The one about Veterans Day in your upper elementary classroom

Honoring former and present military members has always been important, but since I started teaching on a military base three years ago, it’s taken on an additional meaning. Veterans are the parents, caregivers, and other family members of my students. They’re part of the community I interact with daily. This year, one of my teammates is even a military vet.

Even if you’re not teaching in a military community, you and your students probably know, and/or are related to, a few veterans. In case you’re looking for a few quick and easy way to honor those who sacrificed for our country, here’s what my class does.

1. Teach students what Veterans Day means. I love the BrainPop video about Veterans Day. There’s also a Flocabulary (you can sign up for a free trial!) and this Homeschool Pop video on YouTube. We watch the videos to learn about when Veterans Day started, why we still celebrate it, and how we can show our appreciation.
2. Write a thank you letter. My students write thank yous to their parents, grandparents, siblings, or other relatives. If your students don’t have a specific veteran to thank, have them write to any vet. You can send letters to members of the military using amillionthanks.org. My previous school used to send letters through this organization.
3. Read aloud for the win! I love Rags: Hero Dog of WWI! It’s a nonfiction story available on Epic or you could snag it on Amazon here. Other suggestions include: H is for Honor: A Military Family Alphabet (Amazon link) and Veteran Heroes in Our Neighborhood (YouTube read aloud).
4. Collect photos of veterans. One last thing (which does require planning ahead!) is to email parents and caregivers ahead of time to ask for pictures, names, and ranks of any veterans in your students’ families. These can make a nice bulletin board or you can turn them into a slideshow to share with the class. Because of our community, my school does a schoolwide request for photos for a bulletin board by our cafeteria. In addition, I ask parents and create a slideshow just for our class.

What other holidays are you looking to celebrate? Check out these links for more ideas:

• Thanksgiving Activities for Upper Elementary
• Christmas Activities for Upper Elementary
• Halloween Activities for Upper Elementary

Celebrating our culture helps us to build relationships. Looking for more ways to build relationships year round? Try out a free set of morning messages here.