Memorial Day Activities for Thirds

Memorial Day is meant to honor those who gave their lives in service to our country. It’s a time to talk about struggle and sacrifice. It’s a time to remember who we have lost. On Memorial Day, I like to read a few stories to the students to help them to understand the gravity of the day. A great short text to start off with is this piece from Time for Kids.

There are tons of short videos on You Tube for learning about Memorial Day. I’m using this one with my students.

After we watch and read, I usually discuss with students what they thought was most important to remember about the topic. For this particular writing, we’re focused on why is it important to remember servicemembers. The next two book choices below help the students to understand the sacrifice involved historically with being in the military. Of course, this could also be a segue into discussing specific global conflicts and their impact as well.

I often use a five or six step process when I am teaching writing. Although, I originally created these for advanced firsties, I can still use this for third graders!

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration that can be awarded to a US servicemember. It is usually presented by the president. It can also be called the Congressional Medal of Honor. This medal is always given for incredible acts of valor while serving. There are people who receive this award after returning home, but those who have died in the line of service have their award presented to someone in their family.

There are actually three different designs of this medal. There is one for the Army, one for the Navy and one for the Air Force. This particular craft is patterned after the version presented to servicemembers from the Army.

This craft is detailed, but I’ve enjoyed creating it with students! We learn about Memorial Day over the course of a week and the craft is how we wrap everything up. If you’d like to check out my craft, you can find it on TPT by clicking HERE.