Armistice day or Remembrance Day is on the 11th November, it marks the day that World War 1 ended at 11 am on the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918. Ceremonies are held at the Cenotaph in London as well as at War memorials and churches across the U.K. and overseas. A 2 minute silence is held to remember the people who have died in all wars - WW1, WW2, Falklands, Gulf war as well as the conflicts in Argentina and the Iraq.
King George V held the first 2 minute silence on 11 November 1919 and made the request for the silence to be observed so:
"thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead".
There are many ways of remembering with pupils, for younger pupils Busy Things have a template poppy to paint, for older students they could make their own poppies - from hand prints and then use these to write poetry on. In Flanders Fields and Ode to Remembrance are two poems that could be shared with older students, they could use copies of these to create their own 'black out poetry' this is when a page of text, is coloured over so that only a few words are visible, these words then create a new poem, great to get the children thinking about the choice of their words. Pupils could use J2E to research and write about the impact of the wars on their local community after perhaps visiting their local war memorial.
The British Legion - has an excellent schools page with links for activities in class as well as assembly resources for KS1-5 pupils.
Widgit - have a range of Activities and books on Remembrance Day as well as WW1 and WW2 to support learners in class.
First World War - The Active Worksheet was produced in response to the centenary ofthe outbreak of World War 1. The resource pack uses augmented reality to produce a genuine 'wow' moment in the classroom and bring virtual artefacts to the desktop. This is backed up by mapped curriculum activities focussing on history, literacy, music and art. The pack has been designed to make the commemoration accessible to key stage 1 and 2
World War 1 - This collection from BBC schools has a range of videos, activities and assemblies for both primary and secondary schools.
Poppies - is a beautiful animation from Cbeebies following a young rabbit through the poppy fields, great to use with younger children.
Trench experience - this innovative virtual-reality app from LGfL brings life in the trenches to life, and is ideal for History and English teachers covering World War 1 and trench life and warfare in general.
The M room -The M Room resource from LGfL gives exclusive access to secret World War II listening sites where the British Secret Service bugged high-ranking German Military prisoners. The resource features an interview with one of the original secret listeners and extensive primary-source material from the Ministry of Defence, relatives of those involved, and The National Archives.
Women in computing -Women in Computing from LGfL aims to recognise and promote the achievements of women in British computing within the social context of the time. The work of women as code breakers during WW2 is one of the areas that is covered within this resource.
Activehistory - There are a collection of Remembrance Day materials here for Years 7- 13, including an assembly, put together by Russell Tarr.
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