Teaching Strategies, Tactics, and Methods

Triangle is a 2D shape that has three straight sides and three vertices.

To help children visualize what these shapes look like, it’s useful to give them examples of objects in our everyday life. For instance, some traffic signs and tea bags form triangles (see the images below).

A key property of these shapes is that regardless of the type of the triangle, it has three interior angles that add up to 180°. Throughout maths lessons, pupils will learn more about these angles and how they can find missing values using this property.

What are the types of triangles?

Although all triangles have three sides and angles that add up to 180°, they can be classified into four main groups:

• equilateral triangles;
• isosceles triangles;
• scalene triangles;
• right-angled triangles.

To understand what differentiates them, let’s look at each of these types and their properties.

Equilateral Triangles

An equilateral triangle has three equal sides and three equal angles. Because all angles add up to 180°, each angle is 60°.

Isosceles Triangles

What children need to know about an isosceles triangle is that it has the following:

• Two sides, which are equal in length;
• Two interior angles, which are the same. These are called base angles.

Scalene Triangles

The properties of scalene triangles are easy to remember. These triangles have sides, which are all different in length, and interior angles, which are all different in size.

Even though all angles are different, they still add up to 180°.

Right-Angled Triangles

Finally, the fourth main type of triangle is the right-angled one. As the name suggests, these shapes have one angle, which is a right angle – it equals 90°. Pupils will also need to remember that:

• The other two angles add up to 90°;
• The longest side of this type of triangle is called the hypotenuse.

Another interesting fact about right-angled triangles is that they can be isosceles. This means that there can be a right-angled isosceles triangle.

If you’re wondering what rounding is, you’ve come to the right place! To round a number, we take one or more of its place values and adjust them to make the whole number easier to work with.

We talk about rounding numbers up or down depending on which number they are closest to. The whole point of rounding numbers, either up or down, is to simplify a number while keeping it as close as possible to its original value. This helps us to perform mental calculations quickly and within a reasonable degree of accuracy.

Knowing how to round numbers is a very useful skill; it usually becomes quite common daily. For example, how many minutes are left until the break, how much will lunch cost, and how many more books to mark? Etc.

Simple rounding rules

Some simple rounding rules for children to learn will help them do it quickly and correctly.

1. Understand what a ’rounding digit’is. When rounding to the nearest 10, the rounding digit is in the number within the tens column. When rounding to the nearest 100, the rounding digit is in the hundreds column. There’s a pattern here!
2. If the digit one step to the right from the rounding digit is 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, round down. E.g., 53 rounded to the nearest 10 becomes 50.
3. If the digit one step right from the rounding digit is 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, round up. E.g., 57 rounded to the nearest ten becomes 60.

These rounding rules will keep children in good stead for their maths lessons and when they need to use rounding in their everyday lives. It might seem a little confusing to start with, but eventually – with practice – they will get the hang of it.

What about 5?

One thing that often confuses some people is the role of 5. Even though it is in the middle, we always round 5 upwards. This is the golden rule of rounding. You can use this lovely rhyme below to help you remember. Why not print it out and pop it on the classroom wall for those needing a rounding reminder?

How to round numbers to the nearest 10

Rounding a 2-digit number

Let’s look at an example of round to the nearest 10.

Our number is 36.

In 36, we have ‘3’ in the tens column and ‘6’ in the units column. Because six is more than halfway between 0 and 10, we have to round up by adding 1 to our tens column when we round the number. That means we now have ‘4’ in our tens column, so 36 has been rounded to 40.

Another way of thinking about this is to ask: What is the closest ten to 36?

How to round to the nearest 100

Once you know how to round numbers to the nearest 10, rounding to the nearest 100, 1000, and beyond is simple. All you need to do is determine which place value you are rounding to and then work with the digit in that place value and the one directly to the right.

Let’s look at an example of how to round to the nearest 100.

Our number is 215.

In 215, we have ‘2’ in the hundreds column and ‘1’ in the tens column. We don’t need to worry about the units/one’s column this time because only the tens column will affect which way we round the number. Because one is closer to 0 than it is to 10, we will be rounding down. That means we keep ‘2’ in our hundreds column, so 215 has been rounded to 200.

Another way of thinking about this is to ask: Which is the closest ‘hundred’ to 215? A good way to visualize this is to use a number line.

How to round to the nearest 1000

The numbers may be getting larger, but the method remains the same.

Let’s take 1457.

In 1457, we had ‘5’ in the tens column and ‘7’ in the units column. We may have to change these numbers when rounding to the nearest 10. Because seven is more than halfway between 0 and 10, we will round up 1457 to 1460.

Rounding decimals

Once you have mastered rounding whole numbers, rounding to decimal places will be a breeze!

Rounding decimals work in just the same way as rounding whole numbers. Just think of each decimal place in its place value column.

Rounding to the nearest whole number

To round to the nearest whole number, we identify which two real numbers the decimal is between. For example, if we take 5.3, we know it is between 5 and 6. We then must decide whether to round up or down based on which number the decimal is closest to. Using the same theory, we know that 5.3 should be rounded down to 5 when rounding to the nearest whole number.

Rounding to decimal places

Rounding to decimal places means rounding to the nearest tenth, hundredth, or thousandth of a number. You can think of it the same way as rounding a whole number; remember to put your decimal point back in the same place!

If rounding to the nearest tenth, we call this rounding to one decimal place. One decimal place means there will be one number after the decimal point.

For example:

1.21 rounds down to 1.2

1.28 rounds up to 1.3

1.25 rounds up to 1.3

We can also round up or down to more than one decimal place. For example, let’s look at rounding to the nearest hundredth. When we round to the nearest hundredth, there will be two numbers after the decimal point.

For example:

3.521 rounds down to 3.52

5.48732 rounds up to 5.49

7.135 rounds up to 7.14

You must divide the numerator by the denominator when looking for how to turn a fraction into a decimal. There’s nothing more to it!

Let’s take a look at a couple of examples below:

1. As you can see, we’re looking to convert 1/2 to a decimal.
2. All we need to do is find the answer to 1 ÷ 2, which is 0.5.
3. There we have it! 0.5 is our final answer.

Let’s try another example that’s a little bit trickier this time. Again, we’ll go through it more slowly to ensure we reach the right answer.

1. This time, we’re converting 30/50 to a decimal.
2. To start with, we could do with simplifying this. The easiest way is to remove the zeroes from the end of the numerator and denominator, seeing as 3/5 is equivalent to 30/50.
3. Now that we have a simpler fraction, we can start by working out 1 ÷ 5, which gives us 0.2.
4. As we’re working out 3/5, we need to answer 0.2 × 3 = 0.6.
5. Our final answer is that 30/50 as a decimal is 0.6.

How to convert a decimal to a fraction

Now it’s time to look at how to convert a decimal to a fraction. When it comes to simpler fractions, what we need to do is place the number over its place value. So, for example, if we’re converting 0.6, then as the zero is one place to the left of the decimal place, it would be 6/10.

Of course, not every fraction is quite so easy to convert. So let’s take a look at what we’d do with more complex fractions:

1. We’re looking to convert 0.125 to a fraction. So let’s start by converting it to a fraction over one, so we have 0.125/1.
2. Let’s multiply the numerator and denominator by 1000, so our fraction is a whole number.
3. We now have 125/1000. In this case, we know that 125 divides into 1000 eight times, so that we can simplify it.
4. Our final answer is that 0.125 as a fraction is 1/8.

Let’s take a look at another example. Soon, your class will be masters in converting decimals to fractions:

This time, we’re going to convert 0.84 into a fraction.

1. We change it to 0.84/1 before multiplying by 100 to reach a whole number on the top.
2. Our fraction is now 84/100.
3. The highest common factor (the number that both of these numbers can divide into) is 4, so we divide both the numerator and denominator by 4.
4. Our final simplified fraction is 21/25.

A non-unit fraction is a fraction where the numerator (the number on the top half of the fraction) is greater than 1. For example, 3/4 is a non-unit fraction because three is the numerator. Children will come across non-unit fractions when finding fractions of an amount or a set of objects.

Examples of Non-Unit Fractions

Non-unit fractions are just like any other fraction. Most commonly, children will learn to work out the number of objects in a set according to a bit or how to work out the numerator of a fraction when given the number of things in a group.

Q: There are 25 sweets in a tube, and ⅗ of the sweets are purple. How many sweets are purple?
A: ⅗ of 25 = 15 sweets.

Here we are given a fraction of a set of objects and work out the number of things represented by the fraction.

Q: ?/5 of a tube of 30 sweets are blue. Twelve sweets are blue.
A: Here, we need to work out the numerator of a non-unit fraction. We divide the total number (30) by 5, giving us 6. Then we work out how many times six goes into 12. Twice. Therefore 12 is ⅖ of 30.

The butterfly method of adding fractions is a useful trick that children can use when they first learn how to add bits.

It can be unclear to be faced with two fractions and asked to add them together since they look so different from normal integers.

The butterfly method can be a good place for children to start when adding fractions. But, eventually, they can no longer need it as their maths skills develop.

Adding fractions: butterfly method

Before children can add fractions with the butterfly method, they must understand what the numerator is and what the denominator is.

The numerator is the top number of the fraction. It shows how many individual parts are out of the total number of factors. For example, in the fraction ⅖, the numerator is 2, indicating that there are two parts out of a total of 5.

The denominator is the bottom number of the fraction below the line. It shows how many parts there are in total. Using the example above, the denominator of ⅖ is 5. This indicates that there are five parts in total.

Here are the steps for adding fractions using the butterfly method:

1. Multiply the numerators and denominators diagonally.
2. Add the product of the diagonal pairs of numerators and denominators together. This creates the new numerator.
3. Multiply the denominators by each other. This creates a new denominator.
4. Simplify the fraction if possible.

Pros and cons of using the butterfly method when adding fractions

Pros

• It is an easy way to introduce children to the concept of adding fractions
• The steps are easy to learn
• The butterfly method includes a handy visual that can help children to remember how to use it

Cons

• Children might memorize the butterfly method without really learning how to add fractions – it doesn’t develop a conceptual understanding or fluency
• It can make adding algebraic fractions much more complicated
• The butterfly method only works for pairs of fractions
• Children need to learn how to add fractions by changing the fractions to equivalent fractions with the same denominator
• It doesn’t work for subtracting fractions

Which planet has the most gravity? – All about Jupiter

Jupiter is a planet in our solar system. It is a gas giant, which means it doesn’t have a solid surface. It is one of the brightest objects in the sky and is covered in stripes or ‘bands’ of swirling clouds. These are storms; some have been going on for hundreds of years. It also has rings that are faint and hard to see. Jupiter is the fifth-closest planet to the sun.

Jupiter has a mass of 1.898 x 10²⁷ kilograms. This is a huge number to try and imagine, but it’s easier to think about other planets. Jupiter is 2.5 times more massive than every planet in our Solar System combined. Another way of thinking is that Jupiter’s mass equals 318 times Earth’s. Jupiter’s mass is an incredible force. It has its mass in astronomy called Jupiter Mass (aka Jovian Mass).

Jupiter is so massive that it could shrink if it gained too much mass! This is due to something called gravitational compression. But what is gravitational compression?

Gravitational compression would begin when no more hydrogen or helium gas is floating around for a planet like Jupiter to collect. At this point, the world would gain mass by gathering things like asteroids. Jupiter’s huge gravity would tightly pull this extra rock into a dense structure. Removing the stone together like this would make it smaller as it became dense. As the density increased, so would gravity. This would compress the planet even more. Scientists estimate that Jupiter would have to collect 3-4 times its current mass to begin compressing. There isn’t much material in our solar system, so we don’t need to worry too much about this happening.

Jupiter’s diameter comes in at a giant 86,881.4 miles! Saturn’s second-biggest diameter at 72,367.4 miles is much bigger than the next biggest planet. Jupiter is big enough to fit any object (other than the Sun or Saturn) in our Solar System.

Scientists use Earth’s gravity as the standard to compare the gravity of all other planets and celestial bodies. The gravity of our planet is equal to 9.807 meters per second². This means that if something is held above the ground and then dropped, it will fall towards the surface at a speed of around 9.8 meters for every second it falls.

This helps to give us a better understanding of Jupiter’s gravity. Jupiter’s gravity is 24.79 m/s² (81.33 ft/s²). One thing to remember is that Jupiter doesn’t have a solid surface like Earth. Instead, Jupiter is a gas giant, and scientists believe that if you tried to stand on Jupiter, you would sink until you reached the planet’s core.

Because of this, gas giants like Jupiter have their surface gravity measured by the force of gravity at their cloud tops rather than the planet’s surface.

However, other gas giants don’t have even close to as much gravity as Jupiter. Neptune comes in second at 11.15 m/s², followed by Saturn at 10.44 m/s. However, Jupiter’s gravity pales in comparison to the Sun, which has a gravity of 274 m/s².

Other planets, gravity, and interesting facts!

Gravity on Mercury:

Mercury is the smallest and least massive planet in the solar system.

With a mean radius of about 2,440 km and a mass of 3.30 × 1023 kg, Mercury is approximately 0.383 times the size of Earth and only 0.055 as massive. It has a fairly high density of 5.427 g/cm3, slightly lower than Earth’s 5.514 g/cm³. This means that Mercury’s surface gravity is 3.7 m/s² or 0.38 g.

Gravity on Venus:

Venus is sometimes called ‘Earth’s twin’ because it’s quite similar to our planet.

It has a mean radius of 4.6023×10⁸km² and a mass of 4.8675×10²⁴kg. Venus also has a density of 5.243 g/cm³. Venus is the size of 0.9499 Earths and is 0.815 times as massive and roughly 0.95 times as dense as Earth. It’s easy to see why Venus has gravity almost like Earth’s, coming in at 8.87 m/s², or 0.904 g.

Gravity on the Moon:

The study of gravity on the Moon is unique, as we have been able to visit it in person. Astronauts can travel to the Moon and walk on its surface using space suits. If you’ve ever seen footage of anyone walking on the Moon, you’ll notice how they move very differently from how we move around on Earth. While part of this concerns how difficult it is to move inside a space suit, gravity is also a big factor. In interviews, Buzz Aldrin, an American astronaut, said it feels like bouncing on a trampoline without the springiness and instability.

Because of the reduced gravity, you weigh less on the Moon than on Earth—around 17% of your Earth’s weight. This is why astronauts tend to adjust how they move and almost ‘hop’ around on the Moon, as there’s less force pulling them down to the surface when they take a step.

The Moon has a mean radius of 1737 km, a mass of 7.3477 x 10²²kg, and a density of 3.3464 g/cm³. The Apollo astronauts measured the surface gravity on the Moon to be 1.62 m/s², or 0.1654 g. It is very important to learn about gravity for space travel. If humans ever travel to any other planets in our solar system, it is critical to consider the planet’s gravity to keep the astronauts safe.

Gravity on Mars:

Mars is also quite like Earth in some ways, though it is much smaller.

Its 3.389 km mean radius makes it the equivalent of roughly 0.53 Earths. In terms of mass, it weighs 6.4171×10²³kg or just 0.107 Earths. Its density, meanwhile, is about 0.71 of Earth’s. This means that Mars has 0.38 times the gravity of Earth, which works out to 3.711 m/s².

Gravity on Saturn:

Saturn is a huge gas giant, much more massive than Earth but far less dense. Its mean radius is approximately the size of 9.13 Earths, and its mass is 5.6846×10²⁶kg or 95.15 times huge. Saturn also has a density of 0.687 g/cm³. Its surface gravity is just slightly more than Earth’s.

Gravity on Uranus:

Uranus is four times the size of Earth and 14.536 times as massive. However, it is a gas giant, so its density (1.27 g/cm³) is much lower than Earth’s. This means its surface gravity of 8.69 m/s², or 0.886 g, is a bit weaker than on Earth.

Gravity on Neptune:

Neptune is the fourth-largest planet in the solar system. It is 3.86 times the size of Earth and 17 times as massive. However, it is a gas giant and therefore has a lower density. This adds a surface gravity of 11.15 m/s²(or 1.14 g). Sincerity in our solar system ranges from 0.38 g on Mercury and Mars to a powerful 2.528g on Jupiter. Well, on the top of Jupiter’s clouds, at least.

What is gravity?

Gravity is a force that draws objects together. It works in a few different ways, but on Earth, objects are pulled toward the planet’s center. The gravitational force that an object exerts is calculated based on three things: its density, mass, and size.

The force of gravity also keeps all planets in orbit around the sun. Anything that has mass also has gravity. Objects with more mass have more gravity. The further away something is, the weaker the gravity or ‘gravitational pull. We couldn’t live without gravity. The sun’s gravity keeps Earth in orbit around it, keeping us at an ideal distance to enjoy the sunlight and keep warm. It holds down our atmosphere and the air we need to be able to breathe.

All about plants

All living organisms on Earth fit into one of the five kingdoms of living things: Animalia (animals), Plantae (plants), fungi (fungi), monera (bacteria and archaea), and Protista (organisms that can’t be categorized as any of the others). All the microorganisms in the Plantae kingdom are what we would call plants, and they can be identified through four key characteristics:

• Immobility – unlike animals, plants are rooted in place.
• Multicellular – plants are organisms that are made up of lots of cells.
• Eukaryotic cells – animals, plants, and fungi all have eukaryotic cells, which help the cells to become more specialized and adapt to different functions within a multicellular organism.
• Autotrophic organisms can produce food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals.

Plants are one of the oldest types of organisms, with the first land plants probably evolving around 500 million years ago. There’s a huge variety between the different types of plants that have evolved over the millennia since that point.

Around 80% of all life on Earth is made up of plants if we measure based on raw biomass (which is just organic matter), with bacteria coming in a very distant second at just 15%. They’re an essential part of the ecosystems that support life on Earth due to their autotrophic nature: the photosynthesis that they use to create food releases oxygen into the atmosphere that we need to survive. Thanks, plants!

What are the parts of a plant?

The different parts of a plant have other functions.

• The roots of a plant take up water and nutrients from the soil. The sources also keep the plant steady and upright in the ground.
• The stem carries water and nutrients to different parts of the plant.
• The leaves use light from the sun, carbon dioxide from the air, and water to make food for the plant. This process is called photosynthesis.
• Some plants have flowers. These are involved in reproduction and produce seeds from which new plants grow. Not all plants produce flowers, although a lot of them do.

How do plants grow?

Plants grow through a process called photosynthesis:

• The plant life cycle begins with the seed, and once planted in the soil, the plant seed receives water.
• The plant from the air also absorbs carbon dioxide, and sugars are made.
• This sugar is used as food, along with nutrients from the soil.
• With the right balance of air, light, water, and nutrients, the millions of cells within the plant grow and divide, and the plant produces.

To understand how plants grow, let’s start at the beginning. Plants reproduce in two different ways: either sexually, which involves pollen from one flower fertilizing the egg of another to produce a seed, or asexually, which only requires a single parent plant. So first, we’ll focus on how flowering plants, which use sexual reproduction, grow and develop.

• The huge baobab trees of Africa and Madagascar are composed of up to 76% water at the end of the rainy season and can hold up to 120,000 liters of water in their swollen trunk and branches.
• There are over 200,000 identified plant species, and the list is growing all the time.

Hammerhead Sharks are a species of Sharks that are notable for their unusual head shape, as each eye extends out from the body, making this shark’s head shape look like a hammer. Hammerhead sharks are found worldwide, swimming in groups during the day and hunting alone at night. They are usually grey-green or brown with a white belly, are known to grow between 1 and 6 meters long, and can weight up to 580kg. The Hammerhead Shark is perhaps one of the most well-known and immediately recognizable species of shark, maybe even more recognizable than the famous Great White Shark.

Why do Hammerhead Sharks have hammer-heads?

It is believed that the Hammerhead Shark’s distinctive head shape, known as the Cephalofoil, evolved to give the shark better vision. The eyes of the Hammerhead Shark are positioned at the end of the Cephalofoils, allowing them to see above and below them at all times. The Cephalofoils can also assist the Hammerhead Shark with detecting prey, and their wing-like structure could also help the shark navigate. However, scientists are still studying how its shape helps or hinders the Hammerhead compared to other sharks.

10 Hammerhead Shark Facts for Kids

• The Hammerhead Shark uses sensors in its head to detect its prey
• Hammerhead Sharks do not lay eggs like most other fish
• Young Hammerhead Sharks can swim as soon as they are born
• Hammerhead Sharks eat Stingrays but can also eat fish, crabs, squid, and lobsters
• Hammerhead Sharks are common near Hawaii, the Galapagos Islands, Malpeno Island, and Cocos Island
• Hammerhead Sharks’ mouths are small relative to their body size when compared with other sharks
• Like most Sharks, Hammerheads possess serrated teeth that resemble small triangular saw blades
• There have been no fatal Hammerhead Shark attacks, as they are not usually aggressive
• Hammerhead Sharks live in warm, tropical, and temperate waters across the planet
• Hammerhead Sharks will use their heads to trap Stingrays on the ground so they can eat them

Are Hammerhead Sharks an Endangered Species?

Hammerhead Sharks have been considered ‘globally endangered’ since 2008, and over the past 30 years, their population in the Atlantic Ocean has decreased by 95%. It is believed that overfishing by Humans is one of the main reasons why Hammerhead Sharks are now endangered, as they are often caught for meat, particularly their fins. Unfortunately, Hammerhead Sharks are popular among fishermen as their fins are an expensive delicacy, and as such, they are often the target of overfishing. An estimated 1.3 to 2.7 million fins are collected annually from Hammerhead Sharks.

Where do Hammerhead Sharks live?

Many Hammerhead Sharks are migratory, so they spend much time in groups or searching the ocean floor for food. Hammerhead Sharks will return to their nursery grounds roughly once a year to reproduce. There are several hotspots of Hammerhead Shark activity worldwide, most notably near the Galapagos Islands. Baby Hammerhead Sharks are born in their nursey areas and then left to fend for themselves, as the parents do not take care of the young once they are born. Baby Hammerheads will often huddle together for protection until they are large enough to travel alone. For a comprehensive resource for teaching

What is the largest species of Hammerhead Shark?

The largest species of Hammerhead Shark is the Great Hammerhead, which can grow to just over 6m in length. The Great Hammerhead is an apex predator, meaning that it is at the top of the food chain and is not hunted by any other animals in its habitat. Great Hammerheads are strong swimmers who live alone and only meet up with other Hammerheads during their mating season, which occurs once every two years. Although they are considered dangerous due to their sharp teeth and fast bite, there have been no recorded deaths resulting from a Great Hammerhead attack. Therefore, great Hammerheads are considered extremely vulnerable and critically endangered Hammerhead Shark species.

In Geometry, adjacent angles share a line and a vertex. Therefore, they must possess both qualities to make them equal grades. You can see this represented in the diagram below.

This diagram clarifies why they are called adjacent angles – they are next to each other.

Complementary angles and supplementary angles

In Geometry, adjacent angles can sometimes also be either complementary or supplementary. Complementary means the two values of the angles will add up to 90 degrees, resulting in a right angle.

Supplementary angles add up to 180 degrees, meaning that the sum also makes up a line. These adjacent angels have two lines in common.

What is Flag Day?

Flag Day falls on June 14th each year and is a great opportunity for us to celebrate the adoption of the United States flag. It marks the date in 1777 when the U.S. first adopted the stars and stripes as its official flag.

On this day, Congress passed a resolution that decreed the U.S. Flag would have:

13 Stripes, alternating red and white, and 13 Stars, white in a blue field.

There were thirteen stars and stripes representing the thirteen colonies that had rebelled against British rule and fought for their independence. Since then, the number of stars has changed to represent the number of states, but the number of stripes has always remained the same. (Apart from the 23 years when 15 were used!)

We’ve celebrated Flag Day for over 100 years after President Woodrow Wilson made it an official holiday in 1916. Many people mark this special date by attending special events with many flags on display!

How is Flag Day celebrated?

While Flag Day isn’t a federal holiday, it doesn’t stop many of us from celebrating this special date across the country.

Many towns and cities across the nation hold exciting Flag Day parades, which can be an amazing sight with all the flags flying around. The largest of these is held in Troy, New York, with approximately 50,000 spectators showing up yearly!

Aside from these parades, the week of June 14th is designated as National Flag Week. During this period, citizens are encouraged to fly their flags at home, while all government and official buildings will also display the stars and stripes.

10 Amazing Facts about the United States Flag

The American flag is a special symbol representing our values as a nation, so it’s no surprise that it has a fascinating history. Here are ten of our favorite facts about the famous flag:

There have been 27 different versions of the American Flag.

The original version of the flag looked very different from the flag we have today. After starting with just thirteen stars, we now have fifty stars on the flag, with one added every time a new state was added to the union. However, the number of stripes on the flag has always remained the same to remember the 13 colonies that initially made up the United States way back in 1877!

The current flag design is the only one to last for over 50 years. 

While the flag has changed many times since it was first adopted, the current design has been in place since 1960. This is likely because no new states have been adopted since this time – with the final form admitted into the union being Hawaii back in 1959!

A teenager designed today’s flag.

It was designed in 1958 by a 17-year-old high school student, Robert G. Heft, who lived in Lancaster, Ohio. He created the flag as part of a competition to design the next flag of the United States, and President Eisenhower chose it out of over 1,500 designs that were shown to him!

The Founding Fathers explicitly chose the colors of the flag.

It was no accident that the U.S. flag ended up with red, white, and blue as its colors. Red was chosen to represent valor and hardiness, blue to define justice and vigilance, and white to represent purity and innocence.

There are six U.S. Flags on the moon – but only five are still standing.

You’ll have seen Neil Armstrong’s famous flag planted into the moon’s surface, but there have been five more trips to the moon since then. Apollo missions 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 successfully made it to the moon’s surface, and each planted its flag.  Sadly, in the years since Neil Armstrong made history by being the first man to step foot on the moon, many believe that the banner fell over as they left the moon’s surface!

When a flag is badly damaged, it should be disposed of in a “dignified manner.”

To show respect to the flag, any flag damaged to the point where it can’t be repaired should be disposed of in a dignified manner. Unfortunately, one of the most common ways to do this is to burn the flag, and many towns across America hold flag-burning ceremonies on Memorial Day.

Flags can be flown 24 hours a day – so long as they’re correctly displayed.

While many believe flags can only be flown from sunrise to sunset, they can be washed 24 hours a day as long as they are adequately lit overnight. But, of course, this doesn’t apply only during “inclement weather,” such as in heavy rain, wind, or snow.

There’s a proper way to view the flag.

According to Federal flag laws and regulations, the proper way to view a flag is by facing it with your right hand over your heart. This applies to events and parades, as well as during the raising and lowering of the flag.

You’re not supposed to wear the flag.

Who doesn’t love getting decked out in stars and stripes clothing for the Fourth of July celebrations? But, according to the Flag Code, we’re not supposed to use the flag design on clothes, bedding, or other decorations.

A school teacher invented Flag Day.

Way back in 1885, a 19-year-old school teacher, Bernard J. CiGrand, asked his students to write essays about the symbolism of the American Flag. Over the next fifty years, he campaigned to make Flag Day a national holiday for us all to celebrate!