees with the level ground

Answers: 1b, 2c, 3a, 4d, 5e, 6f

Now ask your students to describe the American flag.

Step 3

Finally ask students to fill in the gaps in this text with words and phrases from the list below:

red / stars / rectangular / colonies / stripes / thirteen

The Stars and Stripes

The United States flag is nicknamed the Stars and (1) ………There are (2) ……. stripes. They stand for the 13 states that first formed the United States long ago. They represent the 13 original (3) ….. that became the first states of the US. There are also 50

(4) ….., one for each state there is now. The flag is (5) ….. in shape and it is the combination of three colours: white, blue and (6)…..

The Canadian flag

Fill in the gaps in this text with words and phrases from the list below:

symbol / rectangular / vertical / stripe / leaf / points

Theflag of Canadais 1)…..in shape and it has two colours: red and white.These are the official colours of Canada. The flag is a 2)…… triband because it has three vertical coloured stripes. The wide white 3)…..in the middle contains a red maple 4)….The leaf has eleven

5) ….. The maple leaf is a 6) ….of Canada. This flag was officially adopted on February 15, 1965.

Answers

The Stars and Stripes

The United States flag is nicknamed the Stars and Stripes. There are thirteen stripes. They stand for the 13 states that first formed the United States long ago. They represent the 13 original colonies that became the first states of the US. There are also 50

stars, one for each state there is now. The flag is rectangular in shape and it is the combination of three colours: white, blue and red.

Canada’s Flag

Theflag of Canadais rectangular in shape and it has two colours: red and white.These are the official colours of Canada. The flag is a verticaltriband because it has three vertical coloured stripes. The wide white stripein the middle contains a red maple leaf. The leaf has eleven points. The maple leaf is a symbol of Canada. This flag was officially adopted on February 15, 1965.

Step 4

Design a flag that represents your school or yourself. For some ideas for your flag, you can use symbols that represent your town, your school, favorite activities, hobbies, sports, books, your family and friends.Write about your flag. Explain why you used the shapes, colors, and images that you did.

The English Speaking World - materiały dodatkowe

Poziom A1

Szkoła Podstawowa

Flags - drawing and describing

The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland

Teaching point - describing a flag (colours and shapes)

Materials - the map of the United Kingdom and Ireland

Classroom activity

Step 1

Before displaying the map of the United Kingdom and Ireland ask students to draw three crosses that are on the flag:

the red cross of St George on white background representing England
the white diagonal cross of St Andrew on blue background representing Scotland
the red diagonal cross of St Patrick on white background representing Ireland

Step 2

Show the Union Flag and ask your students to draw it.

Step 3

Finally ask your students to describe the flag by completing the following sentences:

The national flag of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland is rectangular in shape and it has three colours: …

It is made up of three …

The crosses represent …

Each country has its own patron.

St George is the patron of …

St Andrew is the patron of …

St Patrick is the patron of …

The Flag is sometimes called the Union Jack but its correct name is …

Answer:

The national flag of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland is rectangular in shape and it has three colours: white, blue and red. It is made up of three crosses. The crosses represent England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each country has its own patron. St George is the patron of England. St Andrew is the patron of Scotland. St Patrick is the patron of Northern Ireland. The Flag is sometimes called the Union Jack but its correct name is the Union Flag.

The English Speaking World - materiały dodatkowe

Poziom A1

Szkoła Podstawowa

Australia’s Flag - comparing, drawing and describing

Australia and New Zealand

Teaching point - describing a flag (colours and shapes)

Materials -the map of Australia and New Zealand

Classroom activity

Step 1 How observant are you?

Display the map of Australia and New Zealand andask your students to compare the flags of Australia and New Zealand.

Step 2

There are six factual mistakes in the text about the Australia’s flag below. Ask students to look at the flag and correct them..

Australia’s Flag

Australia’s flag is also called the Commonwealth Blue Ensign. It has five main design elements on a deep red background:

The British Union flag is in the upperright corner - noting Australia's ties to Great Britain
TheSouthern Crossconstellation (3 stars) is on the right side of the flag - the Southern Cross is a major navigational constellation in the NorthernHemisphere
The large, white, five-pointed Commonwealth Star (also called the Star of Federation) - it is symbolic of the original states of Australia.

Step 3

There are five factual mistakes in the text about the New Zealand’s flag. Ask your students to look at the flag and correct them

New Zealand’s Flag

The New Zealand Flag is New Zealand’s national symbol. Its royal white background represents theyellow sea and the sky surrounding the country. The six red stars with pink borders of the Southern Cross signify New Zealand’s place in the South Pacific Ocean. There is the Union Flag in the lower-left corner. It recognizesNew Zealand’s ties with the UK.

Answers: texts about the flags

Australia’s Flag

Australia’s flag is also called the Commonwealth Blue Ensign. It has three main design elements on a deep blue background:

The British Union Jack flag is in the upper left corner - noting Australia's ties to Great Britain
TheSouthern Crossconstellation (5 stars) is on the right side of the flag - the Southern Cross is a major navigational constellation in the Southern Hemisphere
The large, white, seven-pointed Commonwealth Star (also called the Star of Federation) - it is symbolic of the original states of Australia.

New Zealand’s Flag

The New Zealand Flag is New Zealand’s national symbol. Its royal blue background represents theblue sea and the sky surrounding the country. The four red stars with white borders of the Southern Cross signify New Zealand’s place in the South Pacific Ocean. There is the Union Flag in the upper-left corner. It recognizesNew Zealand’s ties with the UK.