Singing Patriotic Music
K–4 Chorus

Objective

• Students will sing a familiar patriotic song on pitch, rhythmically, and with good phrasing and dynamics.

National Standard

1B. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music: Students sing expressively with appropriate dynamics, phrasing, and interpretation.

Materials

• “America” found in most basal series textbooks. (You can also use “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America, the Beautiful.”)
• Audiocassette recorder, microphone, and blank tape

Prior Knowledge and Experience

• Students can sing “America” from memory.

Procedures

[Note: Students often sing “America” giving equal stress to all notes and text syllables. A slightly waltz-like treatment of the rhythm will be conducive to a more musical performance of the song.]

1. With students, chant “1-2-3, 1-2-3” lightly emphasizing the first beat. Have students continue to count, lightly patsching on 1. Echo-chant the text phrase by phrase in the correct rhythm, slightly accenting beat 1.

2. Echo-sing by phrases: “My country, ’tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing.” Start singing softly, crescendo to forte on “Sweet land of liberty,” and decrescendo to piano on “Of thee I sing.”

3. Echo-sing by phrases: “Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims’ pride,” [breath] “From every mountainside, Let freedom ring.” Start the dynamics at mezzo forte and crescendo to forte on “From every mountainside.” Round off the phrase by softening to mezzo piano on “Let freedom ring.”

4. Conduct the students through the song, listening carefully to be sure that they are lightly emphasizing beat 1. Check pitch-matching.

5. As you conduct the song, make your conducting gestures communicate dynamics and phrasing. Pay close attention to the students’ dynamics. Ask, “Do we sing the entire song loudly? Do we sing the entire song softly? Are there times when we sing more loudly than other times? On what words do we sing loudest? On what words to we sing softest?”

6. Ask students to listen while you sing the song again and to tell you the words where you carry the phrase over without breathing. Model the song again using correct dynamics and phrasing and lightly emphasizing the first beat of each measure.

7. Conduct students through the song once or twice more. Record their final performance. Play the recording so that students can hear whether they sang on pitch and used correct dynamics.

Indicators of Success

• Students sing “America” more musically as a result of singing rhythmically, using a variety of dynamic levels, and phrasing correctly (taking breaths and carrying the phrase over in appropriate places in the text).

Follow-up

• Have students breathe properly in appropriate places in patriotic songs such as “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America, the Beautiful.” Encourage students to be aware of dynamics in these new works.
• Since pitch-matching accuracy tends to improve with focused practice, have students attend to pitch-matching in all the songs they sing.

From Strategies for Teaching Elementary and Middle-Level Chorus. Compiled and edited by Ann R. Small and Judy K. Bowers. Copyright 1997. MENC, Reston, VA.

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