TeachersFirst's Veterans Day Resources
Explore these resources for ideas you can use to connect classroom curriculum to Veterans Day. Whether you choose to focus on Veterans Day and its history for one class period or to include a special curriculum project in honor of veterans, these ideas and resources will get you started.
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Teachers - Primary Source Sets - Library of Congress
Grades
4 to 12
tag(s): 20th century (50), authors (100), black history (109), civil war (127), constitution (85), hispanic (28), history day (38), immigration (63), jefferson (18), lincoln (56), new deal (5), primary sources (106), Research (72), segregation (16), thanksgiving (24), veterans (20), washington (23), westward expansion (36), womens suffrage (36), wright brothers (16)
In the Classroom
When introducing a new unit, show students photos from the era (on the left menu) and have them describe what they see and what period they think it is. Find plenty of questions and activities (including a blank analysis organizer for students) in the Teacher's Guides. Also look at Library of Congress: for Teachers, reviewed here. Encourage your students to use this tool for projects. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted for reproduction), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report. Have students create a multimedia presentation using Google Slides, reviewed here. Google Slides allows you to narrate a picture (choose Insert from the top menu, then audio) modifying student learning. Include this site on your class webpage for students and parents to access as a reference.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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D-Day: Teachers' Sources - Imperial War Museums
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): d day (9), veterans (20), world war 2 (140)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a World War II unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Extend learning by having students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a soldier, commander, or loved one during the D-Day invasion. Modify learning by challenging students create timelines (it can include text, images and collaboration) using Sutori, reviewed here. Make your D-Day lessons interdisciplinary by using the search bar to find Science and Technology lessons and share with science teachers at your site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National D-Day Memorial - National D-Day Memorial Foundation
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): d day (9), veterans (20), world war 2 (140)
In the Classroom
Feature this site during a single lesson on D-Day or as part of any World War II unit. Redefine student learning by challenging students to make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools, reviewed here. A few of our favorites would be to create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Image Annotator, reviewed here. Alternatively, use a mapping tool such as Zeemaps, reviewed here, to create a map of local landforms (with audio stories and pictures included)! Or, extend learning and have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a soldier, leader, or politician involved with D-Day events.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project - University of North Carolina Greensboro
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): afghanistan (8), iraq (27), memorial day (13), middle east (43), oral history (15), primary sources (106), terrorism (41), veterans (20), world war 1 (66), world war 2 (140)
In the Classroom
Use this archive for rich, authentic primary source material on the lives of women in the military. Consider having students, individually or in groups, choose a veteran and present her story to classmates. Replace paper reports and enhance learning by using a tool like Slides, reviewed here. Supplement classroom materials associated with a wartime era with the photographs, posters, and diaries provided here. Use these stories as part of a special focus for Veterans Day, Memorial Day, or Women's History Month. The archive would also be a particularly rich resource for students considering National History Day Projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PBS Newshour Classroom - PBS NewsHour Productions LLC
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): civil rights (181), elections (77), holocaust (39), memorial day (13), news (231), pearl harbor (9), poetry (185), veterans (20), video (247), women (111), world war 2 (140)
In the Classroom
Watch the news together on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Allow students to watch independently on laptops or at a learning station. Use any video or article as a current events writing prompt. Challenge students to create blog posts about them. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, replace pen and paper and have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Webnode, reviewed here. Don't forget the many free lesson plans (already aligned to Common Core standards). Click on the Lesson Plans link to explore the countless topics available (Poetry, Veterans, Elections, Ebola, Civil Rights, and more). For articles and videos about conflicts and tension, extend student learning by having your students engage in a debate using a tool such as Virtual Debate, reviewed here, which has online examples and resources for conducting virtual debates. Keep your class up-to-date on the news using this site. Provide this link on your class website for students (and families) to access both in and out of your classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Celebrating America's Freedoms - Department of Veterans Affairs
Grades
4 to 8tag(s): american flag (8), flag day (6), holidays (143), memorial day (13), national anthem (3), veterans (20)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and activities hosted on this site! This would be a great resource on a unit about patriotism, nationalism, or even Veterans day itself. Enhance learning by having students make an interactive book about a national symbol or holiday using Bookemon, reviewed here, and share it with "little buddies" in a lower grade class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History of Memorial Day - History Channel
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): battles (17), holidays (143), memorial day (13), veterans (20)
In the Classroom
Though you may not be able to view the videos, there also links to good content on military history, military leaders, and the various physical memorial sites that honor US military veterans.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Veterans' Day - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
K to 1tag(s): veterans (20), vocabulary (231)
In the Classroom
Have students work in cooperative learning groups, divide up the vocabulary words, and have each group find the definitions for their assigned vocabulary words. Have the groups share their words and definitions in an online book, using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Have the groups share the online books on your interactive whiteboard or projector. If you don't have the time to complete online books, have students share the definitions using a class wiki. Be sure to also check out the interactive word puzzles!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Veterans History Project - Library of Congress
Grades
9 to 12To fully experience this site, you need Adobe Acrobat and Real Player. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): afghanistan (8), iraq (27), korea (18), resources (86), veterans (20), vietnam (32), world war 1 (66), world war 2 (140)
In the Classroom
Primary documents are a vital link between the students of today and the experiences of real people from the past. Students can access these interviews and accounts through searching by time period (WWI through the present), branch of service, gender, or POW status. As your class studies a particular conflict, assign students different accounts to research and then have them "portray" that person in a panel discussion about the war. Compare the experiences of persons filling similar roles across conflicts. Examine gender differences or the differences between those serving in the Navy and the Army. For a powerful long-term project, download the site's "field kit" and consider gathering new accounts for the project in your community.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Experiencing War - Library of Congress
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): afghanistan (8), cold war (27), iraq (27), korea (18), memorial day (13), middle east (43), oral history (15), veterans (20), world war 2 (140)
In the Classroom
Use the audio interviews (with an image of the speaker) on an interactive whiteboard or projector to show students what the war was like from the perspective of people on the ground, and the difference between the first hand account and the textbook. This is a great way to not only teach the content, but display for students the difference between a primary and secondary source. To further argue a point, use a Venn diagram on the interactive whiteboard to graphically display the differences. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Remembrance
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Divide the titles of this page among small groups of 4 or 5. Have each group prepare a presentation for their peers using Genially, reviewed here, to share the information they learned. With Genially, you can choolse from many interactive templates such as presentations, infographics, games and more. Allow students to choose the type of multimedia that best fits the material they learned about.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Oral Histories of World War II - Aaron Elson
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): oral history (15), primary sources (106), veterans (20), world war 2 (140)
In the Classroom
Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study of WWI. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector to have students hear some of the interviews from veterans of the Great War. Play the interviews following a lecture, and have students write down their responses at the end. This will insure students are listening and provide direction for a classroom discussion afterward.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National World War II Museum - National World War II Museum: Learn
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): d day (9), veterans (20), world war 2 (140)
In the Classroom
This site could be the focal point for an extensive unit on World War II, with different student groups investigating aspects of the war. Or feature this site during a single lesson on D-Day. Ask students to decide which technology depicted in the science and technology interactive was the most important factor in the outcome of the war. Share videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard, or assign students to create their own online posters about different facets of World War II using Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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