Every November, I like to take a little time with my students to pause and honor the sacrifices of veterans. Veterans Day is an important holiday, but it can also feel tricky to teach in elementary classrooms. The good news? There are lots of ways to connect Veterans Day to reading, writing, and critical thinking without losing sight of its deeper meaning. Here are six Veterans Day activities that work well for upper elementary classrooms and fit neatly into a language arts block.
Lesson Handout
All printables needed to complete the activities in this post are included in the handout. You’ll find it inside the Fall Vault, along with other seasonal resources your students will love.
6 Veteran’s Day Activities
Activity #1 – Why Do We Celebrate Veterans’ Day?
A great way to kick off your Veterans Day lesson is with a short reading passage that gives students the big picture. “Why Do We Celebrate Veterans Day?” introduces the history of the holiday, explains how it’s celebrated, and emphasizes why it’s meaningful. This opening activity works well as a shared read-aloud, independent reading, or even a partner read. It gives students important background knowledge and sets the stage for more focused activities, like analyzing traditions, creating thank-you projects, or learning about individual veterans.
Activity #2 – Veterans Day Fact & Opinion Sort
Start with a handful of Veterans Day facts. (For example: Veterans Day is always on November 11, or President Eisenhower signed the bill making Veterans Day official in 1954.) Mix these with statements that are opinions. (Veterans Day is the most important holiday of the year, or Every family should attend a parade.)
Students can sort the cards into “fact” or “opinion.” Then, challenge them to write their own fact/opinion statements to add to the mix.
Activity #3 – The Tomb of the Unknowns
The Tomb of the Unknowns, located at Arlington National Cemetery, is a powerful symbol of sacrifice and honor. To bring this to life for your students, I created a short reading passage paired with comprehension questions. The passage mixes surprising details (like how the guard takes exactly 21 steps before turning) with just enough history to keep things meaningful without overwhelming.
Activity #4 – Picture Book Connections
Veterans Day picture books can be powerful springboards for reading and writing. Here are a few classroom favorites:
- The Wall by Eve Bunting – A moving story about a boy and his father visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
→ Activity: After reading, students write a journal entry as if they were leaving a message at the memorial.
- America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven – This heartwarming nonfiction story of friendship and service explains the tradition of the “missing man table” to honor fallen soldiers.
→ Activity: Students create their own symbolic “thank you” objects and write a short paragraph explaining their meaning. - Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, and a Miracle by Brian Dennis – An uplifting nonfiction story about the bond between a soldier and a dog.
→ Activity: Students summarize the story in a comic strip, highlighting how loyalty and friendship connect to service.
Activity #5 – Veterans Day Thank-You Writing
One of the simplest and most meaningful activities is writing thank-you letters to veterans. Provide sentence starters if needed:
- Thank you for…
- Because of your service, I…
- Your sacrifice means…
Students can write actual letters for a local veterans’ organization, or fictional thank-you notes to “an unknown soldier” for a writing center display.
For a twist, turn this into poetry writing. An acrostic poem with the word VETERAN, or a cinquain about “hero,” works beautifully and gives students another creative option.
Activity #6 – Veterans Day Sequencing
Provide students with a scrambled timeline of Veterans Day milestones (Armistice Day, President Eisenhower’s proclamation, the holiday date changes, etc.).
Students work to put the events in order, then use transition words (first, next, meanwhile, as a result) to retell the story of how Veterans Day became a holiday.
Veterans Day is more than a history lesson; it’s a chance to connect reading, writing, and reflection with real-world meaning. Whether your students are sorting fact from opinion or writing heartfelt thank-you notes, these activities provide them with language arts practice while honoring the people who have served.
If you’d like even more fall activities for upper elementary – like sequencing cards, inference riddles, interactive games, and persuasive writing handouts – they’re waiting for you inside my Fall Vault. You’ll receive the username and password when you sign up for my newsletter.
