Today’s Walking Classroom podcast looks at the popular folk song “Yankee Doodle”. The song started as a way for British soldiers to tease American colonists, but the colonists eventually adopted the song as their own. “Yankee” was the word the British called American colonists, and the word “Doodle” meant “a fool.”
Character Value: Creativity
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Common Core
L–Language | SL–Speaking and Listening | RI–Reading: Informational | RL–Reading: Literature | W–Writing | RH–6-8 Literacy in History/Social Studies | RST–6-8 Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects Elementary School:RL.3.1, RL.3.4, RL.3.5, L.3.5, SL.3.1, SL.3.4
RL.4.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.4, L.4.5, SL.4.1, SL.4.4
RL.5.1, RL.5.4, RL.5.5, L.5.5, SL.5.1, SL.5.4
Middle School:
RL.6.1, RL.6.4, RL.6.5, L.6.5, SL.6.1, SL.6.4
RL.7.1, RL.7.4, RL.7.5, L.7.5, SL.7.1, SL.7.4
EL.8.1, RL.8.4, L.8.5, AL.8.1, SL.8.4
RH.6-8.4
Supplemental Resource Links and Downloads
Quiz: (Make sure you're already logged into your Gmail account, then click to copy this Google form to your Google Drive. Quiz keys are here.)
“Yankee Doodle” Google Quiz
Slide Deck:
“Yankee Doodle” Slide Deck
Includes a full version of “Yankee Doodle” with Revolutionary War paintings.
Explains the use of “macaroni” in “Yankee Doodle”.
Write a short essay comparing “Yankee Doodle” to Phyllis Wheatley’s poem, “To His Excellency, General Washington” in this activity from the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for American Music.
Enjoy “Yankee Doodle” in a live performance.
Write a paragraph about “Yankee Doodle” and its importance in American history in this activity from the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for American Music.
Identify terms relating to Yankee Doodle.
Explore the verses of this song and illustrate or act out their meaning in this activity from the National First Ladies’ Library.
See More Podcasts in Subject Area: Social Studies
See More Themed Groupings that Contain this Podcast: America! America!, Songs and Poems, The Road to Revolution