Lesson Plan: The Story of the US National Anthem

We are studying the War of 1812 right now, of which one of the most significant events was that it inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that eventually became our National Anthem.  But as we started to talk about it, I realized that my son had made it to middle school without ever really understanding what the song is all about.  (I thought that might be an area that might be overlooked in a homeschooling setting than in public schools, although I've since heard from other parents that the school children aren't all that aware of the meaning of the whole thing either.)  So I decided to do a lesson on the story behind the song, The Star Spangled Banner, as part of our 19th Century History Coop.

We started with a discussion of the song in general and what they need about it, which was mostly that it was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812.  When I asked them what it was about, most of them said it was about the flag.  But is it really about the flag?  I responded.  That comment generated some thought.

I began by giving them the lyrics of the song and asked them to restate each line in their own words.  This was a great eye-opener, because it showed that most of them had never really considered what the song was trying to say, and didn't even know the meaning of some of the words.  The lyrics I gave them also had the lines in an incorrect order (to try to get them off autopilot), and they also were supposed to put them in the correct order.  It's amazing, as many times as we have sung the song, but even I had a hard time putting them in the correct order without singing through the song in my mind.  Try it yourself WITHOUT singing along and see how you do:

A.  O say! can you see, by the dawn's early light,
B.  And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
C.  O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
D.  O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming!
E.  What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
F.  O say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave,
G.  Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
H.  Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight

Then I gave them black card stock, along with metallic markers, gel pens, and light-on-dark colored pencils, and had them draw the picture they thought was described in the song.  While they were drawing, I told them the story behind the National Anthem (or, at least, my version of it...basically, as follows):

The Star-Spangled Banner was written in response to Francis Scott Keys' experience during the Battle of Fort McHenry.  It was 1814, and while the War of 1812 had gone better for the Americans at the beginning, by now England is no longer distracted by battling with Napoleon, and has turned more of its military force to this war with its former colony.  In defeating Napoleon, England had not only demonstrated that it had the mightiest Naval military force in the world, but had enhanced the status of its army as well.  The invading forces had defeated an American army twice its size at Bladensburg, overrun and burned the capitol city of Washington DC, and was now marching to the 3rd largest city of the time, Baltimore, Maryland.  Baltimore was only 40 miles from Washington, so news had reached the city of how the British had devastated that city and were on the march, presumably to do the same to Baltimore.  At the same time, the mighty British Navy, after defeating forces at Alexandria in Virginia, were sailing up the Potomac to attack the city by sea while the Army marched by land.

The British Army arrived first, but were deflected by the American military at Baltimore.  They pulled back, and awaited the arrival of the Navy to destroy American defenses so they could conquer the city.  Fort McHenry, which was built to defend the Port of Baltimore, was the place that would have to keep the British Navy from entering the city.

The battle began at 6:30 AM on September 13.  For an entire day, the British bombed Fort McHenry.  But all during the day, the people of Baltimore could see that the US flag was still flying from the Fort, signifying that the British had not yet taken over the facility.  Day turned into night, and finally it was too dark to see what flag was flying over the Fort.  Yet still the British bombardment continued.  Through the entire night, the people of Baltimore could hear the battle, the bombs and the armaments, and wonder, "Have the British won?  Are they coming to burn down our city as well?"

But after 25 continuous hours of bombing, the British Navy decided that they could not defeat Fort McHenry, and withdrew.  At that point, the commander of the Fort lowered its smaller battle flag, and raised a larger flag, one that measured 42 ft long by 30 ft high.  (At this point, we stop the story to estimate the dimensions of the flag using the numerous picnic tables in the shelter where we are holding the class--seven picnic table long, to be precise.)

Why did they have such a big flag?  the students asked.  So I asked them if they knew where Francis Scott Key was when he was watching the battle.  The fact is, he was eight miles down the river, but he could see the flag that inspired the song.  And THAT is why the Fort had such a big flag.

So with that in mind, we can understand the lyrics of the song that became our National Anthem, especially when put into our own words:

A.  O say! can you see, by the dawn's early light,

(Now that dawn is breaking, can you see it?)

E.  What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?

(What we welcomed so proudly as the sun finally set last night)

H.  Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight

(Those stars and stripes that, despite the dangerous battle)

D.  O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming!

(continued to flow over the top of our fort)

B.  And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

(and the bombs and explosives that lit up the night)

G.  Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

(sometimes let us see that our flag still flew over the fort)

F.  O say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave,

(But is the flag still hanging there)

C.  O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

(over this place of freedom and courage?)

That original flag now is the center of a big exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.  It is an inspiring display, and I recommend it to all.  But, in the meantime, telling your children the story of this decisive battle in the War of 1812, which caused an upsurge in nationalism among the new nation, is a great way to help them put greater meaning behind the words they may be singing almost automatically.