Veterans Day is almost here. So we've collected five PBS LearningMedia resources for early childhood and K-12 educators to help you honor veteran stories and struggles in the classroom.
1. Sesame Street in Communities
Grades: PreK - K, K - 2 (available in Spanish)
Elmo encourages kids to embrace change as an adventure! All kids, especially military kids, go through big changes in their life like moving, changing schools or missing out on time with a loved one. You might ask your class if they have parents or family in the military and how that has affected them. These Sesame Street worksheets are great for children who have ever gone through a big change, asking questions like "What's changed? What's the same?" to help them process a big shift.
2. Yellowhammer History Hunt
Grades: 3 - 5 (available in Spanish)
Yellowhammer History Hunt explores people and places of Alabama, asking interesting questions that align with ALSDE state history standards. Three episodes of the digital series cover the battleship USS Alabama, WWI and WWII addressing questions like "What was life like aboard the USS Alabama?" and "Why did the Tuskgee Airmen have to fight two wars?" During your lesson, you can use the support materials to engage students in activities and discussion about the video you all watched together.
3. Lesson Plan: Veterans Day and the Meaning of Sacrifice
Grades: 6 - 8, 9 - 12
If you'd like to add more media literacy and mental health awareness to your lesson plan, watch this video from PBS NewsHour Classroom. Help your students explore the challenges facing our nation's veterans today, including mental health issues and long wait lines for treatment using quizzes and news articles.
4. Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Grades: 6 - 8, 9 - 12
In this collection, students come face-to-face with Vietnam war veterans from Alabama. Student reporters conduct interviews, experience a virtual draft, visit the The Vietnam Veterans Memorial with a veteran and consider the lasting effects of the war. These compelling stories are supported with classroom discussion questions and an interactive activity.
Using segments from this four-part documentary, follow veterans as they join the military and experience deployments. Students will also analyze oral histories that describe the camaraderie of the veteran community, the struggles of engaging in combat, and the experiences—positive and negative—of returning to civilian life. Using their personal stories, you can engage in a discussion of how American veterans are treated by civilians during their service verses after.
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