Remembrance Day Lessons and Resources KS1
In this section of the site, a lesson and an interactive presentation are featured. The first Outstanding Lesson looks at the question: “What are memories and which things do we all remember at different times of year?” It focuses on the concept of memory using an outstanding children’s story, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. The interactive presentation looks at “What do we remember on Poppy Day?”
Teaching Remembrance Day to Key Stage 1
Why do we wear poppies to remember?
Explain to the children that poppies grew in the mud of the First World War battlefields, churned up by years of heavy fighting. Read John McCrae’s poem to bring this alive.
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders’ fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders’ Fields.
Explain that poppies are sold to raise money. Introduce a packet of Jelly Babies ‘the peace babies’ that were given by Bassetts to children after the war to celebrate peace. What would people feel today when they saw a poppy? Do you think poppies are a good symbol to help us remember?
What happens on Remembrance Day?
What do you think of when you hear this music play? Play the Last Post.
What can we discover from visiting our local war memorial?
Did anyone see a name they recognised? How do we keep links with the past? Can we create a Remembrance Day Display?
And finally,
Do you think we should still have a two minute silence to remember all those who died in wars?
Poppy Day: what are memories?
This is the first session on Remembrance Day. It uses the excellent story of Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge as a way of exploring children’s understanding of memories. From the general…
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What do we remember on Poppy Day / Remembrance Day?
This session revolves around a PowerPoint presentation which poses 6 significant questions, each designed to encourage pupils to think and to share their knowledge and understanding of this annual event….
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Remembrance Day – When did we start wearing poppies and have we always done so?
More than a century ago, in 1921, paper poppies were first sold to raise money for returned soldiers of the First World War. In postwar society, many veterans struggled to…
Read MoreWritten by Neil Thompson
All content on Keystage history is written and quality assured by Neil Thompson, a former history teacher, county history adviser and Ofsted inspector with more than 30 years’ experience in history education.