Substitute Lesson Plan: Fort McHenry & the Star-Spangled Banner

Objective

Students will be able to describe the key events of the British bombardment of Fort McHenry (September 1814) and explain how Francis Scott Key came to write the poem that became "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Materials

• Printed copies of the "Fort McHenry & the Star-Spangled Banner" resource introduction/narrative (provided)
• Whiteboard or chart paper and markers
• Paper and pencil for each student (for exit ticket)

Warm-up (~5 min)

• Write on the board: "O say can you see..."
• Ask students: "Does anyone recognize these words? Where have you heard them before?" (Take a few quick answers — many will connect it to the National Anthem.)
• Tell students: "Today we're going to learn the true story behind these famous words and the man who wrote them."

Main Activity (~25 min)

1. Read Aloud (10 min): Read the opening narrative aloud to the class (the passage about the man on the ship watching the bombardment). Alternatively, have 2–3 volunteers take turns reading paragraphs aloud.
2. Guided Notes (10 min): As a class, fill in a simple timeline on the board using only details from the reading:
3. June 1812 – U.S. declares war on Great Britain
4. April 1814 – Napoleon abdicates; British turn attention to America
5. August 1814 – British sail up Chesapeake Bay; occupy Washington; burn the Capitol, White House, and other public buildings
6. Fort McHenry stands between the British navy and Baltimore
7. The fort refuses to be subdued; British ships sail away
8. Francis Scott Key watches the bombardment from a ship, sees the flag still flying through the morning mist, and writes a poem beginning "O say can you see..."
9. Class Discussion (5 min): Ask students:
10. Why do you think Key felt "joyful triumph" when he saw the flag?
11. Why might Americans have called the War of 1812 the "Second War of Independence"?
12. Why do you think this poem eventually became linked to the whole country, even though few people remember the War of 1812 itself today?

Wrap-up / Exit Ticket (~10 min)

Have students answer the following on a half-sheet of paper (collect at the end of class):

1. What happened at Fort McHenry in September 1814?
2. Who was Francis Scott Key, and what was he doing when he wrote his poem?
3. What phrase from the poem is quoted in the reading, and what does it show about the fort's fate?
4. In one sentence, explain why the poem later became important to Americans.

If Time Remains

Have students look again at the line "O say can you see..." and, in pairs, brainstorm what Key might have been able to actually see through the morning mist based on the reading (the huge flag, "big enough to show the enemy that the fort had survived"). Ask a few pairs to share their ideas with the class.