"Great American Music Challenge" a study of four essential American songs

This unit is designed to be four classes long and covers the songs "America," "America, the Beautiful", "The Star-Spangled Banner," and "Yankee Doodle." Included in the unit is print environment for the challenge, the whiteboard presentation, a student brochure with all the songs, certificates for students who complete the challenge, sheet music for the final level, as well as lesson and assessment suggestions. The whiteboard presentation not only includes engaging graphics, but also the lyrics to the songs (first verses only) and historical information.

The challenge is that students must memorize the songs and be able to recite/sing/play them from memory. When students complete the four levels, they complete the challenge and are rewarded with a certificate of achievement. My intermediate students are loving this unit, and integrating a challenge into learning essential American songs has really stepped up their focus and buy in!