The Star-Spangled Banner is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how the War of 1812 shaped the anthem's words, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.His.5.3-5. It prints 5 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 18 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
The Star-Spangled Banner
D2.His.5.3-5
NameDate
Read the verse and answer the questions, then circle the right answers.
1.Read the verse, then answer the questions.
The Star-Spangled Banner
The first verse of the national anthem, written by Francis Scott Key in September 1814, after he watched British ships bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. Congress made it the national anthem on March 3, 1931.
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?
1. Which parts of the flag does the verse describe?
2. Why did seeing the flag at dawn matter so much to the writer?
3. Who wrote the words, and when?
4. What does the verse not tell you?
2.Where can the Fort McHenry flag be seen today?
A.At the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
B.At the Tower of London
C.At Mount Rushmore
3.What title did Key's poem have when it was first printed?
A.The Rocket's Glare
B.Ode to Baltimore
C.Defence of Fort M'Henry
4.What does "ramparts" mean in the anthem?
A.The protective walls of a fort
B.The sails of a ship
C.Fireworks at a celebration
5.Fort McHenry guarded the harbor of which city?
A.Baltimore, Maryland
B.New York City
C.Boston, Massachusetts
LessonPrint · D2.His.5.3-5 · Set 18 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — The Star-Spangled Banner
Set 18. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Its broad stripes and bright stars. 2. It gave proof that our flag was still there, so the fort had not fallen. 3. Francis Scott Key, in September 1814. 4. It does not tell you why the War of 1812 was fought or how it ended.
2.At the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
3.Defence of Fort M'Henry
4.The protective walls of a fort
5.Baltimore, Maryland
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.His.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.