Overview:
This exciting work is a rhapsody on “The Star Spangled Banner” that interweaves other national anthems and songs within it. In order to take students from the “known” or something familiar to the “unknown” or something unfamiliar, these lessons provide three national anthem songs as “hooks” to help focus students’ listening experience for Banner–and to highlight the composer’s message that America is multicultural, made of people from other nations and cultural groups.
Due to the difficulty of the piece, there is one extended lesson for grades K-2 (Lesson 1A) and three extended lessons for grades 3-6 (Lessons 1B, 2B, and 3B)–however, the lessons for older students can also be simplified for younger grades. Sections of the lesson plans labelled “Optional” or “Extensions” can be entire stand-alone lessons, in many cases.
The lessons provide all students the opportunity to sing, play instruments, and create, based on the listening experience. The National Standards listed for each lesson facilitate experiences in creating, performing, responding, and connecting the listening experience to other topics and daily life. Conceptual and Contextual Understandings are listed to highlight the musical and cultural-contextual learnings.
The audio recording used for the lessons features the composer’s own Catalyst Quartet, whereas the main concert video features musicians of the Portland (ME) Chamber Music Festival. Many other videos are linked to the lesson plans, including one of the composer explaining the piece. Teachers can choose the components of the lesson plans that best meet their instructional needs and the developmental levels of their students. Teachers should get any permission needed for their use of YouTube videos in the classroom, and cue videos past all ads before class.
Underlining indicates hyperlinked lesson components.
The lessons plans are based on the following songs and how they are used in Banner:
Grades K-2
Lesson 1A: The National Anthem of the United States
Grades 3-6
Lesson 2A: The National Anthem of the United States
Lesson 2B: The African-American National Anthem
Lesson 2C: The National Anthem of Mexico
