I Pledge Allegiance {Flag Craft}

Make this fun, easy, torn paper flag craft inspired by the book I Pledge Allegiance. Great for July 4th / Independence Day or Flag Day in the United States!

One of the things we focused on during our first week of school was the United States flag. In fact, we were inspired to make our very own flags..from torn construction paper! The project went perfectly with my 2nd grader’s Adventures in My Father’s World homeschool curriculum where the focus is learning about US history and various patriotic symbols.

Torn Paper Flag Craft Supplies:

We made the flags using ONLY two supplies: construction paper (red, white, and blue) and glue. Nope, no scissors needed! The kids had to tear the paper to make their flags. I’ll explain later!

Torn Paper Flag Craft Instructions:

Want to make your own torn paper flag? Well, it’s easy! Simply tear the following:

• one blue square
• six long strips of white paper
• a bunch of small bits of white paper (ideally 50)

First, adhere the white strips to the red paper to form the stripes.

Next, adhere the blue square to the upper left corner of the red paper. Add on the white bits (the stars) onto the blue square!

Helpful Hint: While we used a glue stick to adhere the white strips, we found it beneficial to use liquid glue for the stars. Simply make 50 dots of liquid glue and then adhere the stars.

Finally, talk about the importance of the flag and what the stars and stripes stand for. The book, I Pledge Allegiance, makes this part super easy! Just read the book with the children! It is a wonderful resource!

Why Torn Paper?

Are you wondering why in the world we made flags from torn paper rather than just using scissors to cut nice, neat, straight lines?

Well, the inspiration for the craft, actually came from this book by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson. The illustration of the flag by Chris Raschka on the very first page looks as if it is made from torn paper. (You can see this first page of the book in the photos above showing my kids working at the table.) This is where the idea to ban the kids from using the scissors for our craft came from! The artwork looked so cool, that I wanted to mimic it in our craft! Plus, tearing the paper was an excellent way for my younger kids to work on their fine motor skills!

Aside from the fun torn paper flag artwork, I Pledge Allegiance is really a great informational / educational book! It explains what all of the big words in the Pledge of Allegiance actually mean – in a way that a child can understand!

I love it when crafts can be both fun and educational! And, this one definitely fit the bill! I absolutely love how our flags turned out and I love that the kids were able to learn more about the US flag and our Pledge of Allegiance!

This is a great July 4th / Independence Day or U.S. Flag Day craft! It fun, easy, and low-cost with minimal supplies required! Plus, it’s a memorable, hands-on way to learn about the United States flag! If you like this US flag-themed craft, be sure to check out our US flag cake!

This post was originally published on September 10, 2010.