Educational Standards

Meeting National and State of Michigan Standards
with your Star Spangled Schools Project
By Russ Olwell

The Star Spangled Music Foundation is grateful to Professor Russ Olwell and his students at Eastern Michigan University for their recommendations for connecting the educational projects, ideas, and resources provided on this website with educational standards set forth by national and, in particular, State of Michigan guidelines. The ideas below are suggestions and should be adapted to fit the specifics of the goals, standards, and expectations of your local school system.

National Standards: C3 Framework
The inquiry activities in the Star Spangled Banner Project enable young people to design their own inquiry questions, use the discipline of history to research the topic, give students the opportunity to evaluate multiple forms of historical evidence, and encourages students to give voice to their findings in authentic and creative ways. Please use the comment tool below to add your own ideas or to describe your experiences in adapting these suggestions.

State of Michigan Michigan Standards

Elementary Standards
from the Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations:

Kindergarten
C2 – Values and Principles of American Democracy
Understand values and principles of American constitutional democracy.

  • K – C2.0.1 Identify our country’s flag as an important symbol of the United States.
  • K – C2.0.2 Explain why people do not have the right to do whatever they want (e.g., to promote fairness, ensure the common good, maintain safety).
  • K – C2.0.3 Describe fair ways for groups to make decisions

Grade 1
C2 – Values and Principles of American Democracy
Understand values and principles of American constitutional democracy.

  • 1 – C2.0.1 Explain how decisions can be made or how conflicts might be resolved in fair and just ways (e.g., majority rules).
  • 1 – C2.0.2 Identify important symbols of the United States of America (e.g., Statue of Liberty, Uncle Sam, White House, Bald Eagle)

Grade 4
C2 Values and Principles of American Democracy
Understand values and principles of American constitutional democracy.
4 – C2.0.1 Explain how the principles of popular sovereignty, rule of law, checks and balances, separation of powers, and individual rights (e.g., freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of press) serve to limit the powers of the federal government as reflected in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Grade 5
P3.3 Persuasive Communication About a Public Issue
Communicate a reasoned position on a public issue.
5 – P3.3.1 Compose a short essay expressing a position on a contemporary public policy issue related to the Constitution and justify the position with a reasoned argument.

Grade 8: Integrated U.S. History
U4.1 Establishing America’s Place in the World
8 – U4.1.2 – Explain the changes in America’s relationships with other nations by analyzing treaties with American Indian nations, Jay’s Treaty (1795), French Revolution, Pinckney’s Treaty (1795), Louisiana Purchase, War of 1812, Transcontinental Treaty (1819), and the Monroe Doctrine.
8 – U4.1.3 Challenge of Political Conflict
Foreign relations (e.g., French Revolution, relations with Great Britain)
8 – U4.2.2 The Institution of Slavery
Explain the ideology of the institution of slavery, its policies, and consequences.
8 – U6.2 Investigation Topics and Issue Analysis (P2)
Use the historical perspective to investigate a significant historical topic from United States History Eras 3-6 that also has significance as an issue or topic in the United States today.
8 – U6.2.1 United States History Investigation Topic and Issue Analysis, Past and Present Use historical perspectives to analyze issues in the United States from the past and the present; conduct research on a historical issue or topic, identify a connection to a contemporary issue, and present findings (e.g., oral, visual, video, or electronic presentation, persuasive essay, or research paper); include causes and consequences of the historical action and predict possible consequences of the contemporary action.

High School Social Studies

 US History and Geography
F1 Political and Intellectual Transformations of America to 1877
F1.1 Identify the core ideals of American society as reflected in the documents below
1.1 Identify the core ideals of American society as reflected in the documents below and analyze the ways that American society moved toward and/or away from its core ideals

  • Declaration of Independence
  • the U.S. Constitution (including the Preamble)
  • Bill of Rights
  • the Gettysburg Address
  • 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments

F1.2 Using the American Revolution, the creation and adoption of the Constitution, and the Civil War as touchstones, develop an argument/narrative about the changing character of American political society and the roles of key individuals across cultures in prompting/supporting the change by discussing

  • the birth of republican government, the rule of law, inalienable rights, equality, and limited government
  • the development of governmental roles in American life
  • and competing views of the responsibilities of governments (federal, state, and local)
  • changes in suffrage qualifications
  • the development of political parties
  • America’s political and economic role in the world

High School: Civics
2.2 Foundational Values and Constitutional Principles of American Government
Explain how the American idea of constitutional government has shaped a distinctive American society through the investigation of such questions as: How have the fundamental values and principles of American constitutional government shaped American society?
2.2.1 Identify and explain the fundamental values of America’s constitutional republic (e.g., life, liberty, property, the pursuit of happiness, the common good, justice, equality, diversity, authority, participation, and patriotism) and their reflection in the principles of the United States Constitution (e.g., popular sovereignty, republicanism, rule of law, checks and balances, separation of powers, and federalism).
2.2.2 Explain and evaluate how Americans, either through individual or collective actions, use constitutional principles and fundamental values to narrow gaps between American ideals and reality with respect to minorities, women, and the disadvantaged.
2.2.3 Use past and present policies to analyze conflicts that arise in society due to competing constitutional principles or fundamental values (e.g., liberty and authority, justice and equality, individual rights, and the common good).
2.2.4 Analyze and explain ideas about fundamental values like liberty, justice, and equality found in a range of documents (e.g., Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration of Sentiments, the Equal Rights Amendment, and the Patriot Act).
2.2.5 Use examples to investigate why people may agree on constitutional principles and fundamental values in the abstract, yet disagree over their meaning when they are applied to specific situations.