Unit Plan Template

Unit Plan that Incorporates the Use of Thinking Tools

Author
First and Last Name=	An= ne Otte
School Name	= Herington Middle School
School District	USD #487
= School City, State	Herington, KS=
Classroom Informati= on
Subject Area
General Music<= /font>
Grade Levels
6-8
Unit Ov= erview
Unit Title
The Star-Spangled Banner: Why Is It Sung and Should We Keep It?
Unit Summary
This unit will first consider why we sing traditional songs. We will = list some songs that are widely known and sung first. Following this we will consider = The Star-Spangled Banner, and how it came to be used as our national anthem. We wil= l then explore the pros and cons of using this piece as a suitable anthem for th= e United States, reviewing other patriotic songs that might be used as an anthem. As part of this process, student= s will be asked to assume roles of either historical persons who played a part in either the composition of or championing of the anthem or that of persons= who are concerned with the usage of the anthem today.
Building the Founda= tion
Habits of Learning Taxonomy <= /span>
Access facts Identify and discuss facts Apply facts to situation Analyze information Combine parts of information Compare and argue points
Standards
Stan= dard 6: Benchmark 1: All students will listen to, analyze and describe music. Stan= dard 9: Benchmark 1: All students will understand mus= ic in relation to history and culture. <= /span>
Learning Objectives
The learner will investigate traditional songs in our culture, discovering co= mmon elements in the music, lyrics and origins. The learner will also investigat= e a specific song, The Star-Spangled Banner,= in the same way, comparing it with other patriotic songs. Thus educated, the learner will = form opinions on the music and compare their viewpoints with other students.
Curriculum-Framing Questions	Essential Question
Wh= y do we sing traditional songs?
Unit Questions
Sh= ould The Star-Spangled Banner be kept as the national anthem of the United States? What makes a song “traditional”? = What makes some songs easier to sing than others? What do we have preferences for = one song over another song?
Content Questions
What is the history of the United States national anthem? Why was it selected= for this purpose? How do The Star-Spangled Banner and other patriotic songs com= pare in terms of construction of the music, content of the lyrics and tradition? What do people w= ith different backgrounds and different occupations think of keeping this son= g as the national anthem? <= /o:p>

= Student Assessment Plan

Assessment Summary

In this unit, students will develop lists of traditional songs and patriotic songs. They will discover similarities = and contrasts between these songs within their respective categories (traditi= onal and patriotic) and will formulate opinions about the songs based upon tho= se similarities and differences. More specifically, they will focus on The Star-Spangled Banner and discover reasons for promoting it as = the United States national anthem and reasons to promote another patriotic song as our nati= onal anthem instead of the SSB. = They will discover the strong tie of tradition as it is related to popularity = of the SSB. The showing eviden= ce activity will be utilized during the process of uncovering this.

Assessment Timeline


Before Project Work Begins	While Students Work on Projects=	After Project Work Ends

= · = Questioning = · = Review of songs = · = Study of definiti= ons = · = Discovery of prob= lem	<= font size=3D1 face=3DSymbol>· = Develop lists of songs—traditional and patriotic <= font size=3D1 face=3DSymbol>· = Compare range, tessitura, wide intervals and language of traditional and patriotic s= ongs <= font size=3D1 face=3DSymbol>· = Visual Ranking of easier to sing <= font size=3D1 face=3DSymbol>· = Develop history timeline of SSB <= font size=3D1 face=3DSymbol>· = Seeing Reason tool used to describe history of SSB <= font size=3D1 face=3DSymbol>· = Showing Evidence tool used for suppor= ting claims regarding debate between selection of SSB or another patriotic song as national anthem	·= Each student will construct a powerpoint presentation of discoveries regarding the nati= onal anthem as well as another patriotic song of their choice

=	=	=

Visual Ranking Elements (Complete this section if this too= l will be used in the unit)<= /font>

Visual Ranking Project Name (For the Visu= al Ranking workspace)<= /font>

1.= Favorite Traditional Songs 2. Favorite Patriotic Songs

Project Description (For the Visu= al Ranking workspace)

Many traditional songs are widely known and sung. A number of these songs are sung= by our classes in the book, Let’s Get America<= /st1:place> Singing—Again!, which we use in our classroom. Our class will develop a list of= 12 favorites, and following this, we will rank them using this tool. After this, we will develop a li= st of favorite patriotic songs, many of which are in this same book and others = are also well known by students. Again, students will rank them, this time in terms of how easy they are to sing. Before any ran= king occurs, students will be introduced to definitions related to music, such= as range of notes, where most of notes lie (tessitura), wide intervals (skips), and lyrics. All of these elemen= ts affect how easy a song is to sing. Working in teams, students will assess the favorite song list, both traditional and patriotic, in terms of ease of singing. They will assign numbers to each= song in each category. Then stud= ents will take their data and make use visual ranking on patriotic songs, comparing their list to others. Students will then

Prompt (For the Visu= al Ranking workspace)<= /font>

Rank each song using the num= bers we gathered in our teams. R= ank them from easiest to sing to most difficult to sing.

Sorting List (For the Visu= al Ranking workspace)<= /font>

Tradition= al Songs

She’ll Be Comin’ Around The Mountain

I’ve Been Working On T= he Railroad

Old Dan Tucker

You Are My Sunshine

The E= rie Canal

This Little Light Of Mine

Rock-A-My Soul

The <= st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Red River Valley<= /st1:PlaceType>

Patriotic Songs

The Star-Spangled Banner

America, The Beautiful

America (My Country ‘Tis Of Thee)

This Land Is Your Land<= /o:p>

God Bless America

God Bless The USA

This Is My Country

You’re a Grand Old Fla= g

Practice Ranking (For your future quick reference)<= /font>

Te= acher ID:

Practice Team ID 1:

Practice Team ID 2:

Pa= ssword:

Seeing Reason Elements (Complete this section if this tool will be used in the unit)
Seeing Reason Project Name (For the Seei= ng Reason workspace)<= /font>
Wh= at factors make a song more difficult to sing?
Project Description (For the Seei= ng Reason workspace)
The Star-Spangled Banner represents a commonly sung = and known song that is difficult to sing. Several factors contribute to a song being classified as more difficult to sing. Some of these factors include: wide range, either wide or narrow intervals, complex rhythms, archaic or unusual words, complex harmony, no accompaniment and unfamiliar tunes. Students will relate these factors, and other factors of their own creati= on, to quality of performance.
Research Question (For the Seei= ng Reason workspace)<= /font>
How did The Star-Spangled Banner become our national anthem?
Practice Map (For your future quick reference)<= /font>
Practice Team ID:	Pa= ssword:

Showing Evidence Elements (Complete this section if this too= l will be used in the unit)
Showing Evidence Project Name (For the Show= ing Evidence workspace)<= /font>
The Star-Spangled Banner: Should it be our national anthem or should we replace it?
Project Description (For the Show= ing Evidence workspace)
In this activity, students will review reasons for keeping The Star-Spangled Banner (SSB) as the United States national anth= em and also reasons for replacing it. They will create individual powerpoint presentations detailing the reasons for and against, as well as giving background history of the anthem. The showing evidenc= e tool activity will help them organize their powerpoint. Students will also be experimenting with singing the national anthem in class as a solo or part= of a small group.
Prompt (For the Show= ing Evidence workspace)<= /font>
Select evidence for the SSB = to be retained as our national anthem.
Practice Case (For your future quick reference)<= /font>
Practice Team ID: Re= viewing Team ID:	Pa= ssword: Pa= ssword:
Claims
We should keep The Star-Spangled Banner as the national anthem.<= /o:p>
Evidence <= /span>
The tune for the SSB is Engl= ish in origin. The tune was sung originally (using different words) in English taverns. The lyrics for the SSB originated in time of war. The words are archaic and difficult to understand. There are many v