I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Patriotism

Essential Question:

How can Music can be used to express patriotism?

Bridge:

Expressions of Nationality

Content:

National Anthems

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: Students will have the opportunity to think about their personal beliefs regarding patriotism/nationalism, the country of their birth and other relevant issues.

Activity: Teacher will distribute a worksheet where students will write information such as their country of birth and the way they feel about being a citizen of their birth country.

Assessment: Students should be able to construct a list that expresses their appreciation for being a citizen of the country where they were born. Are students actively reflecting on their purpose as a citizen of their birth country?

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: Students will share their feelings of the country in which they were born with their classmates.

Activity: Students will be asked to form groups of no more than 4 students. Within each group, each member must share some (if not all) of the items they ‘brainstormed’ about their birth country and their feelings about that country (in step1)

Assessment: Do the students show signs of signification opinion about the country of their birth? (Are they openly admitting to loving/hating the country where they were born?) Students should also be respectful of each other’s opinions and should be listening in an engaged manner during the group discussion.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: Students will explore various (non-music) media in order to find something that artistically expresses the way they feel about their birth country.

Activity: Individually, students must find or create something that expresses some or all of the idea that were realized in Step 1. These expressions must not be music related, but can be in the form of pictures, artwork, movies/film, poetry, etc. The students will then share (with the groups that were previously formed) their items.

Assessment:Students will produce/find a variety of objects that reflect feelings of nationalism and either pride or dislike of the country of their birth. Are students able to represent their thoughts by using alternate forms of art?

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: Students will witness how one composer decided to express his own beliefs/opinions/feelings of his birth country..

Activity: Teacher will distribute music to “The Star-Spangled Banner” and will play a recording of the national anthem wile students read the music. (Teacher will make sure that all students understand that the examination of the USA’s national anthem is not meant to disregard the national anthems of other countries, but is merely an easily accessible piece of music for most students.) Teacher and students will then discuss the components of the piece. What does the text express? How easy/hard is it to sing this particular anthem? The teacher must also give a brief account of the inspiration that guided Francis Scott Key in composing the poem and then the piece of music (such as the battle at Fort McHenry and how Francis Scott Key witnessed the battle and the perseverance of the flag.)

Assessment: Students should be listening intently and objectively to the national anthem in order to form educated opinions and ideas about Francis Scott Key’s composition. Do the students see how Francis Scott Key highlighted certain parts of the text?

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: Students will use the ideas of one poet and will musically highlight those ideas however they see fit.

Activity: Students will be given the text of the “The Star-Spangled Banner” and will be asked to write music (using Finale or Finale Notepad) that highlights portions of the text they feel are important. Students will then share their new melody with the class, and the class will discuss the effectiveness of each melody.

Assessment: Are students using pitches in music to enhance the text of Francis Scott Key’s poem? How are students adjusting the music to “The Star-Spangled Banner”? (Is the new melody more easily accessible than Key’s melody?)

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: Students will evaluate and (hopefully) improve their compositions and the compositions of other students.

Activity: Each pair of students will join with another pair and, in a group of 4 students; each pair will have the opportunity to discuss their new national anthem, the inspiration behind the text and/or the music, as well as any pertinent topics. The pair of students that is the ‘audience’ must be able to constructively criticize or genuinely praise the work of the other pair in the group so that each national anthem is of highest quality.

Assessment: Students should be able to critique the work of others without disrespecting others’ beliefs or means of expression. Are the students producing high-level suggestions for improvement?

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: Students will evaluate and (hopefully) improve their compositions and the compositions of other students.

Activity: Each pair of students will join with another pair and, in a group of 4 students; each pair will have the opportunity to discuss their new national anthem, the inspiration behind the text and/or the music, as well as any pertinent topics. The pair of students that is the ‘audience’ must be able to constructively criticize or genuinely praise the work of the other pair in the group so that each national anthem is of highest quality.

Assessment: Students should be able to critique the work of others without disrespecting others’ beliefs or means of expression. Are the students producing high-level suggestions for improvement?

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: Students will have the opportunity to present their national anthems to an audience.

Activity: The teacher will determine an appropriate date and time when the students can perform (or have their pieces performed) in front of an audience that consists of classmates, other students in the school, school administration, etc. The teacher will also describe (in a concise fashion) to the audience the process that was applied to aid the students in developing their own national anthem. At the performance, the works of art that were created in Step 3 can be showcased.

Assessment: Students will successfully perform or arrange for a performance of their national anthems.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: