This month begins my most favorite time of the year... so many holidays and themes to celebrate in the classroom! This week's dollar deal is a Veterans Day project. You can begin with a read aloud. Check out this LIST OF VETERANS DAY BOOKS. Then, you can "anchor" their learning with an anchor chart.Below is a picture of my firsties' thinking. We brainstormed words that describe soldiers. Anchor charts are such fun ways to display students' thinking.
You can extend their learning with THE VETERANS DAY PROJECT. This project comes complete with daily directions. First graders need to create. They need to use their scissors, glue sticks, crayons and markers!!!! Fine motor skills development at it's FINEST!! Even if you are remote, I implore you to print out this project and send it to your firsties. Ask parents to do a curbside pick up of materials. Students can display in their home and share during virtual class meetings. I promise both traditional and virtual students will LOVE this project and they are so proud when it's complete!
Review: "These look SO cute outside! They were perfect with our current standards. I have been teaching about expository text as well as character traits/responses. I was able to use this for both and as a transitional lesson from one standard to the other. My principal even commented about how much she loved them outside in the hall!! Thanks :)" - Monica M.
Sometimes understanding what Veterans Day is all about can be difficult for young ones. Read alouds and videos are perfect in a virtual or traditional setting for introducing firsties to new information. I've compiled a list of some of my favorite Veterans Day books and videos to help stock your classroom library.
What's it about? Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood is an engaging rhyming picture book for readers of all ages that fosters mindfulness of and appreciation for the brave service men and women who are also our family, friends, and neighbors. These are the men and women who bravely served our great country and now humbly serve in our communities.
What's it about? When American soldiers entered World War I, Moina Belle Michael, a schoolteacher from Georgia, knew she had to act. Some of the soldiers were her students and friends. Almost single-handedly, Moina worked to establish the red poppy as the symbol to honor and remember soldiers. And she devoted the rest of her life to making sure the symbol would last forever. Thanks to her hard work, that symbol remains strong today. Author Barbara Elizabeth Walsh and artist Layne Johnson worked with experts, primary documents, and Moina's great-nieces to better understand Moina's determination to honor the war veterans.
****Pair this book with the directed drawing video below for a lesson on the meaning of poppies and our veterans. Huge confession: I was never taught about poppies and didn't learn about this special symbol until I was an adult! Let's teach our firsties and carry on the tradition early in life!
What's it About? Written by the son of a career officer, this book explores the branches of the Armed Services and speaks from the heart about the honor, privileges and sacrifices of military families everywhere. Children will discover why drill sergeants have to be so tough, what it means to be patriotic and why we need Special Forces such as the Navy SEALS, the Green Berets and the Army Rangers. H is for Honor also explains why the annual Army/Navy football game is more than just a game, how much letters from home mean to soldiers, how often military families have to move and what life on base is like. With an underlying message of courage and commitment that every child can relate to, the book will be especially meaningful to those whose parents, siblings or other relatives serve in the Armed Forces.
What's it about? When a young boy's great-grandfather comes to his school to talk about Veterans Day, the boy is unsure what to expect. Why exactly do we celebrate Veterans Day - and will his classmates be interested in what Granddad Bud has to say?
What's it about? The moms in the book are superheroes. They may not leap over tall buildings, and they may not have super-human speed. But these moms construct buildings, fly planes, and make tanks roll. They do all kinds of things to help create a safer world. These superheroes are moms. Military moms. Hero moms.
