The Betsy Ross Story: Truth or Legend?
Subjects
- Arts & Humanities
Language Arts, Fine Arts
- Social Studies
U.S. History
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Grades
3-5, 6-8, 9-12, Advanced
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Brief Description
Students investigate the facts behind the story of Betsy Ross.
Objectives
Students
- discover that some historians question the story of Betsy Ross's involvement in the creation of the first U.S. flag.
- learn why historians question the story.
- list reasons the story of Betsy Ross might not be true.
- note the counterpoints offered by those who say Betsy Ross did play a key role in the creation of the U.S. flag.
- use The Betsy Ross Story: Truth or Legend? work sheet to document some of those points and counterpoints.
- synthesize and evaluate what they learn by responding to the question "Is the story of Betsy Ross's grandson William Canby true?"
Keywords
Betsy Ross, flag, George Washington, America, symbol, synthesize, evaluate, debate, point of view, point, legend, fact, discuss, graphic organizer, drama, theater
Materials Needed
Lesson Plan Was Betsy Ross approached by George Washington to create a
flag for the United States? The real story might never be known. Many
accounts of the history of the Americans flag include Betsy Ross as
a central figure. Some historians question those accounts. They point
out that the accounts are based on The
History of the Flag of the United States, a paper delivered to
the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1870 -- nearly 100 years
after the flag was introduced -- by William J. Canby, the grandson
of Betsy Ross.
Should Canby's account be believed? Many historians say that no such account should be accepted without documentation. In the case of Canby's Betsy Ross story, documentation is limited. Nevertheless, Canby's story, told many years after the flag was first flown and after Betsy Ross died, has become the basis for many accounts of how the flag came to be.
After sharing the above information with your students, introduce
one
person's account of the story of Betsy Ross. This www.usflag.org
Web site states that the Betsy Ross story is, at best, a legend
that cannot be verified.
Invite students to contribute to a class list of points that contradict
Canby's version of the Betsy Ross story. For each point on that
list, introduce an appropriate counterpoint from Betsy
Ross and the Flag: Point-Counterpoint at The
Betsy Ross Homepage. That site offers a rebuttal to most of
the points at the first site. The fact remains, however, that although
there is little to rebut Canby's version of the story, there is
also little to support it. (Older students might be given a copy
of the Point-Counterpoint information to read on their own.)
Many of the disputes surrounding the history of the American flag were probably
covered in the above discussion, but it might still be appropriate
to follow up that discussion by having students complete the The
Betsy Ross Story: Truth or Legend? work sheet. It details five
of the points historians raise about the Betsy Ross story and provides
space for students to write counterpoints based on classroom discussion
or on information from Betsy
Ross and the Flag: Point-Counterpoint. The final question on
the work sheet -- Is William Canby's version of the Betsy Ross story
true? -- offers students an opportunity to use higher-level thinking
skills to synthesize and evaluate the information they have collected.
Extension Activities
- Read aloud or invite students to read various accounts of the Betsy Ross story as they appear in published children's books, school history books, or on the Internet. Ask: Knowing what you know now about the Betsy Ross story, do those accounts tell the full story? Do some of those accounts reflect a single point of view? Encourage students to play the roles of critical readers and reflectors as they search for one-sided retellings of the story.
- Organize students into two groups and stage a debate. Have one group support William Canby's story and the other refute it.
- Challenge students to write a script that demonstrates the points and counterpoints that surround the Betsy Ross story.
- Encourage a group of students to draft a script that brings
to life William Canby's version of the Betsy Ross story, as told
in The
History of the Flag of the United States. Present the dramatization
in class.
Assessment
The final question on the work sheet can serve as the assessment question. Evaluate students on whether they can cite facts to defend their positions.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
FINE ARTS: Theatre
- GRADES K - 4
NA-T.K-4.1 Script Writing by Planning and Recording Improvisations Based on Personal Experience and Heritage, Imagination, Literature, and History
NA-T.K-4.2 Acting By Assuming Roles and Interacting In Improvisations
NA-T.K-4.5 Researching By Finding Information to Support Classroom Dramatizations
- GRADES 5 - 8
NA-T.5-8.1 Script Writing by Planning and Recording Improvisations Based on Personal Experience and Heritage, Imagination, Literature, and History
NA-T.5-8.2 Acting By Assuming Roles and Interacting In Improvisations
NA-T.5-8.5 Researching By Finding Information to Support Classroom Dramatizations
Recognizing the Role of Theatre, Film, Television, and Electronic Media in Daily Life
- GRADES 9 - 12
NA-T.9-12.1 Script Writing by Planning and Recording Improvisations Based on Personal Experience and Heritage, Imagination, Literature, and History
NA-T.9-12.2 Acting By Assuming Roles and Interacting In Improvisations
NA-T.9-12.5 Researching By Finding Information to Support Classroom Dramatizations
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History
- GRADES K - 4
NSS-USH.K-4.3 The History of the United States: Democratic Principles and Values and the People from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic, and Political Heritage
- GRADES 5 - 12
NSS-USH.5-12.3 Era 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
Return to the Flag Day lesson plan page.
See additional Flag Day lessons in the Education World articles A Salute to Flag Day and Celebrate the Stars and Stripes.
5/24/2002
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