Let your colors fly! Flags for Freedom from discrimination Day

Kids working on flags

For the International Day Conference in Coralville, Iowa, our team of teachers designed an activity with flag decorating using personal symbols.  These were flags that the kids could display in their rooms, on their bikes or other fun places to show off aspects of their personal identities, interests and hobbies. They used sharpies, scissors and rubbing alcohol in droppers to give a tie-dye effect, if they chose.

After creating their flags, we played anti-discrimination bingo with prize buttons of Kehinde Wiley, Mickelene Thomas, Harriet Tubman, Neil Degrasse-Tyson, Eleanor Roosevelt and MLK King, Jr. We had the kids write a unique ability or quality about themselves on a numbered piece of paper corresponding to a bingo number based on how many kids were there, around 25.  We read each one after we pulled them from a box.

After bingo, some of the kids shared their flags and revealed things about themselves that were very brave.  I was really impressed by that because most of us were strangers to them including other kids.

My example of the identity flag

Project materials: sharpies and scissors