Tips for Celebrating Veterans Day in the Classroom

You just made it through Halloween – phew! (Pat yourself on the back; you deserve it, friend!) And Thanksgiving is just around the corner. But sandwiched between these two busy holidays is Veterans Day! While your class may still be recovering from candy-comas and costume excitement, you might not be ready to dive into another holiday just yet. So I’ve got you covered with these very low-prep tips for celebrating Veterans Day in the classroom! Plus a freebie later in this post!

Veterans Day PowerPoint and Activities

The beginning of November is the perfect opportunity to spend time reflecting on our country’s heroes. Take a moment to teach students about the significance of Veterans Day and why we honor our veterans. I’ve created this ready-to-go Veterans Day Activities pack to help you and your class celebrate this important holiday!

The included 26 slide presentation takes your class through the branches of our military, who veterans are, why we honor them, and more. Also, there are several writing activities that accompany the presentation helping students really connect with the topic.

Veterans Day Cards

In one of the included activities, students write a “thank you” card to a veteran. You could contact your local Veterans Affairs office to see if there’s an opportunity to bring the completed cards there to be given to local veterans. Or if you know any veterans personally who would appreciate receiving cards from your students, you could have students write to them directly! So many teachers tell me that this resource really engages and resonates with their students.

Celebrate Veterans Day with Patriotic Classroom Decor

Replace your orange and black Halloween decorations with some red, white, and blue decor! Here’s a Veterans Day bulletin board kit that includes several patriotic sayings. It’s sure to create a fun and festive environment in your classroom! It works great on your bulletin board, classroom door, or in your hallway. Grab your bulletin board kit from my website store or my TpT shop!

Veterans Day Craft and Writing Activity

Another decor idea is to create a wall honoring veterans by displaying your students’ own work! Have students choose one of the writing prompts and craft toppers in this Patriotic Writing Craftivity. Once complete, you can showcase your students’ pieces in your classroom or school hallway!

More Veterans Day Ideas for Your Classroom!

Create a valuable experience for students by inviting a local veteran to speak to your class. You could even have students write personalized “thank you” cards to this veteran after they’ve met.

Another idea is to have students create a poster honoring veterans, or combine their individual craftivities onto poster board. Then deliver the final product to your local VA office and take a photo of it displayed to show to your students.

Or take your class on a virtual tour of a military monument or branch museum! The Military Officers Association of America website includes links to several virtual tours. And you can find many others online through a quick Google or YouTube search.

Free Veterans Day Activity

Be sure to grab this free Veterans Day activity for your students! This worksheet includes questions for students to interview a veteran in their family, neighborhood, or community. Then they record the answers on this sheet. This is a great activity to give your students a week or so before November 11th. Or assign it after your class has learned about Veterans Day as a follow-up activity.

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Take the assignment a step further by having students share the responses they received in class. It’s a great way to practice public speaking and presenting to a group! This activity is an engaging way for students to learn more about who veterans are as well as gain appreciation for their service.

Veterans Day Activities for the Classroom

I hope these tips for celebrating Veterans Day in the classroom will help make the holiday special for you and your class without all the stress!

Also with Thanksgiving only a few weeks away, be sure to check out my post with 7 unique Thanksgiving bulletin board ideas!