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At the end of a short week, take some time to look back at Memorial Day and the importance of memory. |
Social Studies
Explore monuments and memorials
Students may be surprised to learn that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is one of more than thirty monuments and memorials in the Arlington National Cemetery. Have them take a look a the others and do some charting of characteristics. Are they all military? What other events or people warrant a monument? Where else might they find monuments? Do you have any locally? Have them take a look at the American Battle Monuments Commission to see the cemeteries monuments and markers maintained by Americans that are not on US soil. What would be some of the reasons?
Explore military cemeteries
There is a tremendous amount of history to be gleaned from cemeteries, and the government office of Veterans Affairs does a great job providing maps of the more than 130 national cemeteries as well as state veterans cemeteries. Check out their site to find Memorial Day ceremonies scheduled across the country, as well as listing s for National and state veterans cemeteries and a database to search for specific graves.
Research Skills
Explore US military
The US Department of Defense was instrumental in the creation of the internet, and as such, is the only military in the world with a top level domain extension, .mil. Have your students explore the Department of Defense and the military departments it oversees. What are the similarities between the departments? The differences? What kind of information do they include on their sites? What kind of information do they leave out?
Explore monuments and memorials
Students may be surprised to learn that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is one of more than thirty monuments and memorials in the Arlington National Cemetery. Have them take a look a the others and do some charting of characteristics. Are they all military? What other events or people warrant a monument? Where else might they find monuments? Do you have any locally? Have them take a look at the American Battle Monuments Commission to see the cemeteries monuments and markers maintained by Americans that are not on US soil. What would be some of the reasons?
Explore military cemeteries
There is a tremendous amount of history to be gleaned from cemeteries, and the government office of Veterans Affairs does a great job providing maps of the more than 130 national cemeteries as well as state veterans cemeteries. Check out their site to find Memorial Day ceremonies scheduled across the country, as well as listing s for National and state veterans cemeteries and a database to search for specific graves.
Research Skills
Explore US military
The US Department of Defense was instrumental in the creation of the internet, and as such, is the only military in the world with a top level domain extension, .mil. Have your students explore the Department of Defense and the military departments it oversees. What are the similarities between the departments? The differences? What kind of information do they include on their sites? What kind of information do they leave out?
© Karen Sterling, 2018 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission
