Previewing Activity	Holidays
Wars	War Monuments
Topics of Interest	PDF File

Holidays

Memorial Day | Veterans Day

Memorial Day

A Brief History
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance of those who served our nationwho contributed their Act of Duty. On May 5, 1868, Retired Major General Jonathan A. Logan planned a ceremony in which veterans who made it through the Civil War decorated the tombs of their comrades. On May 30, 1868, Henry Welles of New York suggested that the town close to honor soldiers of the Civil War. These ceremonies were combined to create Decoration Day. In 1882, the name was changed to Memorial Day and soldiers who died in previous wars were also honored. In 1971 President Richard Nixon declared Memorial Day a federal holiday to be celebrated on the last Monday in May.

Memorial Day is not only limited to war veterans, but is also a day for personal remembrances. Church services, visits to cemeteries and silent tributes make this day one of solemnity and reflection.

Memorial Day http://www.usis.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/memorial.html

Memorial Day: In Memory of Our Honored Dead http://www.usmemorialday.org

Memorial Day http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2328/memday.htm

Memorial Day Links http://members.cyberz.net/jkeepes/memorial.htm

Memorial Day http://www.theholidayspot.com/memorialday

Memorial Day: A Time for Healing http://www.johnshepler.com/articles/memorialday.html

Memorial Day http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyseneca/memorial.htm

Military Women Veterans Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb

Activity

Objective

Student will plot and name (on a world map) the locations of the wars we studied and will write the names of the places and the number of American casualties.

Procedure

Break the students into groups of two or three. Have students go to the Web site titled "Number of Americans Killed/Wounded in Action" at http://members.aol.com/usregistry/allwars.htm or click here for a copy of that page.

Locate and label the following places on a world map. (To print out a world map, go to http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/world.pdf)

a. United States

b. Russia

c. Germany

d. Austria

e. Europe

f. Vietnam

g. Cambodia

h. North Korea

i. South Korea

j. Japan

k. Saudi Arabia

l. Kuwait

m. Iraq

On the back of the map, students will write which countries were involved in which wars and then write the number of casualties that occurred during that war.

Enrichment

Have students complete the Memorial Day Internet Treasure Hunt.

Answers to the Treasure Hunt.

Evaluation

For a perfect paper, the students should have all of the countries labeled correctly and the number of casualties in each war.

Click here to get the chart of the wars which are discussed in the video.

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Veterans Day

A Brief History
In 1918, armistice was signed! World War I, the "war to end all wars," was over. The world celebrated the signing of the peace document -- signed on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month! The world rejoiced.

Congress set aside Nov. 11, 1919, as Armistice Day. In 1938, 20 years after the war ended, Congress voted Armistice Day a federal holiday.

In 1953 Congress passed a bill to rename the federal holiday to Veterans Day to honor veterans of all wars. The date was changed from Nov. 11 to the second Monday in November.

For more information about Veterans Day, go to

Origins of Veterans Day http://www.vfw.com/amesm/origins.shtml

Peace and Bread in Time of War http://www.boondocksnet.com/editions/peace/index.html

Pictures of the Past: World War I http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/dms/past/ww1index.html

A Salute to our Nation's Heroes: Veterans Day http://www.jeannepasero.com/vets.html

Veterans Day http://www.usis.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/Veterans.html

World War I (1914-1918) (African-American information) http://www.ritesofpassage.org/mil_wwone.htm

World War I: Thirty Thousand Women Were There http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets4.html

Activity

Objective	Students will be able to understand the events which led to the observance of Veterans Day as a national holiday.
Procedure	Break the students into groups. Each group of students will select a topic from the list below. Have students use the Web sites listed above to find information on their topics. Make a timeline listing the events that led up the observance of Veterans Day as a national holiday. Since World War I was a world war, find out how the ending of the war was celebrated in other countries and report it as if you were a newspaper writer. Make a PowerPoint slide show depicting events of World War I and use both text and clips found from the above sources. Find out the role of women in World War I and make a presentation to the class of your findings. Find out the role of African-Americans in World War I and make a presentation to the class of your findings. Each group will do research on its topic using the resources listed above. Class presentations will be made.
Enrichment	Invite members of veterans organization to come to school and make a presentation about why Veterans Day is important. Students can prepare questions ahead of time to ask the speaker.
Evaluation	The following rubric will be used to evaluate student presentations.

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