Memorial Day Lesson Ideas

by Gary Hopkins, Education World®

The first official Memorial Day celebration was held in the United States in May 1868. On that day, which was then called Decoration Day, people remembered the war dead by decorating their graves with flowers. (To learn more about the history of Memorial Day, see Memorial Day History.)

Today, we still take time to honor those who serve and have served, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. But do your students understand the true significance of the day? In order to help them put Memorial Day in perspective, we offer...

9 Lessons for Teaching About Memorial Day

1. Memorial Day: Graphing Our History of Sacrifice
   Using an online graphing tool to graph America's history of war dead helps students understand the significance of Memorial Day.
    
2. Thinking About Our Troops
   A handful of ways for kids to connect with America's soldiers serving around the globe.
    
3. The Wall Inspires Letters to Veterans
   Eve Bunting's moving book, The Wall, inspires students to write letters to veterans at local veterans' hospitals.
    
4. Mapping Your State's Role in the Vietnam War
   Teach the significance of Memorial Day by creating a map showing the hometowns of your state's Vietnam War dead. A stunning visual reminder!
    
5. Memorial Day Shoebox Parade
   Create a timeline of U.S. conflict and a Memorial Day Shoebox Parade to commemorate soldiers who fought for freedom.
    
6. Connecting Kids and Soldiers
   While some teachers discuss the war in Iraq with their classes, many others find that both they and their students want to do something concrete to help U.S. troops abroad. We have some suggestions.
    
7. Hang a Flag Mural
   What better way to greet visitors to your school (or to your Town Hall) than with a student-created flag mural?
    
8. Put the "Memory" Back in Memorial Day
   How some teachers are stressing the importance of remembering and honoring our nation's fallen servicemen.
    
9. Wall of Peace
   Commemorate Memorial Day, Veteran's Day or September 11 with this activity for all grade levels.
    

More Memorial Day Lessons

• Organnizers of the Veterans History Project are collecting and preserving "audio- and video-taped oral histories, along with documentary materials such as letters, diaries, maps, photographs, and home movies, of America's war veterans and those who served in support of them." Project organizers invite middle and high school teachers and their students to participate.
   
• How about designing your own Memorial Day WebQuest? Arrange students into groups. Each group will take responsibility for part of a Memorial Day program. Separate groups could handle music, a Memorial Day speech, arranging for special guests, and a poetry reading. Individual students might take responsibility for the opening prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the playing of Taps.

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