Honor a Vet on Veteran's Day

CLASS DISCUSSION: [teacher begins]
{Of course, discussions of this sort can possibly bring up  difficult emotions, so teachers should be gentle and  respectful, and impress this on all students as they discuss these issues.}

1. " When I say "a Vet", and you know I'm not talking about an animal doctor, what do I mean?
2.  A vet is a veteran [person who has served] in the U.S. Armed Services.   Let's name the different branches....there are 5 main branches, who can tell us one?  [answers: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard]  We CELEBRATE the gift of their service to our country each year on November 11th.  And that's coming up soon. We'll talk more about that soon, but first, let's discuss our families and friends who might be in the military.
3.  Who has a living relative who is currently serving or is a veteran of the Armed Services?[ class shares]
4. Did you have a relative who served who is now deceased?    
5.   Why do we call these groups the ARMED services?  [weaponry, "arms" for national protection]
6.  November 11th is Veteran's Day, both in the United States, France, and Britain. These countries were all involved fight WORLD WAR I against Germany, from 1914-1918.  Countries who fight together against a threat from another country are called ALLIES.    When all sides declared to stop fighting, and call a truce [peace], this is called an "armistice."  So, Veteran's Day used to be called "Armistice Day."  But now, called VETERAN'S DAY, it's celebrated on November 11th because that long ago truce that stopped WWI had been signed on the 11th day of the 11th month, at 11:00 am in the morning.  Later, honoring any veteran, living or dead, has been a reason to pay tribute with this special day in November.
7. Many families have a Mom or Dad who is in the service.   Let's watch a short video about how these kids feel about their parents being in the service.
[VIDEO:  Student Reporting Labs:  Military Families, 2:05]
8. [set up short class discussion] So, which statements that were made in the film by military kids could you identify with?   Do you think it'd be cool to be transferred and live in many different world cities, or possibly would it bring about a feeling of "not belonging" and possible loneliness?  From hearing the interviews, apparently, kids view it in different ways. 
9. Let's watch some interviews with veterans who are sharing their feelings of being in the service...pride, fear, homesickness, etc.  Try to really listen to the different emotions that are either directly said or implied.  We'll discuss briefly after each video. 
[Watch and discuss /Voices of Veterans/ Take A Vet To School/ Run for Vets/ A Veteran's Story, Bradley Snyder, Paraolympic Blind Vet/ Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder & Vietnam Vets/  Experiences of a Nurse During The Vietnam War/  ]
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During the films you've watched, did you notice some vets wearing their "dress" uniforms, and others wore their "combat" camouflage fatigues?   These are 2 different ways that soldiers dress.    Dress uniforms are reserved for parades, formal occasions where presidents and other dignitaries are being honored, military funerals, etc. 
10.  Let's look at military uniforms together.  If we ever met a soldier dressed in dress uniforms, it'd be nice to know in which branch of the service they served.
[ look at Wikipedia site, UNIFORMS OF THE U.S. ARMED FORCES. 
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YOUR PROJECT:  Plan a Veteran's Day Celebration for your school
Utilizing ideas you have seen in the videos, PLUS brainststorming  with a few group members, document:
* your unique ideas for a celebration, including
1) Ideas [and sketch] for a large bulletin board that will be in a main hallway of your school to educate students, teachers, and visitors about the gifts and sacrifices VETERANS have bestowed on our country. [ Bulletin board should be displayed mid-October through November]
2) Ideas for a program /celebration to honor Veterans, including music from chorus/band, speakers, flag ceremony, interviews with vets, etc.

BULLETIN BOARD:   IDEAS FOR ARTWORK:
1.  a.)SKETCH  and color A SOLDIER'S UNIFORM, either Navy, Army, etc. & label the branch of armed services [social studies standards & visual arts standards]
  b.)COLLAGE THE SYMBOL OF ONE OF THE 5 BRANCHES OF THE ARMED SERVICES.[ math and visual arts standards]
Each symbol of a branch of the ARMED SERVICES is designed & then reproduced using exact measurements, so as to achieve uniformity of design on ALL flags and posters on which the symbol is presented.  Even though your collage will be hand-made, thereby giving it more of an "alive" feel than a factory printed symbol, measurements of 1)the diameter of the symbol,2) size of each art component  WITHIN the symbol should be proportionally correct.  *Using a ruler and calculator, measure the diameter of the CIRCULAR SYMBOL, and then calculate the diameter that would be needed to reproduce the symbol to display it on a poster board or large piece/construction paper. 
*Next,  measure each single design WITHIN the circular symbol, to correctly APPROXIMATE its size on the larger drawing.   
*LIGHTLY, with pencil, now sketch the size of the circle, and of each design component within the circle  that you just measured and are drawing.
* Referring to the website of the symbol,  cut collage pieces of the appropriate colors and glue them on the symbol sketch.   Even though it won't be as EXACT as drawing it, there is something very "alive" about collage art, and it evokes a different feeling than drawing it  or photocopying .   
IDEAS FOR CREATING A CELEBRATORY VISIT & PROGRAM FOR VETS & VISITORS:
 a.) In small groups, discuss the components for a small "beginning level" celebration for veterans....remember the music, artwork, letter writing, public speaking, flag ceremony, etc.     MAKE NOTES about what you saw in the videos.
 b.)  As you discuss, make notes on your Chromebook about  ideas for:
 -APPROVAL FOR CELEBRATION: Students need to discuss the proposed celebration with the principal and get an "OK" to move ahead with plans
 - DISCUSS IDEAS about HOW you would get in touch with veterans...who are they? How do we invite them? Do we include a request that we'd like them to speak  & share their experiences to a classroom of students, etc.?   
-ARTWORK - Who would you ask to make artwork to decorate the school entrance or classrooms...would you decorate class DOORS? ...posters in HALLWAYS?
-VETS & VISITORS ARRIVING - Would there be a table with "greeters" at the school's entrance or lobby?  Veterans & guests need someone directing them where to go for a program, or classroom speaking.

 - MUSIC:  Who should you contact to help...chorus teacher? band director?  Suggestions for music might be...
*Patriotic songs that would be sung by the entire student body & visitors
* Songs of the 5 branches of armed services, possibly performed by a school chorus, band, or orchestra  Who would need to help you get that together?
 - Would you want veterans to speak in classrooms, or in the auditorium, etc?
- Would there be refreshments served to veterans, or would students make a "keepsake" to give to each veteran guest [which would have to happen weeks ahead of time]

WORKING IN SMALL GROUPS:   Choose 2 components below to organize as a small "starter" celebration for veterans in your school:

SOME IDEAS to choose from:
  large program in the auditorium for entire student body/artwork displayed/ music/ reception with refreshments/ speakers in classrooms/ flag ceremony/ invite a local military unit to perform a drill/marching ceremony/ etc.and of a small celebration for veterans that your group would offer as a beginning for your school.

After discussion, GROUP MEMBERS will OUTLINE the entire plan on chromebooks.  
 

Differentiation: Provide students with specific circular dimensions for the diameter.

Extension: Invite a veteran to speak to the class or at the celebration. Have students conduct research on the experiences of those who have served. 

*The artwork component [collage or drawing] must be completed.
*The group construction of the VETERAN'S CELEBRATION must be  at least one page of description of the components for a small celebration.