Engaging Remembrance Day Lesson Plans for Middle School

Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, and Veterans Day are commemorated around the world every year on November 11, which marks the anniversary of the end of World War 1.  Every year, I try to come up with a meaningful way to commemorate Remembrance Day in my classroom. Below are some Remembrance Day lesson plans and ideas to get your students thinking about Remembrance Day.

Remembrance Day Lesson Plans

Lesson 1: Song Lyrics Analysis

First up in our Remembrance Day Lesson Plans is a song lyrics analysis activity for the whole class to do together, as well as a pairs activity or one for individual students.
Whole Class:
Provide each student with a copy of the song lyrics to “American Soldier” by Toby Keith. Read the song lyrics out loud as a class. Have the students use the margins of the song lyrics page to dot down any ideas that come to their minds as they read the lyrics. Play the song for the class, and have them highlight verses that make the most impact on them. After reading and hearing the lyrics, have a class discussion where student share their annotations of the song lyrics and the reasons why they highlighted specific verses.

Guiding Questions: 

• Why does Toby Keith start the song with a description of the soldier he is singing about?
• What message is Toby Keith trying to make with this song?

Pairs or Independent:
Provide each student with a copy of the song lyrics to “If You’re Reading This” by Tim McGraw. Have the students read the song lyrics independently or quietly in pairs. Have the students use the margins of the song lyrics page to dot down any ideas that come to their minds as they read the lyrics. Play the song for the class once everyone has had a chance to read the lyrics. Remind students to highlight verses that make the most impact on them. After reading and hearing the lyrics, have the students answer the guiding questions about the song.

Guiding Questions: 

• What is the meaning of the song title?
• What message is Tim McGraw trying to make with this song?
• What is a common theme among both songs?

After I have worked through both of the songs above with my students, we will read the lyrics and listen to the song “Highway of Heros” by The Trews. They will then independently explain the meaning of each verse.

Lesson 2: Photo Stations

Next in our Remembrance Day Lessons is photo stations which will have students examining various photos related to the realities of war.

1. Find photos from World War 1 and World War 2. Print off 5 – 10 photos you feel demonstrates the reality of war.
2. Hang them up in different areas around the classroom.
3. Break students off into equal groups and provide them with sticky notes.
4. Ask them to write down what comes to their mind when they closely examine the photos.
5. Rotate the groups through the photos every 3-5 minutes.
6. After all the groups have seen the photos, have the students do a gallery walk around the classroom. They can read everyone’s sticky notes and have a few more minutes to examine the photos.
7. Have a class discussion about new information learned from the photos they examined.

• World War 1 Photos and Objects
• World War 2 Photos Sorted by Theme
• Canadian World War 2 Photos

• Canada At War
• Pittance of Time
• NBC Tribute – Highway of Heroes
• Highway of Heroes – The Trews
• Video Lesson Graphic Organizer

Once the paragraphs are complete, have the students complete a fold-the-line activity. Have the class line up with one end being the students who think Remembrance Day should not be a holiday, the other end being the students who think Remembrance Day should be a holiday, and the middle students are the ones who are undecided or who are unsure. Then you ask the class to fold the line in the middle so that each student is standing facing another student. Have them share their opinions, then ask them to shuffle down the line X number of spots. Repeat the opinion-sharing process for as long as you hear meaningful responses.

Lesson 5: Choral Reading 
Lastly, we end the Remembrance Day Lesson Plans with a choral reading. First, we read the poem “A Prayer for the 21st Century” by John Marsden out loud and analyze the meaning of each verse as a class. Then, I break the class up into six different groups, where each learns a different verse of the poem. We present with the class standing in six rows facing forward. It looks really dramatic and adds some creativity to a traditional activity like choral reading.

Are you looking for other Canadian history resources? 

• Grade 7 Canadian History Bundle 1713-1850
• Grade 7/8 Canadian History Bundle 1713-1914
• Grade 8 Canadian History Bundle 1850-1914
• Canadian History Sub Plans – Parliament Hill
• Canadian History Sub Plans – Significant Moments
• Canadian History Sub Plans – Parliament Hill Cat Colony
• Canadian History Sub Plans – The Avro Arrow
• Grade 7 History Ontario Report Card Comments
• Grade 8 History Ontario Report Card Comments

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