Veterans Day Lesson Plan

Veterans Day Lesson Plan

Veterans Day

Soldiers

Anniversaries

The purpose of this lesson is to educate the students about patriotic holidays in the United States such as, Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day and incorporating historical events like 9/11. The lesson plans focus on a variety of material that will help students understand the importance of Veteran’s Day and how it has affected their home in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). It starts by introducing the history of Veteran’s Day as it was established in November 11, 1947 in the state of Alabama, followed by explaining the reasoning behind the holiday (Veterans Day National Committee, 2006). It further explains important figures of the Rio Grande Valley, like Freddy Gonzalez’ life in his memorial book “When The River Dreams” (Flores, 2006). We will focus on answering the following questions, Who is a veteran?, What is Veterans Day?, When is Veterans Day?, Where is Veterans Day?, Why Veterans Day is celebrated?, and how Veterans day is relatable to the students’ lives?

Anna Flores

Jacklynn Kiefer

Amanda Vega

UTRGV College of Education

EDCI3335

Spring 2019

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Special Collections and University Archives

1947

2001

1968

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

UTRGV College of Education

Stephanie Anckle

Flores, Ana, Kiefer, Jacklynn, and Vega, Amanda. (2019). Lesson Plan for Veteran's Day. Retrieved from https://rgvprimarysourceguides.omeka.net/items/show/115

PDF

English

LessonPlan-VeteransDay-FloresKieferVega

§113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) History. The student understands the historical significance of landmarks and celebrations in the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the significance of various community, state, and national celebrations such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving;

§110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2, Adopted 2017.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, discussion, and thinking--oral language. The student develops oral language through listening, speaking, and discussion. The student is expected to:
(A) listen actively, ask relevant questions to clarify information, and answer questions using multi-word responses;

The student will be able to comprehend the significance of the patriotic holiday Veterans Day, nationwide and in their community.
The student will be able to explain the importance of Veterans Day in the nation and in their community.

● Introductory video
● 4-square vocabulary worksheet
● Journal
● Writing utensil
● Blank paper
● markers/ crayons/ colored pencils

7 days

Abstract
The purpose of this lesson is to educate the students about patriotic holidays in the United States such as, Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day and incorporating historical events like 9/11. The lesson plans focus on a variety of material that will help students understand the importance of
Veteran’s Day and how it has affected their home in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). It starts by introducing the history of Veteran’s Day as it was established in November 11, 1947 in the state of Alabama, followed by explaining the reasoning behind the holiday (Veterans Day National Committee, 2006). It further explains important figures of the Rio Grande Valley, like Freddy Gonzalez’ life in his memorial book “When The River Dreams” (Flores, 2006). We will focus on answering the following questions, Who is a veteran?, What is Veterans Day?, When is Veterans Day?, Where is Veterans Day?, Why Veterans Day is celebrated?, and how Veterans day is relatable to the students’ lives?
 
Patriotic Holidays: Veterans Day
The lesson plans that are documented on this paper are based on Veterans Day, as well as important people, events, and holidays that will enhance students’ comprehension on the topic. We decided to incorporate the history of Veterans Day and how it came about, as well as what it is since it is important that students become more conscious of the respect and honor that veterans shall be granted for their service. Furthermore, we will explain on a different lesson the types of military and ranking of the armed forces to educate students on the specifications the soldiers perform, depending on their different services. In addition, the students will have the opportunity to compare Memorial Day to Veterans Day since they are related, yet not the same. Plus, the students will be given the opportunity to learn and study about a local hero from the RGV, Freddy Gonzalez, to improve relevance and sentiment towards their community. Also, the students will be exposed to the 9/11 attacks, in order for them to understand the motives and reasons of civil servants going to duty, in the most recent years, as well as giving them the opportunity to find possible relatives in line of duty.Finally, students will commemorate the veterans by writing them a letter expressing their gratitude towards their service and the respect they deserve.
In accordance to the base of our lessons, teaching our students about Veterans Day and incorporating relevance to the students’ community, we based our pedagogy on Vygotsky’s theory (1934). Vygotsky’s study emphasized the strong relationship between cognitive development and interaction with the environment. Specifically, community and the significance it creates across learning (McLeod, 2018).


Lesson 1 - Introduction to Veterans Day
Your name: Date and Time of Lesson:
Ana Flores, Jacklynn Kiefer, Amanda Vega March 5, 2019 (55 minutes)
Grade Level: Number of Students:
2nd grade n/a

Assessment (formal and/or informal):
The teacher will assess students informally by walking around the classroom, asking basic questions of said holiday, Veterans Day, testing prior knowledge before beginning the lesson, during the lesson, and after the lesson.

Standards:
§113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) History. The student understands the historical significance of landmarks and celebrations in the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the significance of various community, state, and national celebrations such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving;

Standards:
§110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2, Adopted 2017.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, discussion, and thinking--oral language. The student develops oral language through listening, speaking, and discussion. The student is expected to:
(A) listen actively, ask relevant questions to clarify information, and answer questions using multi-word responses;

Objectives:
1. The student will be able to comprehend the significance of the patriotic holiday Veterans Day, nationwide and in their community.
2. The student will be able to explain the importance of Veterans Day in the nation and in their community.

Strategies for English Language Learners and Learners with Special Needs
● ELL students will be grouped with bilingual students
● SPED students will be grouped with General Ed students in the regular classroom
● Teacher assistance around the classroom
● “Word wall” vocabulary words translations
● Teacher must be prepared with helpful visuals (images, graphic organizers, etc.)

Materials and Resources
● Introductory video
● 4-square vocabulary worksheet
● Journal
● Writing utensil
● Blank paper
● markers/ crayons/ colored pencils

Instructional Sequence (instructional strategies and learning tasks)
○ The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn about one of the most important and celebrated patriotic holidays in the country. The students will be able to learn the origin, purpose, and basic knowledge of Veterans Day.

● Accessing prior knowledge (5 minutes)
○ The class will engage in a discussion on their current knowledge about Veterans Day, prior to the beginning of the lesson.
● Introduce 2-minute video to class (made by teachers)

■ Questions and topics that will be discussed:
● Who Veterans Day celebrates?
● What Veterans Day is?
● When is Veterans Day celebrated?
● Where Veterans Day is celebrated?
● Why/how Veterans Day is celebrated?
● Teacher modeling (15 minutes)
The teacher will introduce new vocabulary words that will be mentioned throughout the lesson in relation to Veterans Day. Along with the students, the teacher will work on a 4-corner activity for each of the vocabulary words.
Vocabulary: veteran, honor, soldier

Vocabulary Word Definition
Sentence Picture

● Guided practice (15 minutes)
Once the vocabulary has been covered along with the class, the teacher will work on the 5 Ws of Veterans Day (who, what, when, where, why/how). The students will write these important key points in their journals.
● Practice (independent, partner, group) (15 minutes)
Independent: The students will be given 10 minutes write out a short story about a veteran. The students will use their imagination, creativity, and what they’ve learned about veterans, to write the short story the best way they can.
Group: Within their groups, the students will exchange short stories amongst each other, and try to interpret the stories they’ve read through drawings.
● Closure (5 minutes)
The students will be assigned an exit ticket to turn in at the end of class, by writing out 2-3 facts they learned about Veterans day.

Lesson 2 - U.S.Veterans (Armed Forces)
Your name: Date and Time of Lesson:
Ana Flores, Jacklynn Kiefer, Amanda Vega March 6, 2019 (55 minutes)
Grade Level: Number of Students:
2nd grade n/a

Standards:
§113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(13) Citizenship. The student understands characteristics of good citizenship as exemplified by historical figures and other individuals. The student is expected to:
(A) identify characteristics of good citizenship, including truthfulness, justice, equality, respect for oneself and others, responsibility in daily life, and participation in government by educating oneself about the issues, respectfully holding public officials to their word, and voting;

Standards:
§110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2, Adopted 2017.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, discussion, and thinking--oral language. The student develops oral language through listening, speaking, and discussion. The student is expected to:
(A) listen actively, ask relevant questions to clarify information, and answer questions using multi-word responses;

Objectives:
1. The student will be able to understand the characteristics of being a good citizen, such as responsibilities of serving the country.
2. The student will be able to understand the characteristics of being a good citizen, such as participation in government and education of the armed forces of the United States.

Strategies for English Language Learners and Learners with Special Needs
● ELL students will be grouped with bilingual students
● SPED students will be grouped with General Ed students in the regular classroom
● Teacher assistance around the classroom
● “Word wall” vocabulary words translations
● Teacher must be prepared with helpful visuals (images, graphic organizers, etc.)

Materials and Resources
● Writing utensil
● Journal
● Soldier cut-outs
● Markers/ crayons/ colored pencils

Assessment (formal and/or informal):
The students will be assessed informally along their mini presentation at the end of the lesson. The teacher will walk around and observe what the students share about what they have learned.
Instructional Sequence (instructional strategies and learning tasks)
○ The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn about the responsibilities of a U.S. citizen, as well as educating them about the different armed forces in the United States, that classify members as Veterans.

● Accessing prior knowledge (5 minutes)
1. Students will reflect on what they learned the day prior about Veterans day, and what they can recall from the introductory video in regard to the armed forces of the United States.
■ Questions and topics that will be discussed:
● Air Force
● Army
● Coast Guard
● U.S. Marine Corps
● Navy
○ Teacher will discuss the responsibilities of each and similarities that make members of each armed force, veterans.

● Teacher modeling (15 minutes)
The teacher will model each of the armed forces with cut-outs of each member, and give a brief explanation of the responsibilities, and what makes them different from one another.

● Guided practice (10 minutes)
Along with the students, the teacher will work on finding similarities amongst the five different services, finding what makes them all veterans.

● Practice (independent, partner, group) (20 minutes) Independent: The students will be given cut-out soldiers, with an assigned type of force. Students will be instructed to color their soldiers, write out in what they serve, and one fact they learned about their specified service.

● Closure (5 minutes): The students will be instructed to present their soldiers within their group. This way, the students will close off the lesson by learning what their peers learned, as well as having each student share their comprehension of the lesson during their mini presentation.

Lesson 3 – What is Memorial Day?
Name: Date and Time of Lesson:
Ana Flores, Amanda Vega, and Jacklynn Kiefer March 6, 2019 (45 min)
Grade Level: Students:
2nd grade n/a

Assessment (formal and/or informal):
The teacher will make informal assessment on the students as she gets them involved in the class discussions. Plus, she will monitor students’ work as well as answer any questions they have throughout.
Standards:
§113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.
(1) History. The student understands the historical significance of landmarks and celebrations in the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the significance of various community, state, and national celebrations such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving; and
§110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2, Adopted 2017.
(13) Inquiry and research: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student engages in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for a variety of purposes. The student is expected to:
(E) demonstrate understanding of information gathered;

Objectives:
1. The student will be able to compare information taught about Veterans Day with new information about Memorial Day through a Venn diagram.
2. The student will apply Memorial Day information from the video by decorating a grave of a fallen soldier and include 3 important facts.
Strategies for ELL students and Special Needs students:
For ELL students and students with special needs, there will be visuals for them to guide themselves through the activities by showing a model of the end product. The video shown will be discussed as a class for further comprehension. Consistent monitoring of the teacher will be available.

Materials and Resources:
Video on Memorial Day facts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWn2RPr-GhE
Venn diagram
Grave decorating activity
Projector
Pencil
Color pencils
Butcher paper
Social Studies Journal
Blank paper

Instructional Sequence (strategies and learning tasks):
Purpose: The purpose for this lesson is for students to understand the differences between Veterans Day and Memorial Day since these two holidays celebrate similar things. Students will be able to know the importance of remembering not only the living soldiers, but also the ones who died defending their country.

Accessing Prior Knowledge (5 min): students will be engaged in a class discussion involving what they learned about Veterans Day, days prior. This is to get the students thinking about the differences that exist between these two holidays. The teacher will focus on answering the following questions: What day is Veterans Day celebrated on? Who is remembered on Veterans Day? and Who is a Veteran?
Teacher Modeling (5 min): After the class discussion, students will watch a video containing the facts about Memorial Day. It discusses issues like why it came about, when is it celebrated, and what events occur during this day. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWn2RPr-GhE). After they finish watching the video, students will engage in a class discussion about what they learned from the video. As a class, they will start coming up with similarities and differences between the holiday that was taught a couple of days prior (Veterans Day), and the one taught today.

Guided Practice (10 min): With the video in mind, the teacher will work together with the students to create a Venn Diagram that will represent what similarities and differences Veterans Day and Memorial Day have. This will be done through a butcher paper pasted on the board so all the students can see. After the Venn Diagram is finished, the students will copy the end result on their social studies journal for future reference.

The focus points will be: the different days in which they are celebrated, the people who the holidays remember (the living, deceased, or both soldiers), how the holidays were brought up, and what events occur during the day in which it is celebrated.
(information for the above sections was retrieved from: Teachers resource guide honoring all who served, 2006).
Independent Practice (20 min): For the independent practice, students will be given a grave in which they must decorate for a fallen soldier of the Armed Forces. This will relate to how Memorial Day was first known as “Decoration Day” with the intent of decorating the graves of those soldiers who sacrificed their lives in battle as well as remembering them. Then, the students will choose 3 different facts about Memorial Day that they learned throughout the lesson, and they will incorporate them in the center of the grave they will decorate. The intent for this is that students fully understand that Veterans Day and Memorial Day are two separate holidays, that even though they are familiar, they still have several differences.

Closure (5 min): To close the lesson, students will create an “Exit ticket” where they write something they liked about the lesson, something they didn’t understand, and something that they learned. After they create it, three volunteers will read their exit ticket to the class so the teacher can reinforce any questions students have, as well as students being able to sum up what they learned and took from the lesson.

Lesson 4 – Who is Freddy Gonzalez?
Names: Date and Time of Lesson:
Ana Flores, Amanda Vega and Jacklynn Kiefer March 7, 2019 (45 min)
Grade Level: Students:
2nd grade n/a

Assessment (formal and/or informal):
The teacher will make informal assessment on the students as she gets them involved in the class discussions. Plus, she will monitor students’ work as well as answer any questions they have throughout.

Standards:
§113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.
(4) History. The student understands how historical figures, patriots, and good citizens helped shape the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:
(C) explain how people and events have influenced local community history.
§110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2, Adopted 2017.
(12) Composition: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts--genres. The student uses genre characteristics and craft to compose multiple texts that are meaningful. The student is expected to:
(C) compose correspondence such as thank you notes or letters.

Objectives:
1. The student will be able to implement the information learned about Freddy Gonzalez by creating a medal and giving it to someone they feel deserves it.
2. The student will be able to value the importance of the service and sacrifice performed by Freddy Gonzalez during war by creating a thank you letter.
Strategies for ELL students and Special Needs students:
For ELL students and students with special needs, there will be visuals for them to guide themselves through the activities by showing a model of the end product.Consistent monitoring of the teacher will be available.
Materials and Resources:
Book: When The River Dreams by J. Flores
Projector
Medal activity
Butcher paper
Sticky Notes
Pencil
Color Pencils
Instructional sequence (strategies and learning tasks):

Accessing Prior Knowledge (5 min): The teacher will engage the students in a class discussion where they point out the importance of veterans and the service they perform.
The focus points will be: Why do they think that Veterans service is important? Do they believe that serving in the armed forces is a valuable and honorable duty? Does anyone have a family member who is a veteran? and if so, How do they feel about their service? and Who would like to be a soldier one day?

Teacher Modeling (8 min): The teacher will first read a letter obtained from the book “When The River Dreams” that Freddy wrote to his mother while serving in war. After reading the letter, she will ask the students what they think about it, and infer who Freddy is and what he accomplished. After the discussion, the teacher will create a chart on the projector where she will demonstrate all the accomplishments that Freddy Gonzalez achieved (the medals he won and the reasons why he won them), as well as general information (place or birth, of death, battles he was involved in, and armed forces where he served) while finally mentioning the memorials that are found here in the RGV.

Guided Practice (7 min): After learning about the life of Freddy Gonzalez, the teacher and the students will create a thank you letter as a class destined for him.
The focus points the teacher will address are: Why was Freddy Gonzalez so important? Was he an honorable soldier? How do they feel that he is from the RGV? and, Why is it important to thank Freddy and acknowledge his efforts during his time of service?
Independent Practice (20 min): The students will be given a medal that they must decorate/color. After doing so, they will each come up with a name for the medal and a purpose for it. They will write 2-3 sentences where they explain said purpose. Finally, they will choose someone who they want to give the medal to, and they will write 1-2 reasons why they want to award it to him/her. This will all be written in the same paper.

Closure (5 min): For the closure, and as a way for the teacher to reinforce the material taught, the students will be each given a post it in which they need to write a fact learned about the life of Freddy Gonzalez. Afterwards, they will go on to the board where a piece of butcher paper will be found and they will post their fact on it. Finally, the teacher will read around 5-7 post it notes to the class, and she will clarify questions or simply learn students’ comprehension about the topic taught.

9/11 Remembrance
Teacher: Jacklynn Kiefer
Date: 2/23/19
Subject / Grade level: Social Studies/2nd Grade

Materials:
● 911 Fact Sheet
● Pencils/Markers
● Napkins
● Red, white, and blue paint
● Construction Paper
● Computer
● Memorial Wall Virtual Tour - https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7123473,-74.0134411,2a,75y,117.33h,46.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1saCFxtnF4hsn8xZX1YKPRVQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
● 911 Hero Tour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KvRqk3bylw&feature=youtu.be

NC SCOS Essential Standards and Clarifying Objectives
§113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(2) History. The student understands the concepts of time and chronology. The student is expected to:
(A) describe the order of events by using designations of time periods such as historical and present times;

(§110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2, Adopted 2017.
b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, discussion, and thinking--oral language. The student develops oral language through listening, speaking, and discussion. The student is expected to:
(A) listen actively, ask relevant questions to clarify information, and answer questions using multi-word responses;

Lesson objective(s):
● Students will develop a deeper understanding of what happened on 911.
● Students will become aware of why we need to remember the people that were involved in 911.
● Students will have a deeper understanding of what the word “Hero” really means.
● Students will understand the importance of Patriot Day.

Differentiation strategies to meet diverse learner needs:
● The teacher will provide several different learning techniques throughout the lesson. The teacher is providing a video, a hands-on activity, and it is teaching the students orally to meet the needs of all different types of learners such as auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, and visual learners.

ENGAGEMENT
● The teacher will start the lesson by asking the students:
- “What does a hero mean to you?”
- “What does a hero look like to you?”
● Teacher will show students a 911 Hero Tour video on YouTube.

EXPLORATION
● The teacher will ask the students:
“How should we pay tribute to our heroes to thank them?”
● Students create a finger painting using red, white, and blue paint to honor the heroes of 911 and write a thank you or remembrance quote on the painting.

EXPLANATION
● The teacher will discuss the 911 facts.
- What was the trade center?
- What were the twin towers?
- What happened on the day of 911?
- Why did this event happen?
- How can we remember what happened?
- What happened after 911?

ELABORATION
● Teacher will show the students a virtual tour of the memorial wall.
● Teacher will briefly discuss that a war occurred because of 911.
Vocabulary
- Bravery
- Hero
- Service
- Remembrance

● This knowledge is applied to students’ daily lives because this concept discusses heroes such as firefighters, soldiers, and these are people that are in student’s daily lives. Children need to know why it’s important to honor these people for their service.

EVALUATION
● Teachers will ask students to write a short paragraph on if after today’s lesson the word hero has a different meaning to them, and if so, what it means to them now.

RGV Fallen Soldiers
Teacher: Ana Flores, Jacklynn Kiefer, Amanda Vega
Date: 2/23/19
Subject / grade level: Social Studies/ 2nd Grade

Materials:
● Memorial Paper
● Pencils
● Computer – (YouTube Video & Research)
● Glue Stick
● Fallen Soldier - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLDUtf2GVQA

NC SCOS Essential Standards and Clarifying Objectives:
§113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(4) History. The student understands how historical figures, patriots, and good citizens helped shape the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:
(C) explain how people and events have influenced local community history.
§110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2, Adopted 2017.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(6) Comprehension skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of increasingly complex texts. The student is expected to:
(E) make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society

Lesson objective(s):
● The students will develop a better understanding how historical figures such as veterans, impacted the community.
● The students will gain respect for fallen soldiers.
● The students will develop a sense of the loss that occurs during war.
Differentiation strategies to meet diverse learner needs:
● The teacher is making sure the lesson is addressed in many ways to make sure to meet the needs of auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners.

ENGAGEMENT
● The teacher will start off the lesson by asking the students to create a KWL Chart.
● The teacher will ask the students what they know about soldiers, what they would like to know about soldiers, and then at the end of the lesson they will figure out what they learned about soldiers.
● The teacher will then explain what “Fallen Soldiers” means.

EXPLORATION
● The teacher will provide the students with names of fallen soldiers from the Rio Grande Valley.
● The students will do research on the names provided and will create a memorial page for the soldier. The memorial page must include a picture of the soldier, his name, when he was born, when he passed away, and what branch he was enlisted in.
● Teacher will ask students if they have any relatives or know anyone who has served in the military.
● Teacher will ask students why they think people decide to join the military.

EXPLANATION
● The students will watch a video on YouTube about Fallen Soldiers.

ELABORATION
● The teacher will reference back to the patriotic holidays we celebrate annually to show appreciation to the fallen soldiers.
● Certain vocabulary will be used throughout the lesson such as words like,
- Patriotic
- Military
- Army
- Let the students know that there are museums and many other special memorials dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the Rio Grande Valley.

EVALUATION
● At the end of the lesson the teacher will have the students complete their KWL chart by filling in the L section. This will help the teacher determine whether or not the student comprehended the lesson.

Lesson 7: Letter to Veterans

Teachers: Jacklynn Kiefer, Amanda Vega, & Ana Flores
Date: 2/24/19
Subject / grade level: Social Studies/2nd Grade

Materials:
● Paper
● Colors
● Pencils
● Envelopes
● Computer
● Letter Writing for Kids Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2d-0dIimgY

NC SCOS Essential Standards and Clarifying Objectives

§113.13. Social Studies, Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.

(b) Knowledge and skills.
(4) History. The student understands how historical figures, patriots, and good citizens helped shape the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:
(C) explain how people and events have influenced local community history.
§110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2, Adopted 2017.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(12) Composition: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts--genres. The student uses genre characteristics and craft to compose multiple texts that are meaningful. The student is expected to:
(C) compose correspondence such as thank you notes or letters.

Lesson objective(s):
● Students will learn how to compose a letter properly.
● Student will learn the different components of a letter.
- Date
- Salutation or Greeting
- Body
- Closing
- Signature

Differentiation strategies to meet diverse learner needs:
- The teacher will provide a video and a hands-on activity on how to write a letter to meet the needs of auditory, kinesthetic, and visual learners.

ENGAGEMENT
● The teacher will begin the lesson by showing the students a video about how to compose a letter.
● After watching the video, the students should consider
- “Who will this letter be going to?”
- “What words could I use to make my letter sincere?”
- “Is my letter going to be formal or informal?”

EXPLORATION
● Teacher will briefly go over the five stages in a letter again explaining more in depth what the children could write in the body of a letter.
● Teacher will ask students to take out a piece of paper, pencil, and crayons.
● Teacher will as the students to write their own letter to a veteran thanking them for their service.
● Teacher will pose questions such as:
- “Is there anything you would like to say to the veteran?”
- “What are you going to thank the veteran for?”

EXPLANATION
● Teacher will ask students:
- “Why do you think it’s important to thank our veterans?”

● Teacher will give a brief summary reflecting what the students have learned that week.
- Freddy Gonzalez
- Veterans Day
- Memorial Day
- 9/11
- Fallen Soldiers

ELABORATION
● Describe how students will develop a more sophisticated understanding of the concept.
● Vocabulary
- Compose
- Formal
- Informal
- Closing
● Students may want to compose letters throughout their daily lives to relatives who live far away or to any family members that they may have in the military.

EVALUATION
● After the lesson the students will be given an exit ticket where the students have to name the five parts that are included in a letter.

Assessment
1. Who is a veteran? (BT1)
2. Why is Veterans Day celebrated? (BT1)
3. Explain the differences among the different services of the Armed Forces. (BT2)
4. Compare the two different holidays learned, Veterans Day and Memorial Day. (BT4)
5. Do you agree that serving in the Armed Forces is an honorable duty? (BT6)
6. What do you predict Freddy Gonzalez would be doing in the present if he would still be alive? Why? (BT5)
7. What influence did Freddy Gonzalez have on the Rio Grande Valley? (BT6)
8. Why is Memorial Day significant? (BT3)
9. What effect did the 9/11 attack have on the veterans of today? (BT2)
10. If you could have a conversation with Freddy Gonzalez today, what would you tell him? (BT6)

References
Teachers resource guide honoring all who served : Veterans Day, November 11, 2006. (2006).
Washington, DC: Veterans Day National Committee, Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Office of
National Programs and Special Events.
Flores, J. W. (2006). When The River Dreams. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
McLeod, S. (2018). Lev Vygotsky. In Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
www.military.com/join-armed-forces/us-military-overview.html.
https://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/local_news/at-a-glance-valley-servicemen-who-were-killed-in-war/article_041274a2-f43a-11e3-a552-0017a43b2370.html
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