Submitted by Tamela Cook, Camden, Tennessee

Idea posted February 17, 2004

I made up a simple game to go with the "Star-Spangled Banner". Once we finished the unit, I decided to either make the material into a quiz or a game. The result is below. Please feel free to contact me privately if anything here doesn't make sense. Have fun and good luck to anyone who may try it! I have done this with junior high (sixth through eighth).

Star-Spangled Banner Game

Split students into two teams and pick a team captain and co-captain. The team captain is responsible for answering for the entire team and the co-captain is responsible for shaking the instrument or "buzzing in." (I usually use jingle bells or a tambourine for one team and maracas or castanets for the other.) Teams may also opt to choose a team name (the Raiders, Titans, et cetera) for scorekeeping purposes.

RULES:

1. The questions will be read by the teacher. The first team to "buzz in" gets the first opportunity to answer. That team has 20 seconds to answer (this is very flexible as I often forget to look at my watch). If the first team cannot answer correctly in time then the opposing team may attempt to answer. There is no loss of points for guessing, but it is suggested that the team captain already know the answer before buzzing in.

2. The team captain is the ONLY person that can answer. Team members that know the answers may whisper, but the team captains are the ONLY people that can use their speaking voices. If the assistant happens to shake the instrument too soon, the question is thrown out (you may opt to return to it later). This rule is meant to cut down on yelling, over-excitement, arguing, et cetera. Thus it is important to realize that arguing, using loud voices, or getting on the teacher's nerves in general can result in loss of points for your team. This pretty much ensures fairness and good sportsmanship.

3. Each question is worth one point (or whatever you choose), and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins!

Have fun and keep in mind it is only a game and remember to always show your good sportsmanship and respect for the other team.
POSSIBLE JOBS: timekeeper or scorekeeper
THE GAME: This game contains three sections: trivia, vocabulary, and spelling.
TRIVIA
1. Who wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner"? Francis Scott Key
2. What two countries were at war when the "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written? The United States and England
3. What fort was under attack when the "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written? Fort McHenry
4. Where is Fort McHenry located? Baltimore, Maryland
5. "The Star-Spangled Banner" is also called our national _____________. anthem
6. What is an anthem? It is a song of ___________. praise
7. Actually, "The Star-Spangled Banner" didn't start out as a song, it really started out as a __________. poem
VOCABULARY
What do the following words mean?
8. dawn: sunrise
9. twilight: sunset
10. broad: wide
11. perilous: dangerous
12. ramparts: walls of a fort
13. star-spangled: decorated with stars
14. banner: flag
15. fought: past tense of fight
SPELLING (you may want to let the team captain switch over to the best speller on the team)
Spell:
16. attacked
17. warship
18. national
19. official
20. anthem
21. twilight
22. perilous
23. rampart
24. gallantly
25. streaming

You can add a big bonus question at the end worth BIG points like, "What year did Congress adapt "The Star-Spangled Banner" as our national anthem or can you name another

patriotic song?

Please feel free to adapt this game to your personal classroom needs and have loads of fun.