- Friday 01 November 2019
The 11th of November, Remembrance Day, falls on a Monday this year. While pupils may be familiar with the two-minute silence at the eleventh hour, and the sight of poppy lapel pins, Remembrance Day is often given only a passing mention in the classroom. This year, take the opportunity to help pupils understand that Remembrance Day is also an important time to reflect on and be thankful for all the men and women who have been, and still are responsible for, the defence of the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and the Crown dependencies.
Where does the red poppy come from?
The famous poem, In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, is not merely referencing the poppy as a remembrance flower—it is the inspiration for that meaning itself. After McCrae wrote the piece, it found its way into the hands of Moina Michael, an American who found the poem so powerful that she vowed to always wear a red poppy to remember those who had died in the field. She soon began selling fabric poppies to raise funds for veterans. Eventually, her symbol spread across the world and became associated with 11 November.
How can I bring Remembrance Day into the classroom?
Remembrance Day creates the opportunity for many cross-curricular classroom activities to be employed. In particular, the activities below can give your class the chance to discuss history, geography, English and the arts. Given the subject matter, some activities will suit older pupils better than younger ones.
1. The eleventh hour’s two-minute silence
Make sure to remind everyone about the two minutes of silence that is observed at 11 a.m. You can turn this reminder into a class discussion about respect—why do we stay silent during this time? What might it be good to reflect on during the two minutes? Who are we remembering on this day?
2. A classroom poppy flower
This simple activity requires a sheet of red card for every pupil and a large circle of black card to make the centre of the flower for the whole class.
If you’re wearing a poppy for the day, show it to the class. If not, show a picture of a poppy on an interactive whiteboard instead. Explain that wearing poppies is one of the ways we ‘remember’ and show our gratitude on Remembrance Day. Ask the class to think about what they’re grateful for. Next, hand out sheets of red card and ask each pupil to draw an outline of their hand. Inside the hand outline, they can write a list of things they thought of during the two minutes. Once finished, each pupil cuts out their hand outline. You can stick these around the black circle of card to make a remembrance poppy display for the classroom.
3. Read In Flanders Fields
For older pupils, introduce the lesson by reading the poem In Flanders Fields aloud. Invite the class to discuss the poem. What kind of scene does it represent? Why might this poem have become so famous when it was shared with the world?
Afterwards, type ‘Flanders Fields’ into an online image search to show pupils fields of poppies. Ask them to write a short passage about what being at the field might have been like for a soldier in World War I, using both the poem and photos as inspiration.
4. Where is Flanders?
Put an interactive map on the classroom’s interactive whiteboard. Make sure you pick a map that gives you the ability to zoom in and out. Start off showing the Flanders region and slowly zoom out. Ask pupils to work out which country Flanders is in. As you zoom further out, eventually show where Britain is in comparison and how far from home the soldiers were. Ask pupils to discuss how far away they think that is, and how soldiers might have travelled that distance during the 1910s.
Alternatively, pupils can perform their own online searches and map exploration to answer these questions.
5. Making poppies
A more artistic activity is for pupils to make their own poppies. The only necessary equipment is tissue paper and pipe cleaners. If you add safety pins, the pupils can use their creations as their own remembrance flowers for the day.
