Singing the SSB Video Lesson 1

Click Here for Video Lesson 1 http://youtu.be/KBtvy9cqOhI Materials Needed Internet access to YouTube Computer with projector (for students to view YouTube videos) Speakers (for students to hear the YouTube videos) Activities – Watch the video lesson linked above.  During the video, students will participate in speaking and singing activities for a given excerpt of the…

Singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Non-Music Classrooms

OVERVIEW by Mary L.Vincent – Monroe Public Schools This lesson series is a compilation of 5 short videos lessons (each approximately 6 minutes long) that help students rehearse singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”  The videos integrate relevant locations and historical perspectives related to the national anthem. This lesson series also aims to make singing the Star-Spangled Banner…

The Music of Poetry: Decoded

  Unit Overview:Three lessons using poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), Francis Scott Key (1779 – 1843), and Emma Lazarus (1849 – 1887) to explore the theme of Liberty.These lessons may be used with the week-long celebration called Freedom Week. Standards, Goals and Objectives:Language Arts–1.   5.RL.5.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem…

SSB Celebration Week Resource Pack

RESOURCE PACKET for Star Spangled Banner Birthday Celebration Week by: Susan Ferguson Scroll through this pack to see suggested activities for each day of the week. Booklist FRANCIS SCOTT KEY’S STAR-SPANGLED BANNER, Monica Kulling THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER in TRANSLATION, Elizabeth Raum THE FLAG MAKER, Susan Campbell Bartoletti THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER, Peter Spier, (lesson plan)…

The Anthem at War

The Anthem at War Language Arts, Music, Theater, and Art (Optional) 5th Grade Paul Herrera, American Union Elementary This lesson is for the classroom teacher who wants to incorporate music into their curriculum. This four lesson unit (that can be expanded or shortened) features a game of Charades to learn the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” an acting…

Spangled Mythconception #6: Congress Made Key's Banner the U.S. National Anthem

MYTH #6: A 1931 act of Congress made “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official anthem of the United States CORRECTION: This is absolutely correct in terms of the anthem’s legal status, but the bill approved by the House and Senate and signed by President Herbert Hoover simply recognized what had been true in American cultural practice…

Spangled Mythconception #3: Key Wrote a "Poem" Later Set to Music by Someone Else

MYTH #3: Francis Scott Key wrote a “poem” later set to music by someone else CORRECTION: “The Star-Spangled Banner” was always conceived of by Key as a song and he wrote his “lyric” to fit a specific melody of his own choosing Usually referred to as a poet, Francis Scott Key is more accurately remembered—at…

Spangled Mythconception #2: Key Wrote the Anthem on the Back of an Envelope

Myth #2: Francis Scott Key drafted “The Star-Spangled Banner” on the back of an envelope (or letter) Correction: Most likely Key wrote his draft on a clean sheet of paper using pen and ink While the original working draft of Key’s lyric is lost, envelopes were not commonly used in 1814 and then only by…

Spangled Mythconception #1: Key Was Held Prisoner on a British Ship during the Battle of Baltimore

MYTH #1: Francis Scott Key was held prisoner aboard a British ship during the bombardment of BaltimoreCORRECTION: Key was aboard his own American truce ship during the battleKey and fellow lawyer John S. Skinner, the U.S. Agent for Prisoners of War, sailed from Baltimore on September 5, 1814 on an American truce ship and headed…