Dr. David Childs, D.D., Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University
Introduction- What is Veteran’s Day?
Early November marks the time wherein we honor our members of armed forces during Veterans Day. Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day until 1954) is a national holiday in the US that is observed on November 11. The holiday honors US military veterans who were honorably discharged. Veterans Day is distinct from Memorial Day, as Veterans Day commemorates the service of all U.S. veterans. However, Memorial Day honors those who have died during military service.
Honoring Men and Women in Armed Forces
The sacrifices that the men and women of the various branches of government make for our freedom cannot be measured. But as a country we must continue to strive toward ways to make them feel appreciated. One great way of doing this is by teachers integrating meaningful material into their curriculum about Veteran’s Day. This can help students understand the importance of those men and women who serve in The Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard, the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.
Resources and Lesson Materials for Teachers
PBS Learning Media provides many wonderful resources to help educators in their classrooms. We have included some of the resources and lesson plan ideas below just in time for Veterans Day. In describing a powerful lesson for Grades 6-12 PBS Learning Media writes, “Teachers can use this interactive lesson plan in your classroom to help your students understand the significance of the holiday and the true meaning of sacrifice. This activity will have your students identifying important veterans in their lives, examining an interactive timeline of military history, and studying issues that veterans face today.” Click here for the lesson entitled The Greatest Sacrifice: A Lesson Plan for Veterans Day.
November also marks Native American Heritage month. This is a great reminder for us to celebrate the culture and history of First Nations, while also honoring their service. In discussing the lesson and student activities PBS Learning writes:
“Meet three Native American veterans from the Wind River Reservation who served during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Have your students analyze Indigenous cultural values related to military service and ask themselves the essential question, “Why did Native Americans join the United States military before they were ever considered United States citizens?” Teachers can click on the lesson here entitled, Honor Native American Veterans.
Women military veterans are often overlooked in our society. PBS Learning offers great information about the little known historic Women’s Army Corps:
“Do your students know about the Women’s Army Corps? Created during World War II, the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) was the 150,000-woman branch of the United States Army. With the help of historical footage and an interview with a WAC veteran, you can challenge your students’ perceptions of the traditional roles women have held in the workplace and the military.” Click here for the lesson entitled POV: A Veteran’s Experience in the Women’s Army Corps.
Please share what resources you find useful for your teaching.
We are open to feedback and discussion. If you see any typos or grammatical errors, please feel free to email the author and editor at the address below:
childsd1@nku.edu
Another great military division to uplift is W.A.S.P. – The Women’s Airforce Service Pilots. Many programs like the Women’s Army Corps are forgotten about or overlooked because they aren’t the “typical” military look that society portrays. Incorporating programs that aren’t well known or talked about into the Veterans Day curriculum to show the diversity within the military and the things they accomplished.
While reading through this article a big thing that stood out to me was how the article was formatted. It was written in a way that was easy to read and comprehend. I think it is very important to introduce and teach students about veterans and what they do for our country. Without them, we wouldn’t be the society we are today and they deserve to be honored for the sacrifices that they have to make. By providing links and specific resources in this article it makes it simple for teachers to find fun and interesting activities to incorporate into their lesson plans for their students to do.
I liked how this article was well organized, making it easy to read. It is important to teach children about honoring men and women in the Armed Forces and how there are two days (Veterans Day and Memorial Day) and different ways to do this. I have used PBS media before, and I think it would be beneficial to use it for this topic as it can help children understand better.
I liked this article because it really shows how important it is to honor those men and women who are the armed forces. I will use this article to educate my students on how it always a good idea to Thank the men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom.
I really enjoyed this article and all the ideas incorporated within it. We as a society should always honor those men and women in the armed forces. These individuals make enormous sacrifices just for our freedom. This is often unfortunately taken for granted. It’s important to educate our youth and everyone in general on the gratitude we should possess for these individuals in the armed forces.
The article was an easy read and I was able to agree with the statements that Dr. David Childs made on how we as a country need to do doing more for the men and woman who have served our country. I also think that this could be very helpful for teachers because it gives teachers some websites that they can use to help teach their students about veterans day.
I really enjoyed reading this article. I plan on being a teacher, and this article will be a really good resource for my future classroom. I feel like my school never really talked about Veterans day and Memorial day. I mean, we were told when these holidays were because we’re out of class, but I never learned what the days truly mean. I definitely think learning about the difference is important, so I will for sure use these lessons in my future classroom.
I really enjoyed this article. While going through school I don’t remember many veterans’ days learn about verbenas and I think it is a thing kids should know because they could have relatives or role models that were service members, and they don’t have any clue what they go through. honoring men and women who serve to protect is really important cease they deserve if for what they do you don’t see the things they do every day so taking time to learn gives kids and idea of what they do for us.
I really enjoyed the article as a whole. I learned or relearned maybe the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The distinction between someone who served and someone who gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving. I think it is important as a future teacher to integrate Veterans Day into the curriculum, especially as a history teacher. I think it is important to allow for students get an understanding of all the history and one thing that may be overlooked is the native American impact on the US, not just them as a first nation and the pilgrims. I find that introducing this to a level that the student will understand is vital to the future education for the students. This also includes women’s studies in the military as well as black soldiers.
This article is a great tool to read because I am going to be a teacher and want to educate my kids on Veterans Day. In my past years of school on Veterans Day, we weren’t taught about the purpose of the day, and didn’t even talk about it that much. After looking through the lesson plan to help kids understand the importance of Veterans Day, I am definitely going to implant that in my curriculum.