If your school is still in session by Memorial Day, organizing a school observance is a terrific way to honor and remember the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. Here are a few ideas for ideas for teachers and students in the days leading up to or immediately after Memorial Day:

Memorial Day Fact Sheet

Print out and share the Memorial Day fact sheet with your students .

Moment of Silence

As a school, observe your own moment of school wide silence in commemoration of America’s fallen veterans. The national moment of silence occurs at 3:00 local time, but it’s ok if need to choose an earlier time in the day.

Download an mp3 of “Taps,” the traditional tune played at military funerals, and play it over your PA system. Or better yet, have a trumpet player from your band play “Taps” in the school’s courtyard.

Honor Personal Connections

If any student has a family member or ancestor who died in a war, have him or her compose a brief biography and have the principal read it over the PA system on a day near Memorial Day.

The biography can read something like this:

Hi, I’m Joe Smith in the 8th grade. My great-grandfather Samuel Smith, fought in World War II. He was in the navy. He served aboard a destroyer that fought in the Pacific. He died when his ship was hit by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine in 1944. He was only 26 years old. My family has a picture of him in his navy uniform that we keep on our mantle. I am proud to have a relative who fought for the United States in WWII.