For first and second grades, use as much of this lesson as your students can understand. Teachers of second and third grades may have a pre-activity. Groups of students could use the dictionary to look up the words in the pledge and rewrite the pledge in their own words. We then recommend a thorough discussion of the pledge, such as that described below. A pledge is a promise.
Allegiance is loyalty.
So we are making a promise to be loyal. The flag is a symbol of our country. To be loyal to the flag is to show respect for it. We do this as a way of showing respect for our nation. Our country is a republic.