Francis Scott Key Lesson Plans

 

There are so many wonderful directions you can go with a study on Francis Scott Key!  Our top recommendations are is to study his life, the Battle of 1812, listen to American patriotic music & learn the lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner.  Here are a few ideas to get you started in those areas!

Don't have the letter yet?  You can grab the snail mail version here or the digital version here!

To get your free downloads go here!

For All Ages

 Movie/Video

 



This is America Charlie Brown
– learn all about America with Snoopy and the Gang

Music

The Francis Scott Key Letter is a great way to introduce American patriotic music to your family.  Here are a few wonderful CDs to get you started:

      • Lee Greenwood’s American Patriot CD 10 of America’s best loved patriotic songs sung by Lee Greenwood. 
          • John Wayne’s America, Why I Love Her If you listen to nothing else on this album, listen to the title track “Why I Love Her” and “The Pledge Allegiance to the Flag”

          Visit

          Resources

          Books

          Preschool

            • Story of the Star-Spangled Banner by Patricia A. Pingry – available as a board book, tells the story of our national anthem in simple terms with accompanying illustrations representing a wide variety of American ethnic groups

                  Elementary

                              Middle School/High School & Beyond

                                One Week with Francis Scott Key

                                Day 1: Learn about Francis Scott Key and “The Star-Spangled Banner”

                                • Read the Heritage Letter from Francis Scott Key
                                • Read books about Francis Scott Key or “The Star-Spangled Banner” (depending on how many books you have available or the length of the books you could space them out over the week)
                                • Listen to “The Star-Spangled Banner” (do this each day this week to learn the lyrics to the first verse, the lyrics are included in the free downloads available here)

                                Day 2: Map

                                • Find Baltimore and Fort McHenry on a map
                                • View images of Fort McHenry here and a map of Fort McHenry here
                                • Watch the video from the National Park Service about the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail telling the history of the War of 1812, “The Star-Spangled Banner”, and Francis Scott Key.
                                • Listen to “The Star-Spangled Banner” and start singing along.

                                Day 3: Patriotism Vocabulary

                                • Learn the meaning to some of the words in “The Star-Spangled Banner” using the vocabulary matching cards in the free downloads for the letter.
                                • Discuss what patriotism means. How do you show it?  Is there something new you would like to do to show your patriotism?  If you decorate for the 4th of July this is an excellent time to decorate or make a patriotic craft. (check out our Pinterest board for ideas)
                                • Listen to “The Star-Spangled Banner” and singing along.

                                Day 4: The United States Flag

                                • Practice putting the lyrics to the first verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in order using the sequence cards in the free downloads for the letter.
                                • Listen to "The Star-Spangled Banner" and sing along.

                                Day 5: Celebrate America

                                Culminate your week of study with a patriotic party.  Make crafts, listen to patriotic music, & sing "The Star-Spangled Banner".

                                 

                                 

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