Remembrance Day in the Classroom

ACTIVITY 2 –WRITING ABOUT REMEMBRANCE In 1915, Lt. Alexis Hannum Helmer, a close friend and comrade of Lt. Col. John McCrae, was killed in the trenches near Ypres, Belgium, in an area traditionally called Flanders. McCrae saw wild poppies blooming between the crosses of the hastily built cemetery where his fallen comrades, including Lt. Helmer, were buried. Inspired, he wrote In Flanders Fields , which later became the most popular poem of the First World War in Canada. To this day, the red poppy remains a symbol of remembrance in Canada (and elsewhere). In this activity, students will write their own poems about Canadian military contributions and sacrifices. 1. Have your students learn about John McCrae and his poem In Flanders Fields . a. Begin by showing the John McCrae Heritage Minute to your students and have a class discussion. b. Next, have students individually read or listen to In Flanders Fields by John McCrae. i. Text of poem ii. Audio of poem c. Have students learn more about John McCrae and the meaning behind his now-famous poem by reading the In Flanders Fields article from The Canadian Encyclopedia . d. Next, have students listen to Cynthia Macleod’s reading of her father’s memoir. Her father, Cyril L.C. Allinson, served with the same battalion as McCrae during the First World War and was present when McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields (testimony begins at 1:29). Warning: This testimony contains graphic war descriptions. Listen to the clip and prepare your students ahead of initial listening. 2. Though it consists of just a few stanzas, In Flanders Fields was used to help call upon Canadians to enlist and was later used to encourage Canadians to buy Victory Bonds to support the war effort. Have a class discussion about how poems and other means of artistic memorialization can be used as messages or political statements. 3. Have students write their own poems. In Flanders Fields is a Rondeau poem. Students may choose to write in this style or another style to create a poem about remembrance. a. While writing, students should think of remembrance in general, someone they know who has served, someone or something they read about in their research in Activity 1, or about what they learned in the class discussion. b. Have students decide if they want to write from their own perspective, the perspective of Canada, a soldier, a sailor, an aviator, a nurse, etc. Encourage students to stay true to their chosen perspective while they write. Remind them that any historical information they include must be accurate. c. Students should consider how they want the reader to feel while reading their poem. Do they want readers to be encouraged to take some type of action, or to feel a certain way? d. Remind students to read their poem aloud a few times to hear how it flows and to ensure it is complete. They should make edits to their poem until it flows well and tells the full story, and that it elicits the response they seek. Encourage students to read their poem to family members, friends, and/or classmates to practice reading it aloud and to gather feedback. e. Students should create a title for their poem. 4. Have students present their poems to the class. If you are hosting a Remembrance Day event, do this in advance. You could select a couple of student poems to include in the event. Remembrance Day in the Classroom A Teacher Resource Kit Differentiation: Place students in small groups and have them write a poem together by each writing a stanza. Have them read the poem together by each reading the stanza they wrote. 4.