By Katie LeValley
Veterans Day is Monday, November 11. How are you commemorating the holiday in your classroom? Here are 10 ideas to enhance your class’s discussion this Veterans Day:
1. Watch students interview World War II veterans at their national memorial.
2. Read personal accounts of veterans with the Veterans History Project, sponsored through the Library of Congress.
3. Use short stories and first-person accounts to better understand the experience of war, contrasting the differences between going to war, being at war, and coming home after the conflict has ended.
4. Help students understand the sacrifice of war through this fact sheet for the US Department of Veteran Affairs, which provides the total number of US service members at the time of each war and how many died as a result of each conflict.
5. Use our e-book to center your Veterans Day classroom teachings on primary sources. Use our introductory questions help guide discussion.
6. Consider the Civil War’s impact on veterans as they returned to civilian jobs and a united country, with a complete lesson plan by EDSITEment.
7. View these primary sources and discuss how we honor veterans and their deeds and service. This can include public recognition, family recognition, and gratitude.
8. Turn on a PBS documentary about a US war or use one of their provided timelines, lesson plans, and teacher resources. PBS has pages dedicated to the US Mexican War, the Civil War, World War I, and World War II.
9. Utilize Thinkfinity and take advantage of their lesson plans, interactives, podcasts, and other resources created in celebration of Veterans Day.
10. Get a free account on The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and use their teaching resources and multimedia to enhance your Veterans Day lessons.
Do you have other suggestions for celebrating Veterans Day? Comment on our blog post!
Katie LeValley is an intern with What So Proudly We Hail.
Click here to sign up for our newsletter.Distinguished scholar-teachers Amy and Leon Kass demonstrate how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civic education and how a pedagogical approach that stresses learning through inquiry can make primary sources come alive for students of all ages.
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