Life long learner series- Memorial Day episode

Memorial day may seem to be just another day off from work or school, but its meaning is much greater than that, it’s a day we honor those who have fallen during active military service. Sure, you think when kids go to school, they learn everything, but this is not always the case.

As a teacher for the past 14 years, I have taught a wide variety of topics, and used many different curriculums that my school’s have implemented, but none of which truly focus on the meaning of holidays. It is at the teacher’s discretion whether to teach a topic. Also, sometimes teachers don’t focus on holidays because they think another teacher will have already taught about it or a future teacher will take care of that lesson, so they may skip teaching a few holidays from the year.

 

Here are a few reasons why we should teach holidays every year:

• students learn so many things each year, that they may forget the meaning of a holiday or two, so repeat teaching embeds it as a lasting memory.
• Students educational levels change every year, so teaching the same topic and expanding on their learning capabilities can help students flourish or keep background knowledge throughout their educational career. For example, teaching younger children about veterans and different wars as they increase their grade level, will help them tremendously when they take US History courses in High School, and help them excel on the New York State Regents exam, a requirement for high school graduation.

 

Next steps:

• Parents can find an ample amount of lessons and activities online to suit their child’s learning capability. This doesn’t have to take an hour of your child’s time, but a simple matching worksheet with terms and definitions would suffice, and would build their knowledge of Memorial Day. Every year, you can continue with another activity. Here’s a great website, which lists activities by grade level, http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/memorialday-lesson-ideas.html

memorialvocab

• If you are traveling that weekend or staying local, look online for historical events happening in your area or take a short trip to a museum or historical monument honoring veterans. Examples vary based on location, but if you happen to be in New York, check out, the Memorial Day Parade, Intrepid Museum, and many monuments located in Central Park.

 

Everyone involved in a child’s life, should help build up their knowledge.

Please feel free to share any ideas you may have in the comments below.