Remembrance Day Ideas

Remembrance Day 

November 11th, 2015

Have We Forgotten?

We are supposed to remember all those that are gone,

Those that fought for their lives, and ours, was that wrong?

The young men that left, some had never even been kissed,

Some of them came from good homes, others, not even missed.

In the darkness of night, they marched together, side by side,

With only the moon and stars above them, as their guide,

All around them, the sounds of guns and many tanks,

Slowly moving along rocky shores, and slippery muddy banks.

Against the morning light hundreds of silhouettes can be seen,

They don’t have faces, only darkness, a sea of black and olive green,

Miles and miles of emptiness, loneliness, that lay deep in their soul,

Not knowing what is on the other side of each and every knoll.

Where are they going, do they even know, and what will they find?

What happened to looking out for our fellow man? All of mankind,

Side by side in the trenches, some strangers, some family, just trying to survive, 

Cold and wet, frostbitten fingers and toes, death looks better than being here alive.

Crawling across dead mangled bodies, that were once soldiers with a name,

Now they are just part of the landscape, they can no longer ask, who is to blame?

What happened to my Grandpa, to my Brothers, my Uncle, and my Dad?

Questions asked by all of us, we have pictures, that’s all we’ve ever had.

Did they fight and die for our country, were their deaths worth it in the end ?

Don’t let them be forgotten, wear a poppy, for our lives, they did defend.

 © Barb Hedden Gormley 

Let's make sure each generation knows why we commemorate Remembrance Day.

Let's make sure symbols have meaning.

Let's never forget.

Here are some past Remembrance Day ideas that Christine and I have done with our class and some new ideas, too. 

See post about this idea HERE and HERE

See post about this idea HERE.

 See post about this idea HERE.

See post about this idea HERE.

Below are more ideas....

You could use this idea for an entire school, or hallway or grade. It makes Remembrance Day real and reminds us all that we can remember by bringing peace to the world, today.

These next few craft ideas/symbols, are created by The Artist Woman. 

Link to post HERE.

Link to post HERE.

This is one of my favourite commercials. I would use this to initiate the conversation about the poppy, its meaning and its symbolism. 

Here are some videos. Please view prior to showing students to make sure they are appropriate for your group of students.

~Kaitlin~