Memorial Day Activities

May 23, 2023

Memorial Day Weekend is coming up quick – and it unofficially begins the summer season across the U.S. For many school districts, it’s literally the official first weekend of summer vacation! For other teachers, it’s one final long weekend to give a little boost into the last couple weeks of school.

But Memorial Day holds a much deeper, more solemn purpose at its genesis. This national holiday is in place as a remembrance of the men and women who have fallen while serving in the military, and it’s rooted in rich history, way back to the 1860s. Unofficially, Memorial Day has also become a time to pause and reflect on the sacrifices that all military members make.

So many people are connected to and affected by those who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty. Thus, Memorial Day can be a good time to get your students out of their own bubbles and learn about characteristics such as honor, duty, service, and sacrifice.

If you’d like to incorporate Memorial Day lessons and activities, but aren’t sure where to start, we’ve got you covered!

Digital Citizenship: Wisdom and Integrity

Memorial Day: Graphing Our History of Sacrifice

This site has tons of lessons and activities broken down by grade level (elementary/middle/high) and includes interactive graphing activities, oral histories, primary resources, worksheets, etc.

Women in the Military

This multimedia collection published by the Smithsonian Learning Institute includes lesson ideas, videos, photographs, and other activities centered around the history of women in the military and the impact they have had while serving the country.

Wall of Peace

This lesson gets students to write a paragraph on a commemorative “brick” and build a wall of peace in the classroom (or somewhere in the school). While it may be a little more involved than you’d like so close to the end of school (the wall will have to soon come down), it could be tweaked into a digital wall of sorts. You could also put this one in your back pocket for September 11th or Veteran’s Day.

Memorial Day Lesson Collection

This site has several ready-to-go lessons that will get your students thinking more deeply about what the holiday is all about. From creating a timeline to researching your individual state’s role in past military conflicts to finding ways for your students to connect with local members of the armed forces, this site has a ton of ideas to explore.

ReadWriteThink Collection

This website is a great supplement for tons of lessons, including a solid list of interactive learning activities that center around Memorial Day.