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Veterans Day, celebrated every year on November 11, is an opportunity for your class to honor real-life heroes, learn about the meaning of service, and have fun with hands-on activities. Explore the many ways to honor Veterans Day and a few holiday resources to help you plan meaningful and engaging lessons that cover gratitude, service, and patriotism.

Bring Veterans Day to the forefront with creative crafts

Veterans Day is a time to honor those who have served in the US military. Bring that spirit into your classroom with crafts inspired by remembrance and gratitude. Students can make heartfelt thank-you cards for local veterans or craft bright poppies to share at home. With so many creative possibilities, your class is sure to find a project that inspires.

Veterans Day Craft
By TNB Creations
Grades: K-6th

This seven-page craft takes about an hour to complete and includes a picture for students to color, along with space to write a letter. Once finished, they can cut out the pieces and assemble them to create a meaningful bulletin board display. 

Patriotic Agamographs | Nice September 11th Craft Activity
By Art with Jenny
Grades: 3rd-8th

Agamographs are images that change depending on the angle from which you view them, and this resource offers several options. It features both American and Canadian designs, including soldiers, flags, and remembrance themes for September 11th.

Veterans Day Craft in English and Spanish Manualidad del Día de los Veteranos
By Bilingual Scrapbook
Grades: K-2nd

Available in both English and Spanish, this resource allows students to create a pants-and-boots craft, explore pages about the different branches of the military, or participate in writing prompts. They can even write thank-you cards to veterans.

Inspire young minds with Veterans Day books

Stories are a fantastic way to connect kids with Veterans Day. You might read The Poppy Lady by Barbara E. Walsh or The Wall by Eve Bunting to give students an introduction to the history. Then they can create their own Veterans Day books. Beyond being enjoyable, these activities encourage meaningful discussions and deepen their understanding of the day.

America the Brave Veterans Day Voting and Elections
By Reagan Tunstall
Grades: K-2nd

Celebrate both Veterans Day and Election Day by creating a lapbook. This resource includes everything you need from an American flag craft book to a thank-you paper for veterans. It’s a great addition to a social studies lesson. 

Veterans Day Activities and Book
By Nikki and Nacho
Grades: K-1st

Teachers get access to a Veterans Day book that helps kids celebrate and learn about the holiday. Along with the mini-book, this resource includes worksheets with comprehension questions and graphic organizers to help build reading fluency and understanding. It’s available in both English and Spanish.

Spark gratitude with Veterans Day writing activities

Elementary Veterans Day activities are more than just understanding the history; you also get to dive into what gratitude is and how to express it. Writing activities offer students the opportunity to express their appreciation while also practicing grammar, sentence structure, and writing techniques. They can write letters for veterans in the community or write a note of thanks to a veteran in their family, allowing them to practice their best penmanship.

Veterans Day Activities – Fact Hunt, Doodle Infographic and Poetry Writing
By Brain Waves Instruction
Grades: 4th-7th

Opportunities to practice writing and learn interesting facts about Veterans Day take center stage in this resource. Along with a fun fact hunt, kids create an acrostic poem about Veterans Day. The resource also includes detailed lesson plans, fact cards, a soldier poem template, and an answer key to make planning easy. 

Honor Veterans Day with an interactive slideshow

A simple, interactive slideshow puts the focus back on the people we honor — our veterans. It’s a great way to spark class discussions and works perfectly as a low-prep option for a substitute teacher.

Interactive Google Slides for Veterans Day
By First Grade Hip Hip Hooray
Grades: 1st-2nd

Keep kids engaged with interactive Google Slides that make learning about Veterans Day fun. They’ll discover what a veteran is and what the armed forces do through click-and-drag activities, then take it a step further by designing a thank-you poster and writing about what they’ve learned.

US Veterans Day Reading Writing Activities Bulletin Board Thank you Cards Letter
By The Little Ladybug Shop
Grades: 3rd-4th

Teach all about Veterans Day with a PowerPoint presentation that covers the origins, history, reasons behind its celebration, and notable veterans. The resource also includes a flipbook where students can write a letter to a veteran and read an article about veterans. Plus, you’ll get an answer key and a rubric to make grading the flipbook a breeze.

Plan an entire Veterans Day unit for extended learning

Having a variety of activities on hand can help keep all your students engaged while teaching about Veterans Day for weeks or even the entire month. These can range from a simple flag craft to making their own dog tags. Celebrate the importance of veterans’ service while keeping it age-appropriate. 

Veterans Day Activities
By Latoya Reed
Grades: K-2nd

This bundle packs a punch with a variety of engaging and fun activities focused on Veterans Day. Teachers receive 48 pages filled with instructions and activities, including word searches, bubble maps, Venn diagrams, letter-writing pages, foldable thank-you cards, and more.

Veterans Day Activities Worksheets & Word Wall
By Fishyrobb
Grades: 2nd-3rd

This printable resources include a Veterans Day passage, a reflection sheet, an “Interview a Veteran” questionnaire, thank-you coloring pages, and more. The easy-to-use 18-page PDF is perfect for on-the-go use, while the digital activities provide a few quiet minutes to pause and reflect.

Quick and easy Veterans Day activities for kids

Celebrating Veterans Day doesn’t require elaborate plans or hours of prep. These activities only need a little construction paper, some glue, and a whole lot of enthusiasm. You can combine them with a slideshow or video to add a bit more history or explanation to the lesson. 

• Create a Gratitude Chain: Give each student a strip of paper to write why they are thankful for veterans. Link the strips together to make a chain that can be displayed in the classroom.
• Host a Digital Veterans Day Scavenger Hunt: Create a list of key symbols associated with Veterans Day (e.g., flags, soldiers, boots) and have students visit designated websites to locate each item.
• Design a Veterans Day Blackout Poem: Provide students with an article about Veterans Day. Have them black out words to reveal a meaningful poem about the holiday.
• Decorate Stars with Gratitude: Students cut out paper stars and write messages of thanks on them. Display the stars on a bulletin board to create a wall of gratitude. 
• Personalize a Hero Badge: Give students construction paper and coloring supplies to design a personalized hero badge honoring veterans.
• Make a Service Hat: Use construction paper to create hats representing different branches of the military.
• Celebrate My Hero: Students draw a picture and write a short essay about a veteran they admire, past or present.
• Host a Veterans Day Dance Party: Play patriotic music and let students dance and sing to celebrate veterans.
• Color for Veterans Day: Give out Veterans Day-themed coloring pages and decorate the room or lockers with them. 

Government resources for teaching about Veterans Day

Depending on your age group, discussing Veterans Day for kids can be challenging. Lower elementary students will need a greater focus on what a veteran is and introductory history lessons. Upper elementary students have a deeper understanding, allowing you to go beyond the basics into personal stories. 

For any age, it’s good to begin by defining what a veteran is and introducing the various branches of the military, possibly through a slideshow. You might even bring the topic to life by reading a picture book to spark discussion or, for upper elementary students, showing educational videos. The goal is to build a connection between your students and the people we honor on this day.

If you’re not sure where to start, these resources can help with tips, activities, and even ready-to-use lesson plans:

• Congressional Medal of Honor Society: Offers free lesson plans on integrity, commitment, patriotism, and sacrifice.
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: Covers the history of Veterans Day, wars, classroom activities, and sample lesson plans.
• National Education Association: Packed with activities, background information, videos, and children’s literature for grades K-5.
• Wounded Warrior Project: Get access to the Honor Their Courage program with interactive lesson plans, activities, and videos (registration required). 
• Library of Congress: Features primary sources and personal stories from veterans to bring history to life.

Plan a memorable Veterans Day for kids with TPT

Make Veterans Day for kids unforgettable by inspiring conversations about patriotism, gratitude, and the sacrifices made for our freedoms. No matter what theme you choose, whether it’s honoring heroes by creating military hats or creating thank-you cards, Veterans Day resources for students are here to guide your plans. Make learning meaningful and fun while helping kids understand why this day truly matters.