Chicago Flag-Part Two
Activities
Chicago Landmarks | Game Playing, Drawing, Researching
The white stripes on the Chicago flag stand for the places we live: the North, South, and West Sides of the city. Chicago is world-famous for its skyscrapers, beautiful parks, public art, and sports venues, but the city’s neighborhoods are also home to some distinctive architecture and special places that keep community bonds strong. Today’s activity explores wonderful landmarks found throughout the city.
What are your favorite Chicago landmarks? Discover more about some famous and not-so-famous places throughout the city as you play a fun guessing game about landmarks. Share your riddles on social media using the hashtag #CHMatHomeFamilies.
My Neighborhood Story | Discussion, Drawing, Writing
Chicago is known as a city of neighborhoods. It has 77 official community areas and each one is home to multiple neighborhoods. Across the city, these neighborhoods have unique qualities that make them special places to live and work. Today’s activity continues our exploration of the white stripes on Chicago’s flag, which stand for the North, South, and West Sides of the city, with a focus on where you live!
What makes your neighborhood or town memorable? Using activity cards provided in our worksheet, kids can personalize them with the places and things that make their own neighborhood or town special. They can use the cards to create a visual storyboard or tell a story about where they live. Share your stories on social media using the hashtag #CHMatHomeFamilies.
Chicago Poetry | Reading, Writing, Drawing
Chicago has played a starring role in many movies, plays, books, poems, and songs. Inspiring writers for many years, our city is the backbone of their creativity. Their works help us understand different places and times in the city’s history.Continuing our exploration of the white stripes on the Chicago flag, which represent the North, South and West Sides of the city, kids will get to write a poem about the city or their own neighborhood or town. Share your poem on social media using the hashtag #CHMatHomeFamilies.
Fifth Star Challenge | Researching, Discussing, Drawing, Writing
My Flag | Discussing, Crafting, Drawing
Flags tell stories! The Chicago flag is full of symbolic meaning: the stars represent important events in the city’s history, the blues stripes stand for waterways, and the white stripes for where people live. Flags aren’t just for cities or countries. Some schools, such as universities and their sports teams, also have flags. In the past, families had flags with symbols on them to stand for things that were special to that family.
In this activity, kids get to decide what they think a fifth star on the Chicago flag would represent. Ask them to write or draw an explanation for their choice. Share about your fifth star on social media using the hashtag #CHMatHomeFamilies.