Copyright, 2000

And so begins our search to answer the question of the day for November 11th -"Mom, what is a veteran?" This generation of children has been unusually protected from much, if any, exposure to war and soldiers and military importance. So, when they see or hear reference to the upcoming Veterans Day holiday, they donâ??t understand the significance or relevance to their lives. We can use this holiday as the perfect springboard to learning more about our history, our blessings, and the brave men and women who have served to protect us, and all that we hold dear.

Veterans Day - what does it mean to you?

The history of this holiday may be unknown to many of us, and yet it exists because of the strength and convictions of generations past that we should remember our veterans and their sacrifices for our peace and protection. There was a price paid for the freedom that we enjoy, and this freedom still needs our protection. While we enjoy peace, it is with an understanding that this peace has been bought with the efforts of our veterans, and this holiday can help us express our gratitude for their efforts and beliefs and sacrifices. On this holiday, we honor all of our veterans. Those in the military serve in all kinds of jobs â?? soldiers, doctors, nurses, pilots, engineers, astronauts, and so much more. They all work hard to protect and defend America, and we should be grateful to them all.

I heard recently that there is a shortage of military buglers to play â??Tapsâ?? at military funerals â?? because so many of our military veterans are passing away, particularly those from the World Wars. While our children havenâ?™t really been exposed to a â??warâ?? as we think of it, they do need an appreciation for those who have bravely served. Use this holiday to become familiar with veterans â?? their sacrifice and their courage. Learn more about the American military system â?? how it protects us today and what is happening with our defense. Use this opportunity to learn more about the various organizations that help support out veterans â?? the Veterans Administra-tion (VA), the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and others.

This holiday has special significance to many members of our family as well as our friends. Though often quiet about their service, these people have a wealth of information and experience that they might be willing to share with our students about their service, training, and ideas â?? if asked. By learning more about the people and their participation, we can carry on the tradition and remembrance with pride.

With this holiday, let’s bring out the flag and applaud our veterans. Let us teach these things to our children, so that we never take our freedom and liberty for granted. All of our veterans deserve our appreciation and remembrance. It is now the next generation’s responsibility to protect and defend our country, our God-given rights, and our freedoms.

LEARNING PLAN FOR VETERANS DAY STUDY

The following includes a brief summary of the daily Learning Steps that we will use for this week-long study of Veterans Day. Remember, these Learning Steps are just suggestions. Your family may become fascinated with all of the various stories about the history of our military and study just that section for five days! Enjoy it!

STEP ONE: What is a veteran?

Today we will launch our Veterans Day study by looking at what it means to be an American military veteran. We will investigate the definition and the contribution of these patriots.

STEP TWO: History of Veterans Day

How did Veterans Day begin? Why do we celebrate this holiday on November 11th, and has this always been the date of remembrance? Today will present and opportunity to learn more about the holiday and its history.

STEP THREE: Our Armed Forces

The American military system is a complex yet effective organization. We will spend today taking a brief glimpse at the structure of the system and its history.

STEP FOUR: Flanders Field

The name â??Flanders Fieldâ?? is a famous poem that describes a special place in Europe as well as in the hearts of military people. We will spend some time today studying this poem and its meaning and learning how it captures some of those hard-to-describe feelings that we all share about our soldiers.

STEP FIVE: Sacrificing All For Our Freedom

When a soldier does his or her job, they do it to protect our lives, country and freedoms. They are prepared to sacrifice everything, and today we will try to gain a better understanding of this sacrifice in appreciation of their efforts and commitment.

You’ll need to gather:

o A blank notebook for each child to use as a Patriotic Journal

o Family albums from both Mom and Dad’s families

o An American flag to fly this week

o Some of the books that you choose from the book list for this unit.

FAMILY FAVORITE BOOKS FOR VETERANS DAY

These books are listed to give you some ideas for reading material for this study. The list includes titles that can be used for the student’s independent reading or for family read-aloud time.

Scholastic Encyclopedia of the United States at War, by June English and Thomas Jones. Published by Scholastic. I recommend this book for use with Patriotic Holidays. It is written for grades 3 through adult and gives an interesting and brief summary of each American war, raising their interest without details that would be too distracting for each week-long holiday study.

Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients (Collective Biographies), by Kieran Doherty. Published by Enslow Publishers, for grades 6 and up. This book tells the stories behind the bravery of eleven of the recipients of this high honor.

In Flanders Field: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae by Linda Granfield. Published by Doubleday Books, for grades 4 and up. Filled with illustrations, this book tells the story behind the famous poem. While sharing the life of the man that wrote the poem, the author helps the reader understand the meaning of the poem and the realities of war.

Bully For You, Teddy Roosevelt, by Jean Fritz. Published by Aladdin paperbacks, for grades 3 - 6. It is a fascinating and fun-to-read biography of this great president. Covering his youth, military career, political career, and family life, this book will be a fun read-aloud for the whole family.

High Flight: A Story of World War II, by Linda Granfield. Published by Tundra Books, for all ages. This book tells the story behind the beautiful poem â??High Flight,â?? written by a nineteen-year-old pilot during World War II. As a child of missionaries, he had an interesting childhood and education, and you will enjoy sharing this with your family.

The Wall, by Eve Bunting. Published by Houghton Mifflin, for grades K - 4. This touching picture book is about a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall by a father and his young son and their effort to locate the name of the grandfather that the boy has never known.

Now, what follows is the actual daily plan for the first day of the week-long study. Because of space limitations, I’ve selected the first day’s section to include here, as it helps to answer the question, “Mom, what is a veteran?”

STEP ONE: What is a veteran?

What do we mean when we talk about â??America Veterans?â?? Today we will investigate this definition and the people that we honor on Veterans Day.

Today’s Objectives:

o Study the concept of â??military veteranâ?? and how it applies to America.

o Learn more about the people that are our veterans.

For Elementary Grade Students

Today's Quote: Copy todayâ??s quote into your Patriotic Journal: â??Let independence be our boast, Ever mindful what it cost...'Joseph Hopkinson, from 'Hail Columbiaâ', 1798

WOW Words: Look up the following words in the dictionary and write the words and their definitions in your Patriotic Journal:

1. Veteran

2. Serve

3. Defend

4. Soldier

Patriots: Using an encyclopedia or Internet site, look up the American patriot, Theodore Roosevelt. Why is he considered an American patriot? Write or narrate a paragraph about President Roosevelt in your Patriotic Journal.

Read and Discover: Follow the directions and make sure to write or narrate your answers in your Patriotic Journal.

1. Look up 'military' and 'veteran' in a dictionary. Read the definitions and talk about what a military veteran is in America.

2. Do you know a veteran? Is there someone in your family or perhaps a friend of your family that served in the American military? List these veterans in your Patriotic Journal,

3. Using an encyclopedia or the Internet, find out what American military uniforms look like. Draw and color one of these in your Patriotic Journal and describe when this uniform was used. It can be an American Revolutionary uniform, a uniform of an American soldier in one of the World Wars, or any other American uniform.

Internet Resource for Elementary Students: Theodore Roosevelt Association - Just For Kids www.theodoreroosevelt.org/kidscorner/trchildrens.htm

For Middle Grade Students

Todayâ?™s Quote: Copy todayâ?™s quote into your Patriotic Journal: â??The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted then to us with care and diligence.â?? Samuel Adams, 1771

WOW Words: Look up the following words in the dictionary and write the words and their definitions in your Patriotic Journal:

1. Veteran

2. Military

3. Service

4. Commitment

Patriots: Using an encyclopedia or Internet site, look up the American patriot, Theodore Roosevelt. Why is he considered an American patriot? Write or narrate a paragraph about President Roosevelt in your Patriotic Journal.

Read and Discover: Using library books, encyclopedias, or Internet Sites, find the answers to these questions and record your answers in your Patriotic Journal, along with the source of your information (book, encyclopedia, web site).

1. Write a paragraph that describes what an American military veteran is in your own words.

2. Who do you know that is a veteran? Ask your family and friends for their suggestions. Make a list of these veterans.

3. Develop a set of three interview questions that you would use when talking to a veteran about his or her service.

What would you like to know?

Internet Resource for Middle Grade Students: Theodore Roosevelt (Grolier Online) http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/ea/bios/26proos.html

FAMILY PATRIOTIC PROJECT

Today, the whole family can take some time doing some research together. As a group, try to gather as many names as you can of family and friends that have served in the military. Interview one of these veterans in person or by telephone, letter or email, asking questions that will help the children better understand what it means to serve our country. Have the students write down the veteran’s answers in their Patriotic Journals.

(This concludes Day One of the Veteran’s Day study. The next 4 days are written in the same format, in the complete book Patriotic Holidays.)

ADDITIONAL INTERNET SITES

FOR VETERANS DAY STUDY

Veterans Day

http://www.patriotism.org/veterans_day

The Origins of Veterans Day

http://www.va.gov/pubaff/celebAm/vetday.htm

Remembering Our Veterans

http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/faq/vetsday/vetshist.htm

VFW - Veterans Day

http://www.vfw.org/amesm/origins.shtml

Armistice Ending World War I on 11 November 1918

http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/guide/military.html

U.S. Department of Defense

http://www.defenselink.mil

â??In Flanders Field,â?? by Lt. Col. John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.com/flanders.htm

The History of the Buddy Poppy

http://www.vfw.org/post/buddy/history.shtml

West Point Cadet’s Prayer

http://www.constitutional.net/026.html

VFW Online Movie

http://www.vfw.org/movie/movie.shtml

Military Memory Triggers (great for interviewing family veterans)

http://www.storypreservation.com/started.html#triggers

What Did You Do In the War, Grandma?

http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Womens/tocCS.html

Arlington National Cemetery

http://www.va.gov/pubaff/celebAm/arlingtn.htm

Cool Stuff for Young People

http://www.va.gov/kids

And I’ll conclude this article with some powerful quotes to reflect on during this Veterans Day study:

â??The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men... It is a very serious consideration, which should deeply impress our minds, that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers in the event.â?? Samuel Adams, 1771

â??The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army... We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die...â?? George Washington, speech delivered to his army, 1776

â??To fight out a war, you must believe something and want something with all your might. So must you do to carry anything else to an end worth reaching. More than that, you must be willing to commit yourself to a course, perhaps a long and hard one, without being able to foresee exactly where you will come out. All that is required of you is that you should go somewhither as hard as ever you can. The rest belongs to fate...:â?? Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1884

â??There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpation.â?? James Madison, 1788

Order the complete â??Patriotic Holidaysâ?? from Home Education & Family Services Bookstore. Call 207-657-2800 for information on this new series.