When I began my teaching career, my grandfather, a WWII veteran, asked me to make sure that my students always understood the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day. It seemed silly to me at the time because I grew up always knowing the difference between these two American holidays. I quickly learned that my students did not. Teaching students about Veterans Day became a passion of mine, and a day that I always looked forward to celebrating in the classroom.
Through the course of my career, and within the different districts that I worked in, Veterans Day was honored and celebrated quite differently. From having the day off, to having a school wide all day celebration, and everything in between; I have done it all. With such varied experiences, I have found that I still rely on the same three activities to help students truly understand what Veterans Day is all about.
1. Comparing and Contrasting Veterans Day and Memorial Day

Teacher Tip: Be sure to hold on to this Venn diagram and bring it back out again when Memorial Day comes around and revisit this conversation with your students.
To further help students understand a day in the life of our military men and women, and the sacrifices they make, read aloud the picture book H is for Honor* the week of Veterans Day. (Grab a free copy of the informational article and Venn diagram that I use with my students for this activity at the bottom of this post.)
2. Focused Jigsaw Style Lessons
Students love to learn about our country's military, its history, and our veterans. One way to have focused Veterans Day lessons is to plan lessons about each military branch. Instead of doing all the lesson planning on your own, collaborate with your grade level partner teachers. Each year, I teach a short 15 minute focused lesson about the Navy. This lesson includes a brief overview of the Navy, how Naval ships are named, and a hands on measuring activity that has the kids working in groups using meter tape to measure the lengths of different Naval ships. (We go outside if weather permitting or take our measuring to the hallway if it is too cold.) While I am teaching this lesson, each of my colleagues is teaching their classes a short lesson on a different branch of the military. We then rotate our students through each classroom so that every student participates in a variety of focused lessons about each branch of the military. The kids love traveling to different classrooms and learning all about our military and honoring the brave work that they do. By the end of the rotation, they have had several Veterans Day lessons and learned about each branch of the military.3. Community Service Projects

- Sending student written letters or cards to local veterans
- Sending student created "forever flowers" in red and white and blue like the ones pictured here
- Hosting a Veterans Day assembly and inviting local veterans. Have students sing American songs in honor the veterans.
Spending time learning about Veterans Day and our American military shows students how much we value and appreciate the bravery of our armed forces. Reach out the families of your students to find out if anyone has anyone has veterans in their families. If they do, you might choose to have your students write letters and cards of gratitude to them, too! How do you celebrate Veterans Day in your classroom or school?
You might be interested in reading: 6 Autumn Picture Books for Upper Elementary Students
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