What are other countries’ national anthems like? MENC member Maria Schwab explored this question with her students. In a unit on patriotic music (national, state, city, and school songs), she compared “The Star-Spangled Banner” with the national anthems of other countries.

Schwab found many benefits for her students in making the comparison:

• They were exposed to anthems from around the world.
• They learned that some countries had anthems that celebrated a particular battle (like the U.S. anthem) or war, while others praise the beauty of the land.
• Those with backgrounds from other countries could share anthems from their families’ places of origin.
• They learned that “My Country, ’Tis of Thee” came from the British national anthem, “God Save the Queen.”
   

Teaching a diverse group of students, Schwab says, “Anytime a particular student’s anthem was sung, the smiles of recognition were so huge! It helped that many of them had just watched the Olympics and heard different national anthems as medals were won.”

She tailored lessons to fit each grade level. Now her whole school knows “The Star-Spangled Banner” and what it’s about. Everyone also has a deeper understanding of what a national anthem is.

Schwab’s school had a class sing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” during morning announcements—enthusiastically introduced by the assistant principal—on September 12th to commemorate National Anthem Day.

Resources:

• The National Anthem Project Teachers’ Resources
• www.national-anthems.net has vocal and instrumental files of anthems from around the world.
• www.nationalanthems.info has music files, lyrics, sheet music, and brief background information for over 400 anthems, past and present.
   

Maria Schwab teaches prekindergarten through 7th-grade music at P.S. 84 in Astoria, New York.

Read other articles in the multicultural series:

Parlez-vous Multicultural?
Pick a Peck of Multicultural Lesson Plans
Multiple Ways to Go Multicultural
Across Disciplines with Multicultural Music
Multicultural Music: Finding Resources, Making Plans
Multicultural Music: Add Zing with Instruments
Building Goodwill Ambassadors
Sharing Cultures: Community and Online Sources
Kamishibai: Emotional Hook for Learning
 

Do you have a lesson using multicultural music you’d like to share?

Linda Brown, October 22, 2008, © MENC: The National Association for Music Education (menc.org)