Happy Birthday America! 25 FREE Resources for the 4th of July- STEMHAX

25 FREE Resources Exploring “The 4th of July”

American traditions are full of nostalgic feelings and events we like to create and enjoy. The Fourth of July is one of those holidays that evokes a strong sense of pride and belonging. It also brings us back to cherished memories from a lifetime of family, friends and fireworks.

As a little girl my father would take us kids to the annual Bristol 4th of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island. Bristol, RI is known as the ” most patriotic town in America.” Back in 1777, one year after the Declaration of Independence was signed, a tradition was started to commemorate America’s freedom from Britain.

According to a story submitted to the LA Times, from a long time resident historian from Bristol, a 13 gun (cannons) salute was fired in the morning and evening on the 4th of July. Today, the town celebrates America’s freedom with celebrations from Flag Day, June 14th, through the fireworks display at Bristol’s Colt State Park on the evening of the 4th.

As an adult, I had moved away from Rhode Island and it was years before I attended another Bristol Fourth of July Parade. It seems as time passes we can become busy and some traditions seem to fade. With that so do some of the teachings of patriotism, and not because we made a choice to minimize our appreciation of freedom – things just change and we experience a bit less.

The following 25 FREE resources are for educators and parents to share with young learners. Perhaps a new tradition will begin and memories will be made, either way I put these resources together for my love of this country and for you. Enjoy!

Online Books for the Red, White and Blue

There are so many wonderfully written patriotic books! So many I have created a separate post for “25 Patriotic Books for Kids.” Here are three to get you started.

“Red, White and Boom” is a sweet book about the different traditions American’s celebrate on the Fourth of July. It rhymes and is has minimal words. This online reading by Happy Cultivated adds some sound effects.

“The American Flag” book is a wonderful reading of the evolution of how the American Flag became to look the way it does today.

Flag Day, family, friends, freedom…F is for Flag!

Videos and The Fourth of July

YouTube has so many amazing videos, uploaded by some very talented people. Here are three videos kids would enjoy watching.

Free School put together this compilation of “Why We Celebrate the Fourth of July” sharing what the celebration is all about.

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson is known for inventing macaroni and cheese? This Founding Father seems to have done it all! This is a cartoon based video for young learners who love lots of color.

Liberty’s Kids is one of the best series for learning about American History. Kids and adults will appreciate this video series. It is a wonderful primer to learning and is historically accurate. The voices of the characters include: Walter Cronkite as Ben Franklin, Billy Crystal as John Adams and Ben Stiller as Thomas Jefferson. This is a great series to watch as a family, adults will learn much, too!

Patriotic Music for Kids

According to Children’s Music Workshop, “music is valued by American society…music is academic…physical…and emotional.” I couldn’t agree more and for this reason there are 10 music and some learning videos about patriotism and are perfect for the 4th of July. They are in no particular order.

“The Star-Spangled Banner resonates with people in different ways, for different reasons,” says Kathleen Kendrick, curator for the Star-Spangled Banner preservation project. “It’s exciting to realize that you’re looking at the very same flag that Francis Scott Key saw on that September morning in 1814. But the Star-Spangled Banner is more than an artifact—it’s also a national symbol. It evokes powerful emotions and ideas about what it means to be an American.” – Excerpt from Smithsonian

“The song, “America the Beautiful,” was based on a poem written by the professor, poet, and writer, Katharine Lee Bates, during an 1893 trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado. When she got to the top of Pike’s Peak, the view was so beautiful that it inspired her to write, “All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse…The poem that Bates wrote first appeared in print in The Congregationalist, a weekly journal, on July 4, 1895.” – Excerpt from Ben’s Guide

“You’re a Grand Old Flag” was written by George M. Cohan for his 1906 stage musical George Washington, Jr. The song was introduced to the public in the play’s first act on opening night, February 6, 1906, in New York’s Herald Square Theater. It was the first song from a musical to sell over a million copies of sheet music.” – Excerpt Library of Congress

“…One of these songs, which told the story of a poorly dressed Yankee simpleton, or “doodle”, was so popular with British troops that they played it as they marched to battle on the first day of the Revolutionary War. The rebels quickly claimed the song as their own, though, and created dozens of new verses that mocked the British, praised the new Continental Army, and hailed its commander, George Washington.” – Excerpt Library of Congress

“The words that eventually became a tradition, particularly among U.S. school children, were written by Samuel Francis Smith while he was studying at Andover Theological Seminary in 1831. Smith was approached by the famed organist and composer Lowell Mason who had with him some German school music books. Mason wanted Smith to either translate the German, or write new text for the tunes. Smith was particularly struck by one tune (most likely unaware that it was the same melody as “God Save the King”) and wrote his lyrics to it. The song was debuted by Mason on July 4, 1831, at a children’s service at the Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts.” – Excerpt Library of Congress

This is a wonderful video to teach kids “The Pledge of Allegiance” quickly.

“The Pledge of Allegiance was first recited in 1892, the year it was first written. The author was Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister from New York. Bellamy was also a chairman of a committee of state superintendents of education in the National Education Association.” – Excerpt Social Studies for Kids

Jack Hartman has dedicated his life to creating fun learning songs for children. This is one of those beautiful songs where kids can mimic and learn to sing. This is what America means to me!

WARNING: This video starts with images of September 11th. Very young learners might not understand. I chose this song for the lyrics and beauty of emotions the words that remind us what it’s like to be an American. “God Bless the USA” written by Lee Greenwood is one of those songs that will last for a long time.

The last two videos are from School House Rock. Many years ago before the Internet and YouTube we watched Saturday morning cartoons. I absolutely loved these little learning videos that appeared between commercials and the cartoons. I have shared these with young learners and they love them as much as I did as a child. The first is called “No More Kings” and the next is “4th of July Fireworks” Enjoy!

Additional FREE Hands-On Resources

The last few resources are from some of my peers at Teacher Pay Teacher. Even if you are not a traditional classroom teacher, any educator or parent can download free and/or purchase these teachers created resources from the TpT website.

This is a 14 page free download that includes American themed word practice, color by letter and an emergent reader book that focuses on the sight word “there” incorporated with the Fourth of July theme. Thank you Mrs. Jones for this wonderful free resource.

Here’s a fun Fourth of July packet for you to use with your students or own kids over the holiday! There are 10 pages of math, literacy, social studies, and art that they are sure to love. You rock Carla, thank you for sharing!

Download this FREEBIE and let students practice their alphabetizing skills using fun Independence Day vocabulary. This ABC Order Cut and Paste Printable FREEBIE is a fun color, cut, and paste activity that includes a 4th of July theme where students place words in ABC order. Thank you, Mo this is a wonderful resource!

This resource includes one reading passage about the 4th of July. There are 2 questions that going along with the information in the reading. Thank you A Page Out of History for this nice resource.

The Science School Yard has put together this freebie for science experiments to do with adult supervision. They include station cards for what you’ll need, and directions! Activities include: Star Spangled Fire Crackers – Alka seltzer Rockets, Fire Cracker Soda Fountain – Mentos and Cola, Fireworks Freefall – Art project and parachute making and Confetti Shooter-toilet paper tube and balloon shooter. Thank you Science School Yard for putting these cool memory making science experiments together as a free resource, your the best!

These four rockets are free clip art from ReviDevi. Copy and print on computer paper, color and add a little tape and some straws for a simple engineered rocket. Here is a video for how to construct the rocket. Thank you ReviDevi for helping kids with a cool engineering project.

Next, is some really fun activities!

Kids love to crack the code and this 4th of July Code Word Cracker is a great way to get students working on their attention to detail and matching skills. Students have to look at the symbol code on top of the sheets and then use this to try and work out what the hidden words are. Thank you Nikki for this fun freebie, you are awesome!!

Having coloring sheets on hand for kids is always a wonderful no prep, no hassle plan. These two sheets are perfect for the Fourth of July! This freebie includes a color by number and color by letter. There is even a code hidden in plain sight. I created this specifically for this post. If your kids enjoy it, please consider leaving me some positive feedback.

Look at this fun stars 4th of July Headband craft for the kids, fun! Kids will have fun as they decorate and then wear their headband. Print this out on card stock for more durability. A big thank you goes out to the Teacher’s Scrapbook for the stars and stripes creation!

Perhaps you are looking for some additional historical hats for the 4th? Look no further How This Mom Does It has provided this bundle. The bundle includes directions for eight different style hats. WOW! Cool and thank you for this amazing freebie!

If you like these free resources please consider following these teacher creators. They are always developing new and cool things, for you and I, to share with young learners.

Thank you for taking the time to read this Fourth of July post. I hope you find some of these resources helpful and share them with your children.

Bonus Resources

On this celebration of our countries birthday, I realize how blessed I am to have been raised in a very patriotic environment. I would like to add two additional resources to dedicate to my family and friends.

The first goes out to my nieces and nephews who have a love of drawing. In this video please meet Rob from Art for Kids Hub, Rob is an amazing resource for teaching art lessons to kids. He is patient, kind and funny. Younger kids might need to pause to allow them to catch up, but older kids can usually follow along.

And lastly, to my brothers who are the most patriotic and amazing men I know. Men who continually fight for what is right for America, the land of the FREE!

Have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July!

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. All that means is if you decide to make a purchase, I might earn a small commission at ZERO cost to you. Thank you, see you soon!!