Lesson pack · 15 minutes · Ages 8 to 14

Flags of the Americas

By the end, students can: recognise the flags of 15 countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

The plan

0 to 2 min
Starter
Ask: which flag in the Americas do you already know? Most will say the USA. Ask what else has stars and stripes.
2 to 10 min
Live game
Host the Americas round-up as a live game (15 flags, normal). Point to each country on a map as its flag comes up.
10 to 13 min
Look-alikes
Put each pair below on the board and ask the class what's different before you reveal it.
13 to 15 min
Plenary
Quick-fire: show a flag, students point to where the country is on the map.

Colombia

Ecuador

Both are yellow, blue and red with a wide yellow stripe. Ecuador has a coat of arms in the middle.

Honduras

Nicaragua

Honduras has five blue stars in the middle. Nicaragua has a coat of arms with a triangle.

Set Find it on the map as homework, so students place each country as well as naming it.

England, Key Stage 2 geography: locating the world's countries on maps, with a focus on Europe and the Americas
England, Key Stage 3 geography: extending locational knowledge of the world's countries, including Africa and Asia
US National Geography Standards: using maps and other geographic representations to understand places