Crosscurricular: Honoring Veterans

Library Media Skills Objectives:

AASL/AECT Information Literacy Standard 3: The student who is information literate uses information effectively and creatively by integrating new information into one's own knowledge.

Curriculum (subject area) Objective:

The student will identify information about veterans and the nationally recognized day established to honor those serving our country.

Grade Levels: 3-5

Resources/Materials:

Raven, Margot Theis. America's White Table. Sleeping Bear, 2005.

Websites with information about Vietnam veterans and history of Veterans Day:

United States Department of Veterans Affairs, http://wwwl.va.gov/opa/vetsday/

This site provides information about Veterans Day including teacher resources and classroom activities.

Veterans History Day Project, http://www.loc.gov/vets/

This site provides stories of wartime service.

Surfing the Net with Kids. http://www.surfnetkids.com/veteransday.htm

This is a great Veterans Day site for kids, teachers, and families.

Vietnam Veterans Homepage, http:// www.vietvet.org/index.htm

This site was created to honor Vietnam veterans, living and dead, who served their country on either side of the conflict.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA. http://thewall-usa.com/

This website is dedicated to honoring those who died in the Vietnam War.

The Virtual Wall. http://www.virtualwall.org/

This not-for-profit corporation's mission is to honor the American military women and men who died in the Vietnam War. The site includes remembrances, poems, photos, letters, and citations honoring those named on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.

Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day

Internet encyclopedia provides information on Veterans Day.

Document reader, LCD projector, screen

Small table, white tablecloth, chair, plate, glass, vase, red rose with red ribbon, sliced lemon, salt, black napkin, candlestick and white candle

Instructional Role:

The library media specialist and the classroom teacher collaborate to develop and implement the lesson that will help students understand the roles of veterans and ways they may be honored. During the Vietnam War, many of the officer clubs and military families started a tradition of setting a white table to remember those soldiers serving far away. This tradition included soldiers whose status was Missing in Action (MIA) or Prisoners of War (POW). Setting a white table is not a widely known tradition but is one that shows honor and respect for all men and women serving in the armed forces. Students will have an opportunity to put this tradition into action.

Activity and Procedures for Completion:

Prior to the lesson:

Two to three weeks before Veterans Day, the classroom teacher introduces the concept of a national holiday to remember those who have served in the armed forces. Have students visit several websites about Veterans Day, the history of the observance, and specific sites relating to Vietnam veterans and the Vietnam Memorial to explore and gather information on the topic. The class will create a PowerPoint presentation about Veterans Day from the information gathered at the different websites.

Through a discussion, the teacher determines if there are students who have family members who served in the Vietnam War. The teacher or the library media specialist could contact the veterans and invite them to be present when students set the white table in their honor. The veterans could be asked if they would be willing to share a memory or a personal object from the war with the class. Students who have family members attending will need to prepare an introduction for the class.

Day of the lesson:

The teacher or the library media specialist uses the PowerPoint presentation developed by the class as a vehicle to discuss the concept of veterans and Veterans Day observances. Students with a family member attending introduce them to the class.

Students volunteer to help set the white table and are given one item each for the table. The library media specialist reads America's White Table by Margot Thies Raven using a document reader to project the story. The students come up one-by-one and set a classroom white table, as it is set in the story.

At the conclusion of the story, veterans who have indicated an interest may share their memory or personal object about the war.

Evaluation:

Discuss the story and engage the students in a conversation about veterans and what they endured while serving in Vietnam as a representation of what they have learned. Generate a list of ways to honor veterans to demonstrate their understanding of the holiday observance.

Follow-Up:

Have students write a thank-you note to the veteran for attending and tell one thing they learned.

[Author Affiliation]

Ann H. Matzke is a library media specialist for the North Platte Public School District in North Platte, NE. Email: ahmatzke@copperlinedesign.com