Remembrance Day (November 11th)
On this page:
Part 1: Learning about Remembrance Day (Educational Units)
Part 2: Suggestions for Remembrance Day Activities
Part 3: A Critical Approach to Remembrance Day
Part 4: Additional Resources
Part 1: Learning about Remembrance Day (Educational Units)
Part 2: Suggestions for Remembrance Day Activities
Part 3: A Critical Approach to Remembrance Day
Part 4: Additional Resources
Part 1: Learning about Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day Teacher's Guide Veteran Affairs Canada. The Canada Remembers Program of Veterans Affairs Canada encourages youth to take an active part in remembrance learning, activities and events within their schools and communities. All of the learning resources are free of charge, and available in both official languages. Additionally, there are several years of the guides available in the site's archives.
Remembrance Day Toolkit (2006). From The Canadian War Museum. Celebrations are an important part of a culture. Documents in the Kit include scans of original postcards, letters, journals, telegrams, photographs, war art, and archival documents of ceremonies. The Kit also contains suggested classroom activities for teachers of primary and secondary students. I believe Remembrance Day offers a very important moment for teachers to address many important Canadian issues.
Part 2: Suggestions for Remembrance Day Activities
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Veterans Affairs Canada offers a detailed array of ways that people can commemorate Remembrance Day on its site. Here is only a brief selection:
Read: about the different events and heroes of the wars
Research: the contribution and sacrifices of different cultural groups, of a member of your family or community, of different war memorials in your community
Be Active: wear a poppy, make origami peace cranes, organize a Remembrance Day ceremony, have 2 minutes of silence at 11am on November 11th, participate in the Royal Canadian Legion Annual Literary and Poster Contest
Share: have students create essays, photos etc, and share on social media
Invite: a veteran or a member of the Canadian Armed Forces as a guest speaker
Watch or Listen: to interviews or testimonies of veterans and members of the Canadian Armed forces
Postcard for Peace: Postcards for Peace provides an opportunity for youth to send postcards to express messages of thanks to those who served Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace or to still-serving Canadian Armed Forces members. This learning activity allows youth to actively remember the sacrifices and achievements of Canadian Veterans.
Read: about the different events and heroes of the wars
Research: the contribution and sacrifices of different cultural groups, of a member of your family or community, of different war memorials in your community
Be Active: wear a poppy, make origami peace cranes, organize a Remembrance Day ceremony, have 2 minutes of silence at 11am on November 11th, participate in the Royal Canadian Legion Annual Literary and Poster Contest
Share: have students create essays, photos etc, and share on social media
Invite: a veteran or a member of the Canadian Armed Forces as a guest speaker
Watch or Listen: to interviews or testimonies of veterans and members of the Canadian Armed forces
Postcard for Peace: Postcards for Peace provides an opportunity for youth to send postcards to express messages of thanks to those who served Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace or to still-serving Canadian Armed Forces members. This learning activity allows youth to actively remember the sacrifices and achievements of Canadian Veterans.
Part 3: A Critical Approach to Remembrance Day
Conscience Canada. I personally believe that our soldiers deserve to be honored for their service; however for some people Remembrance Day elicits only conflicted feelings. This kit is designed to help educators promote peace as a goal and critical thinking as an approach, especially as concerns Remembrance Day commemorations. The strongest criticism is the wariness of the militarism prevalent in some Remembrance Day commemorations. This kit looks mainly at the role of alternative, nonviolent ways to uphold Canadian values. Whatever your personal views, this site offers some questions for reflection on the manner that your school treats Remembrance Day.
Part 4: Additional Resources
- Faryan, Cynthia. (2013). Incredible Tales of the Royal Canadian Air Force: Unsung Heroes of World War II. Middle school and up. These are the stories of the valiant Canadians who fought in World War II.
- Hickman, Pamela & Cavalluzzo, Jean Smith. (2012). Righting Canada's Wrongs: Japanese Canadian Internment in the Second World War. Middle school and up. Could present certain portions to younger students.
- Hickman, Pamela & Fukawa, Masako. (2012). Righting Canada's Wrongs: Japanese Canadian Internment in the Second World War. Middle school and up. Could present certain portions to younger students.
- Renaud, A. (2014). A bloom of friendship: The story of the Canadian Tulip Festival. Children's picture book. A Bloom of Friendship is the true story of a princess whose birth in Canada heralded a long-lasting friendship between the Netherlands and Canada.