The People in Our Neighborhood Kindergarten Unit Two The People in Our Neighborhood

Services are things we do for others, do for others, do for others … Click the blue lyrics above to visit the Goods and Services song, set to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”

GOODS SERVICES

teaching computer banana box baking crayon lumber gasoline helping the sick shampoo building shirt

truck growing crops collecting garbage sewing bread delivering mail book doll lamp protecting chair writing

Click this stamp, honoring the Labor Day holiday, to visit the Smithsonian’s online collection of Labor Day images.

Star-Spangled Banner (as printed in 1814) If the hyperlink on the image does not work, the musical section of the video begins around the 5:30 mark. The prior lecture is interesting, but probably beyond the grasp of many Kindergarteners.

Star-Spangled Banner, (as performed in the 1850s) The recording is audio-online (performed on period instruments). The flag image on the slide is the 1814 version. Click the flag to hear the recording.

Star-Spangled Banner (modern recording) This version has the lyrics at the bottom of the screen – use it for a class sing-along.

Star-Spangled Banner, (modern version) This version (performed by the U.S. Army Chorus at Monticello) includes sign language interpretation.

History of Our National Anthem Following the American Revolution, the United States and Great Britain continued to have problems. This led to another war, which we call the War of 1812, even though it lasted for several years. During that war, British ships attacked Fort McHenry, in Baltimore Harbor.

Writing of the Star-Spangled Banner While the British were bombing, a man named Francis Scott Key was watching from a ship in Baltimore Harbor. He was an American, and was inspired by the flag that continued to fly over the fort, despite the noise, smoke, and confusion of the attack. This inspired him to write a poem, which he called The Defence of Fort McHenry.

A Poem Becomes a Song The poem became very popular with people all over America. People began to sing its words to a tune that was popular at the time. Since many people knew the tune, they learned the words to the poem quickly. Remember that this happened without radio, television, or the Internet! People sang the song in groups, and learned it from friends and neighbors.

The National Anthem People sang the poem, which became known as The Star-Spangled Banner, for more than 100 years before it became our national anthem! Prior to 1931, people sang several different songs at official government occasions. Today, we sing only the first verse (or stanza) of the song most of the time. To the right is the image of the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. Some of the damage occurred due to use, while other parts are missing because people took them as souvenirs over the years. You can see this flag at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D. C.

Fort McHenry Webcam Click the image to view the current flag flying over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor.