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Coat of Arms


Hi friends, today we’re learning about a
coat of arms. Have you heard that phrase before? Coat of arms? A coat of arms is the arrangement of symbols, colors, and shapes on a shield and it is used to identify families or individuals like you. The first coat of arms was used during the Middle Ages as a way for knights to identify each other. When knights wear full armor and a helmet, it’s hard to tell who they are, so they began to paint symbols on their shields, eventually, they would put the symbols on their banners and on the coat they wore over their armor, which is where we get the phrase, coat of arms.

A coat of arms is unique to the person. Do you know what unique means? Unique means being the only one of its kind and unlike anything else. You are unique. No one looks or acts quite like you, which is a good thing! What are some ways you are unique? Do you have special freckles or extra curly hair? What is something you’re good at? Maybe dancing or counting to 100!

Let’s create our own coat of arms that is unique to us! To create your personal coat of arms, you need a piece of paper, any size, any color, and something to write with. You can also print out the coat of arms worksheet! You can make your shield any size, but keep in mind that we’re going to draw inside the shield, so leave yourself enough room to draw!  

Directions to Draw Your Shield:

  1. To draw your shield, first, draw a giant U.
  2. Now close the “U” by drawing a line across the top.
  3. Draw a line across the middle from the top of the shield to the bottom and a second line left to right so you have four spaces to draw in. You have now drawn a shield!

To make this coat of arms personal to you we’re going to draw some of your favorite things in your shield. We need to start with our first initial so everyone knows who this shield belongs to.

Directions to Design Your Coat of Arms:

  1. In one space draw your first initial which is the first letter of your name. 
  2. Draw your favorite animal in another space.
  3. In the third space draw your favorite food.
  4. Finally, draw your favorite activity. Do you like to read, dance, or play?

Be sure to add some color to your shield and share it with us!

Click the image to download

Team GCM Creator: Ashley