GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: 6-12/Social Studies

PURPOSE:  To present activities to be used at a variety of grade levels and classroom situations in order to enhance student understanding of the Veterans Day observance.

OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to:
1.  Understand the events which led to the observance of Veterans Day as a National Holiday.
CBC:  {M/J} G(IIA5),  USH(IIA); {HS}  AH(IIA),  AG (IIE), G(VIC)
2.  Identify the influence of particular individuals on the events listed. 
CBC:  {M/J} G(V2), USH(IIIB); {HS}  AH(IIIB), AG(V5), E(IIIA).
3.  Locate the places, which relate to these events. 
CBC:  {M/J} G(IC4e); {HS} G(IA).
4.  Compare and contrast Veterans Day (Armistice Day) celebrations in different parts of the world. 
CBC:  {M/J}  G(IIA),  USH(IIB), (VIA);  {HS} AH(IIA).

MATERIALS:
1.  Background information provided by
Dial-A-Teacher web site.
2.  Resources on major American conflicts available at your Media Center and the Public Library.
3.  Background information available through Internet "search engines."
4.  http://www.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/U_S_History/wars/
5.  http://www.yahoo.com/Government/U_S_Government/military/veterans.

ACTIVITIES:
May be assigned as group activities or as individual tasks.
1.  Develop a time-line listing the events, which led to the observance of Veterans Day as a National Holiday. (This may be on permanent display in the classroom and holidays may be added as the year unfolds.)
2.  Write newspaper articles on how veterans are honored around the world.
3.  Invite members of veterans organizations in your community to speak to students about their experiences and their activities in the community.  Assign students to write editorials or create a video of the visits.
4.  Divide students into small groups.  Have them choose a major conflict in American History:  The French and Indian War, The Revolutionary  War, The Spanish American War, The Civil War, World War I, World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War,  & The Persian Gulf War.  Allow students to research the treatment of American veterans  after each and present it in class.  Encourage students to use photographs, videos and available artifacts.  Personal accounts where applicable.  Use the information presented to compare and  contrast how these men and women were treated.
5.  Research the role of women and their treatment in the conflicts mentioned above.
6.  Research the role of African Americans and their treatment in the conflicts mentioned above.

EVALUATION:
Individual assignments should be graded by the teacher using the M-DCPS grading scale. Group activities, presentations, and projects may be evaluated by teachers and students using the following criteria and scale:

Content
Creativity
Clarity

1= Superior (A)   
2= Excellent (B)
3= Good  (C)
4= Fair  (D)
5= Poor  (F)