FLAG MOTIF · 15
Find the Words! Four National Flags
There is writing within these flags.
Can you find where it is?
LOOK · FIND · REVEAL
Look closely for writing
Take time to look across each whole flag. You do not need to know how to read the writing to notice it.
Found the writing? Reveal the explanation
STEP 1
Where is the writing?
Brazil
On the white band crossing the central blue disc.
Saudi Arabia
Large white lettering near the centre of the green flag.
Brunei
Inside the crescent and lower scroll of the central red crest.
Iran
White lettering repeated along the green–white and white–red boundaries.
Writing appears in different places on different flags. Let your eyes move from the whole flag to the lettering.
STEP 2
Writing can take different shapes
Brazil uses Latin letters. Saudi Arabia, Brunei and Iran have Arabic-script inscriptions. Notice the shapes and how the letters sit together. Writing you have not learned to read is still writing.
STEP 3
Brazil: within the central design
The blue disc has a white band across it. Green letters on that band read ORDEM E PROGRESSO. Follow the band and notice how the lettering curves with it.
STEP 4
Saudi Arabia: large lettering
White Arabic lettering is a central element of the green flag, with a white sword below it. The inscription is a declaration of faith. Here, observe its size and position respectfully.
STEP 5
Brunei: within the crest
Look inside the red crest. Yellow Arabic lettering follows the crescent, and more writing sits on the scroll below. A flag can include writing within a smaller design too.
STEP 6
Iran: repeated along the boundaries
White inscriptions repeat along the bottom of the green band and the top of the red band. These rows of writing are separate from the red emblem in the centre. Look at the boundaries as well as the middle.
STEP 7
Compare the arrangements
Brazil
On the white band crossing the central blue disc.
Saudi Arabia
Large white lettering near the centre of the green flag.
Brunei
Inside the crescent and lower scroll of the central red crest.
Iran
White lettering repeated along the green–white and white–red boundaries.
Flags with writing can arrange it in very different ways: inside a design, prominently in the middle, or repeated along an edge.
Three ways to look
① Where is the writing?
② What shapes do the letters have?
③ In one place, or repeated?
When you look at a flag, notice the writing as well as its colours and marks.
PUBLIC SOURCES