Tasks:to talk about flags (when and where they are used/displayed)

to read and improve a text about Flag Day in the US

to describe the flags of Poland and EU

to recognize other emblems and symbols

Preparation:make copies of the worksheet (1 copy per student)

Skills:speaking, writing, reading

Language:national emblems

‘there is/are, was/were’

spelling

Sources:WIKIPEDIA (en.wikipedia.org) – the FREE encyclopaedia

Task 1 – lead-in
(speaking)

■Sketch the American flag on the board. Elicit the word flag. Distribute the worksheets. Ask your Ss where and when they can see the Polish flag. Then, collect their ideas on the board.

Key

Key / [suggested answers:]
  • the Parliament
  • President’s Palace in Warsaw
  • Town Halls and other public buildings
  • most public holidays (in the streets, on buses)
  • sports events (e.g. football fans often have national flags, especially during international events)
  • when important foreigners visit Poland
  • demonstrations (i.e. when people protest; they sometimes burn flags)

Tasks 2
(writing)

■Explain that June 14 is Flag Day in the US. Ask your Ss to predict how old the American flag is. Ask them to skim through the text to confirm their guesses. Check the answers.

■Ask your Ss to read the text again, adding capital letters when necessary. Check the answers with your group.

Key

Key / The first flag was adopted in 1777.
Americans celebrate FlagDay on June 14 because they adopted their first national flag on June 14 in 1777. In 1916, president WoodrowWilson officially established that day as FlagDay. Then, in 1949, also Congress established it as NationalFlagDay. Still, FlagDay is not an official federal holiday. OnJune 14, 1937, Pennsylvania became the first and only US state to celebrate FlagDay as a state holiday.
Task 3
(speaking)

■Ask your Ss to draw a simple picture of the Polish flag in the box of the left. Then, ask them to work in pairs and answer the questions on the worksheet.

Key

Key /
  • The Polish flag is red (bottom) and white (top).
  • The stripes are horizontal.
  • Surprisingly, we do celebrate it. In 2004, May 2nd was named Flag Day, but it is not a public holiday.
  • Monaco and Indonesia. Their flags also consist of two horizontal stripes, but the top stripe is red. The flags of Monaco and Indonesia are not identical, though. Their proportions (length to width) are different.

Task 4
(vocabulary, writing)

■Check whether your Ss know that the flag on the right is a flag of the European Union. Explain that Poland, as a member of EU, can use its flag together with the national one.

■Ask Ss to complete the description of the second flag. Check the answers.

■Ask Ss to read the short text below. You may want to pre-teach/explain a few words, particularly fixed, perfection and completeness. Then, ask them to write 6 sentences explaining the meaning of the number of stars of the European flag.

Key

Key / The European flag consists of a circle of twelve golden starson a blue background.
  1. There were 12 apostles.
  2. There were 12 Olympian gods.
  3. There were 12 tables of Roman law.
  4. There are 12 hours on a clock.
  5. There are 12 months in a year.
  6. There are 12 signs of the zodiac.

Task 5
(reading, vocabulary)

■Ask Ss to name some other symbols/emblems of countries. Provide any vocabulary they will need.

■Ask them to read the descriptions and name the symbols.

Key

Key /
  • European anthem
  • European motto

Designed by Bartosz Michałowski for Pearson Longman1