Sunday, September 16, 2012

Star Spangled Banner Jumbles

     For the beginning of the school year, I do an intensive unit on the Star Spangled Banner with my 4th & 5th graders. We read the poem of the Star Spangled Banner from the book The Star-Spangled Banner by Peter Spier. We talk about the story behind the poem, and how it became a song. We discuss what it means (and I "translate" it from 1812 American into current day American).  We sing it with the lyrics, then we remove vital words and sing it again. We watch people perform it. We discuss how much it annoys me when people sing it incorrectly. We watch mistakes and see if we can figure out where the mistake is and what the correct words are.

     In the end, I divide the class into groups and give each group a ziplock bag full of little yellow card stock pieces. Each piece has one word from the National Anthem, and the students have to work together to put the entire song together.


     I start them off by telling them nothing more than, "Put the words in order. The first word is Oh."  From there they get started. I walk around as they are working. Depending on how well ey are working, I play an instrumental version of the song while they work.  I tell them to sing it quietly in their group if they are stuck. 
     
     I do have to make sure I always tell them that if they can't find a word or they think one is missing, they should leave an empty spot and come back to it later. It's amazing how many empty spots get filled when there are less words to choose from!  

     It's also amazing how many little yellow pieces get in the wrong bags!  In order to help keep the words straight (for the kids and for me), I printed each set in a different colored font. Unfortunately, the colors didn't all come out as different as I expected when they were printed on yellow card stock!

     The students enjoy this activity because it's like a puzzle. I love it because it helps them learn the words. They have a hands on way to put the words together. They work on literacy skills when reading the words individually and in the song.  

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