The Night Our Anthem Was Written
D2.His.12.K-2
Read the anthem and the note, answer the questions, then circle the best answers.
The Star-Spangled Banner
Verse 1 of "The Star-Spangled Banner," by Francis Scott Key, September 1814. It became the national anthem by an Act of Congress on March 3, 1931. The note after it was written for this worksheet. O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there; O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Note: Key wrote these words after watching British ships attack Fort McHenry in Baltimore all night. In the morning, the American flag was still flying over the fort.
- 1. What does the last line call the land?
- 2. When did the song become the national anthem?
- 3. What made Key write the song?
- 4. What does the song say about the flag's stripes and stars?
- A.A British sailor
- B.A lawyer
- C.A king
- A.Boston, Massachusetts
- B.Baltimore, Maryland
- C.Chicago, Illinois
- A.George Washington
- B.Katharine Lee Bates
- C.Francis Scott Key
- A."Yankee Doodle"
- B."The Star-Spangled Banner"
- C."America the Beautiful"
- A.Mexico's
- B.France's
- C.Great Britain's
LessonPrint · D2.His.12.K-2 · Set 13 · free to copy for classroom use