Next week, my school will host a Veterans Day Assembly. Student leaders have collected donations for a local veterans organization, and a former student will speak about his experience in the armed forces.
While it’s not a terribly long assembly, it’s one of my favorites because it encourages reflection. I also like to adjust my classroom instruction to complement the assembly. With that in mind, I wanted to share 14 poems, speeches, and longer works perfect for celebrating Veterans Day in high school English.
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Poems for Veterans Day
Oftentimes, the easiest way to incorporate Veterans Day is with a poem. Poems are so short that teachers can easily bring them into the classroom for 1 or 2 days of instruction.
- “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” by Richard Lovelace
- “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- “War is Kind” by Stephen Crane
- “Anthem for a Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen
- “Grass” by Carl Sandburg
- “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” by Randall Jarrell
One of my favorite ways to use these poems is in a gallery walk. I print the poems in a large font and hang them around the room. In groups of 2-3, students rotate through each poem. As they rotate, students look for repeating trends, symbols, word choices, and main ideas. While students rotate, they can record their impressions to share at the end.
To elevate this lesson, you can post an audio recording of each poem on your Google Classroom, and students can listen to the poems at each station.
After students finish visiting each station, they can compare their notes with other groups. This can be the foundation to a synthesis-writing activity, a Socratic Seminar, or it can be the perfect way to set the stage for a Veterans Day assembly.
To make your life easier, I have collected most of these poems in Synthesis Bundle #5: War Poetry.
4 Speeches for Veterans Day
If you have more time to spend discussing Veterans Day, speeches can be a great option. Speeches also work well if you are studying organization or rhetorical analysis, these can be a good choice, too.
#1 Choice: JFK’s Inaugural Address is my top-tier Veterans Day speech recommendation. This is an accessible text, and students often times also have some prior knowledge. In particular, Kennedy’s challenge to listeners sets up a great writing activity. Even if students are not interested in military service themselves, they can still reflect on how they can best serve in their school or community and/or they can reflect on their community has served them.
Anecdotes and Aphorisms: The Crisis No.1 by Thomas Paine is another text with which students are usually familiar. In particular, this is an ideal text for studying specific rhetorical choices such as anecdotes and aphorisms. To elevate this lesson, pair it with Ben Franklin’s aphorisms. Like many of the poems above, this speech provides powerful commentary on the sacrifices related to Veterans Day.
Perfect for SOAPSTones: Patrick Henry’s Speech to the Virginia Convention lends itself to a SOAPSTones analysis. This is also a little shorter than The Crisis, but it still captures the spirit of Veterans Day. Like the next speech, this one highlights the reasons military members often feel called to serve.
Advanced Readers: FDR’s Four Freedoms Speech is a longer and more complex recommendation, but it really explores the freedoms our military seeks to protect. In addition to the text, I also highlight its connection to the United Nations Honor Flag, World War II propaganda based on the Four Freedoms, and Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms artwork.
Long Reads for Veterans Day
Nonfiction Article: “To Live is an Act of Courage” by Jennifer Michael Hecht is a nonfiction article I’ve used countless time. Hecht provides a well-researched discussion of PTSD and military suicides. In the context of Veterans Day, this is an article that lends itself to discussions of sacrifice. Hecht’s writing also asks readers: If our service men and women are willing to sacrifice their health for us, then how can we support them?
Short Story: “Editha” by William Dean Howells may seem like an unusual recommendation because Editha is such a polarizing figure. This text challenges students to think about the reasons and causes for war. It also forces readers to determine if their responses to war are sincere or performative. This pairs well with “To Lucasta” because they present such different perspectives.
Young Adult: If you’re looking for a novel to add to your classroom library, Battle Dress by Amy Efaw is ideal. This has been a long-time favorite. Efaw follows a young woman as she starts boot camp. I like to share this book with students who are considering service. I appreciate the main character’s honesty and reflection about her reasons for service and her journey through boot camp.
Classic Novel: For a more canon classic novel, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is everything. The structure of O’Brien’s novel reflects the physical and mental chaos of war. The main character’s development captures the sacrifices required by war. When I teach this novel, I use these writing journals and this free anticipation guide.
