America the Beautiful

song / chant

Lyrics

(Melody by Samuel A. Ward, Lyrics by Katharine Lee Bates)

1. O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

2. O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Sub Plan Ideas

Explain that Katharine Lee Bates was inspired to write the words of this song as she looked out over the beautiful scenery while standing on Pikes Peak in Colorado. Play a recording (suggested recording: Mormon Tabernacle Choir) of the song while turning the pages in a book.
Play a YouTube video of the song and let the students see the scenery.
Ask students to describe the different kinds of scenery they see: mountains, forests, lakes, waterfalls, etc. Ask the students if they can describe places they have visited with different kinds of scenery. Find those states on a United States map.
Ask students to sing along as they listen again. Also, below is a PDF of the lyrics if you want the older students to read along while singing.
Find a coloring sheet of scenery online (do an online search for the words “america scenery coloring” and many options will come up) and have students color or draw while listening to different versions of the song.