Ideas That Unite Us as Americans

Preview

As you listen to this song, follow along with the lyrics, and be prepared to answer the three questions at the bottom of your Preview.

1. Who was the composer of this song?

2. How would you describe this song to a friend?

3. Why do the ideas expressed in the song unite us as Americans?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1rKQReqJZg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1rKQReqJZg

While “God Bless America” is a very popular patriotic song, it is not our national anthem.

Francis Scott Key’s “Star Spangled Banner” is our national anthem. Key wrote the poem that became the lyrics to the song during the Battle ofFt. McHenry (Baltimore) during the War of 1812.

Can you think of other patriotic songs similar to “God Bless America”?


Activity:

Social StudiesSkill Builder


What are three details you see in this picture?

Notice the document in her hand, it looks old. Where might you find old documents?

Why would it be important to keep and protect documents, pictures, video, and audio related to events in America?

This is Tina L. Ligon, Archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland. Tina views Navy Deck logs in the stacks at the National Archives. She oversees all activities related to the processing and procuring of supplies for this project, as well as supervising nine student workers.Source: http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access/?p=4723

http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access/?p=4723

Archivists help to catalog and sort artifacts so that they can be preserved for generations of people to read, view, and listen.

When on display, archives are usually grouped into collections. Collections are artifacts that share a theme, author, or topic.


In this activity, you will pretend to be an archivist like Tina, working at the National Archives.

Your task will be to sort three artifacts given to you by your teacher into a collection that will be used in a display entitled, “Ideas That Unite Us as Americans.”

Let’s model how you will do this.


Consider the recording of the song that we listened to.

Talk it over with your partner and decide which of the following collections this artifact would be best suited for. Be prepared to share and tell why you chose a collection.

A. Artifacts related to early radio.

B. Artifacts related to the life and works of Kate Smith.

C. Artifacts related to the life and works of Irving Berlin.


Which collection did you and your partner decide would be best for Kate Smith’s rendition of “God Bless America”?

Now that you’ve had a little practice, let’s get hard at work. You will be given three artifacts to sort into collections. At the end of the activity, your group will be given the chance to tell everyone which collection you choose and why. Here are the procedures for completing this task.


Look at Student Handout 1 and follow along as I read aloud.

Questions?Begin.


Let’s debrief! When I project one of the artifacts that your group sorted, have your presenter stand up. You will present three times during this portion of the lesson. You are to alternate who shares with the class.

The first group called on will answer each of these three questions, with remaining groups answering just the third.

1. What is this artifact?2. What person or group of people is

related to this artifact?3. What topic best describes this

artifact?


1. What is this artifact?

2. What person or group of people is related to this artifact?

3. What topic best describes this artifact?


Processing

DirectionsYou will now design a display for one artifact that would be suitable for public viewing at the National Archives in Washington D.C. Your display must include ALL of the following:

• A colorful sketch of the artifact• Three important facts about the

artifact or topic.• One paragraph that describes the

reason this artifact is an example of an idea that unites us as Americans.


Ideas That Unite Us as Americans

Documents

Transcript of Ideas That Unite Us as Americans