Veterans Day Activities for Elementary
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Oct 16, 2023
October has been flying by in a wink, and I know many of you are already planning for November. Because of that, I thought I would pop on to the blog today to share some Veterans Day activities for Elementary.
Looking for some print and go activities that you can grab and use in your classroom right away? Click on the image or button below to see all of the Veterans Day activities for elementary that I have available in my TPT shop!
No Prep Veterans Day Activities for Elementary
These no prep Veterans Day activities for elementary will save you valuable planning time, while engaging learners with activities that bring attention to the sacrifices of our veterans.
Veterans Day Activities for Elementary: Fact Gathering Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger Hunts are one of my favorite ways to complete research activities with my students.
For this activity, I laminate and hide the Veterans Day fact cards around my classroom. If the weather is nice outside, then I sometimes hide the cards around our playground. Then, I have students hunt for the facts and record their findings on fact gathering templates. After, we discuss their findings as a class.
Learning about important content in this way is always a hit with my students. It goes over well with both elementary and middle school learners. I love the way scavenger hunts get students up, moving, and engaged with the content.
Interested in grabbing yourself a copy? Click here or on the image below to pick up a copy from my TPT store.
Veterans Day Activities for Elementary: Interactive Read Alouds
My favorite read alouds for Veterans Day are The Wall by Eve Bunting and America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven. Both stories lend themselves well to being read aloud with elementary students.
Interactive Read Alouds are powerful tools to add to your teacher toolbox. During an Interactive Read Aloud, a teacher reads a carefully and purposefully selected text to the class, and pauses throughout the reading to ask thought provoking discussion questions. Students actively engage in the literary event by listening and discussing the text for the entirety of the read aloud. Instead of sitting passively while a teacher reads aloud to a group, an Interactive Read Aloud asks students to engage in thought provoking discussion for the duration of the story.
For more on Interactive Read Alouds, be sure to check out our comprehensive guides featuring top benefits and planning tips!
The Wall by Eve Bunting
One of my very favorite read alouds for Veterans Day is The Wall by Eve Bunting. The book tells the story of a young boy and his father, and their visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. You can check out a video of the story read aloud below.
There are a lot of great opportunities for deep thinking questions in this story. As different characters are presented, students must make inferences about why they are visiting the wall. It is a beautiful story of remembrance, and definitely worth adding to your Veterans Day read aloud rotation.
Interested in some engaging activities to use along with the story? Click here or on the image below to check out this resource in my TPT store.
America’s White Table by Margot Thesis Raven
Another one of my favorite read alouds for Veterans Day is America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven. This story discusses the tradition of setting an empty table for those who have have been killed or captured during wartime. You can listen to a read aloud of the story below.
As I am Canadian, the setting of the white table is not a tradition I was familiar with before reading this story. My students and I found the idea very interesting. The story lends itself well to a discussion of symbolism, as it discusses the symbolic nature of all of the items placed on the white table.
Interested in completing an Interactive Read Aloud of this story with your learners? Click here or on the image below to check out this resource in my TPT store.
On the hunt for more fun Veterans Day activities to complete with your learners? Check out our Veterans Day Poetry projects and FREE Veterans Day coloring pages!
Looking for more Fall activities?
Check out my latest bundle below – it contains 12 (!!!) of my Fall themed pennant projects (including two Veterans Day activities!), bundled together at a reduced price! Click here or on the image below to go directly to my TPT shop!
For more fun Fall activities, be sure to check out our post featuring favorite fall projects for middle school!
Looking for more holiday activities for upper elementary?
Check out the related blog posts below!
5 Tips to Keep Students Engaged Before a Holiday Break
Thanksgiving Activities for Elementary
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