Veteran's Day can sadly come and go unnoticed in the classroom, between and excitement of Halloween and the Thanksgiving activities that we start in early November. Let's not let that happen this year.
We can start by defining "Veteran's Day," which can be confused with Memorial Day. Both holidays were established to honor and recognize men and women in the US military, but each day is a little different. Veteran's Day is observed November 11, each year and is intended to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the military in both times of war and peace. This is a way of thanking living Veterans for their service and to acknowledge their contributions and sacrifices, while remembering those who may have lost their lives in service. Memorial Day, on the other hand, is observed the last Monday of May each year and is set aside as a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who have died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle.
Additional resources to share with students may include:
- Rules for Respecting the American Flag
- Write Letters to Soldiers
- Adopt-A-Soldier
- Send Care Packages
- Ways to Show Appreciation
- A Heartfelt Veteran's Day Tribute (video)
(Click on each line above to go to a related link.)
This is one of my favorite mini-books to use when teaching the history behind Veteran's Day and it's free!
Here's some great children's books to use as read alouds:
After exploring the links above, your kiddos will be ready to write. So I've thrown together a quick FREEBIE that should do the trick! Be sure to leave me some love in the comments if you download. :-)
Note: This post was originally published on a collaborative blog I write for called The Teaching 2 Step.
