Teacher s Guide. VETERANS WEEK November 5-11

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1 Teacher s Guide VETERANS WEEK November Thank you for your interest and participation in Veterans Week This special week, November 5-11, is an ideal time to introduce youth to the importance of Remembrance and its relevance in today s society. Veterans achievements and sacrifices in times of war, military conflict and peace have helped to shape and sustain our modern country. The accompanying learning resources are designed to educate youth about the rich history, heritage and personal experiences of Canadian Veterans and all those who have served Canada, at home and around the world. The Canada Remembers Program of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) encourages youth to take an active part in remembrance learning, activities and events. This guide is a companion to the learning materials, Tales of Animals in War for ages 5-11, and the Canada Remembers Times for ages The newspaper format of these educational resources offers a wide variety of stories and information. Many of the suggested learning activities are cross-curricular in nature and can be adapted for a variety of age groups and abilities. Additional resources to assist educators can be found on the VAC Web site at Tales of Animals in War (for ages 5-11): Each year, a fresh edition of Tales of Animals in War introduces young readers to Remembrance in a non-threatening manner. The six animal characters, first introduced in 2006, shared in an inaugural edition of the newspaper the stories of their relatives contributions to Canada s war efforts. In 2007, the Remembrance Clubhouse animals introduced the symbols of Remembrance to young readers and this 2008 edition explores the military history that surrounds each of us in our home communities. Canada Remembers Times (for ages 12-18): This year s edition of the Canada Remembers Times, includes stories touching on the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, the 55th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice and modern day efforts in Afghanistan. It is designed to help share the personal experiences of Veterans who live in our communities, to excite youth about Canadian military history, and to explore ways in which youth can actively apply what they have learned to the issues and challenges of modern day Canada. We welcome your comments and encourage your professional input. We strive to ensure that our materials are appropriate for your classroom. Please take a few minutes to complete and return the enclosed evaluation form by fax, or visit the Youth and Educators section on the VAC Web site at and complete the evaluation on-line. Please encourage youth to take their newspapers home and share them with their families and friends.

2 Historical Background This year marks significant anniversaries in Canada s military heritage. Such anniversaries are commemorated to ensure that the sacrifices and achievements of those who served Canada in war, military conflict and peace support missions are recognized within the social context of the personal freedoms enjoyed by all Canadians in today s society. The Last 100 Days of the First World War leading up to the Armistice going into effect at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 saw an outstanding contribution of Canadians to the war effort. The Germans viewed the Canadians as the Allied storm troops and expected that they would be leading any Allied offensive. The Allied Command used this to their advantage by convincing the Germans that the Canadian Corps was stationed back in Flanders while it was actually moving in total secrecy (even from the rest of the Allies) to Amiens, France. On August 8, 1918, making good use of tanks, the Canadians breached the German lines and pressed deep into German held territory. The Flanders deception had worked perfectly. This victory liberated approximately 25 French towns and villages and put an end to any German hopes stemming from their own spring offensives. The momentum of the fighting on the Western Front had totally shifted, a fact that was recognized in Germany when General Erich Ludendorff admitted that August 8 was the Black Day of the German army. The cost had been high, however, and almost 4,000 Canadians were killed or wounded. By September 2, 1918, the Drocourt-Queant Switch, the hinge of the main German defensive lines, had been destroyed. The strategic effect of the loss of this hinge position caused the Germans to retreat behind the Canal du Nord and to shorten their front line. On September 27, 1918, the Canadian Corps breached the Canal du Nord line and made the Germans fall back even more. On October 9, 1918, the Canadians attacked Cambrai and by October 11, the entire district was secured. This action led to the liberation of approximately 54 towns and villages. Continuing their advance, the Canadians liberated Valenciennes on November 5. Crossing into Belgium, by November 9 they entered the outskirts of Mons, Belgium where the British had fought their first battle of the war more than four years earlier. Rumours of an armistice circulated within the ranks. At 10:58 a.m. on the morning of November 11, 1918, Private George Lawrence Price was killed by a sniper s bullet. He would be the last Canadian killed on the battlefields of the First World War. At 11 a.m. that same morning, an armistice was in effect. The Canadians had served bravely to the end. A significant Second World War milestone also commemorated in 2008 is the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest running battle of the Second World War. The Battle of the Atlantic officially began in September 1939 with the sinking of a passenger ship called the Athenia, and continued in the North Atlantic until Germany was defeated in May During this period, German surface ships and submarines (called U-boats) tried to cut Allied supply routes across the Atlantic. This threatened the transportation of vital goods and personnel from North America to Britain. Along with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), the Merchant Navy played a key role in Canada s efforts to clear the North Atlantic of U-boats. The Battle of the Atlantic was one of the few Second World War clashes that took place close to North American shores. The casualty rate during the Battle of the Atlantic was the highest suffered by any of Canada s Armed Forces during the Second World War. For every eight people who served, one was killed or wounded. This year also marks the 55th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice. As with the two world wars that preceded Korea, Canadians served in conflict far from home. Canada s military contribution was larger, in proportion to its population, than most other UN participants. The names of 516 Canadians who died in

3 service to Canada during the Korean War are inscribed in the Korean War Book of Remembrance located in the Peace Tower in Ottawa. The Korean War marked a new stage in Canada s development as a nation. Since the end of the war, Canada has contributed to peace support operations around the world in an effort to support international freedom and maintain world peace. Bringing Canadian military history alive for youth helps pass the torch of Remembrance from our Veterans to the next generation. Detailed historical accounts of these parts of Canada s military history can be found on the VAC Web site at There are also many titles written by Canadian historians. The information presented in the Canada Remembers Times is a sampling of historically informative articles; it is not intended to be a definitive resource. Cross-Curricular Learning Activities Setting the Scene: Templates of graphic organizers for research, black line drawings for colouring, war-era music and song lyrics, and more are available on the VAC Web site at Select Veterans Week 2008, then Educational Resources. I Spy With My Little Eye... (ages 5-11) Hidden on the town map are six symbols of Remembrance. Ask youth to find the symbols, identify the coordinates of each symbol and complete the matching activity below with the appropriate significance of each symbol. Click on the student sheet or the answer sheet Symbol of Remembrance Poppy Tulip Monument Wreath Izzy Doll Origami peace crane Map Coordinates (capital letter, number) Represents Time Line Activity (ages 12-18) The 2008 Canada Remembers Times has a time line that runs along the bottom of all four pages of the newspaper. Take the events mentioned in stories from the paper and put them on one large time line, perhaps on a piece of chart paper on the wall. Have youth work together to research other events from Canada s war years and more recent peace efforts and insert them into the time line. The dates of important events from a societal standpoint could also be inserted (i.e. the date women were granted the right to vote in a federal election), from a popular culture standpoint (i.e. the 1972 Canada Cup) or a personal standpoint for the youth (i.e. the year of parents or grandparents or great-grandparents birth/marriage/significant achievement/death). Learning Activities: Monumental Possibilities (ages 5-18) Many cities, towns and villages across Canada have a monument or memorial to honour the people from their area who served in war and military conflicts. 1) Perhaps your school or youth group could play a role in the next Remembrance Day ceremony at the local monument (cenotaph) or you might like to take the initiative and plan a respectful ceremony of your own. Check out the following publications on the VAC Web site: 50 Ways to Remember and Candlelight Tribute Ceremony. 2) Have youth create a mini-memorial of their own. Make use of simple materials and encourage creative license. An industrial arts class might wish to create a small memorial in the wood, metal or ceramic shops for display in the school awards cabinet. What a great way to honour the alumni of the school who have served their country. 3) Invite youth to draw, paint or sculpt their local memorial, one of the famous Canadian war memorials in Canada or in Europe or a memorial of their own design (many memorials are the issue of a design competition). This would present an opportunity to present art techniques such as perspective, composition, shading, light sources, tone, layout, texture, symbolism, etc. 4) Encourage youth to write a reflection on what their

4 hometown s monument/memorial means to them and/ or to their town. Have them ask their neighbours and families what meaning these physical symbols of Remembrance hold for them. Youth/Veteran Reflections: (ages 9-15) A Wall of Honour; a Book of Valour; a Window of Remembrance Veteran Profiles: Invite youth to research the life of a local Veteran. The Heroes Remember section of the VAC Web site features hundreds of hours of videotaped interviews with Canadian Veterans sharing first-person reflections on their experiences. Have youth explore this extensive database for interviews that interest them. Then have them delve into the particulars of the Veteran s life and service their personal details; area and length of service; interests; special skills; talents; languages spoken; how they d like to be remembered; memories that have endured time; changes to their outlook on life; etc. Then have the youth build a profile of the Veteran. The profile could be in a poster format, a piece of poetry, a photography exhibit, a painting or drawing, or another format that can be added to a Wall of Honour. Veteran Silhouettes: Today s Veterans are young, elderly, middle-aged, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, daughters, sons, etc. In other words, they could be anyone and everyone in our society. Thankfully, they are not children. Invite youth to reflect this diversity in our Veteran population by creating black cardboard silhouettes or outlines of the head and shoulders of a Veteran of their choice for display on a Window of Remembrance. Varied colours of tissue paper may be affixed to the back of the silhouette to feature personal characteristics such as hair colour, uniform colour, light and shadow to shape the contours of the face, etc. Veteran Achievements: A select number of Veterans have received a Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded for valour in the face of the enemy. Have youth research a Victoria Cross recipient and present what they have learned orally to the rest of the group. Then have them write a brief account of the courageous actions taken by the recipient to include in a Book of Valour for display. This special book could be circulated to each youth to take home to share with their family. Music to March to (ages 12-18) Music has long been an integral part of military life. Check out the Youth Corner and appropriate hyperlink or search the Web for war-era songs and marches for ideas about content, beat and purpose of the piece, then invite youth to write the lyrics or a melody for a march, ballad or a piece of pop music. Encourage them to think of the young Canadians who served in the First World War, initially excited and then horrified by the things they witnessed and experienced. What song lyrics would hold meaning for them? What song lyrics might be written from the point of view of the Canadians serving in Afghanistan today? Wartime Recipes (ages 10-18) Canadians on the home front were asked to make do with less during the war years to allow for more resources to be sent to the troops overseas. Food was one of the things that people were asked to conserve. One of the ways this was done was through rationing (limiting the amount of certain products people were allowed to consume). Goods like sugar, eggs and meat were in limited supplies and homemakers created innovative ways to make new dishes that did not use as much of these ingredients but still tasted good. Have youth check out the recipes provided in the Kids Zone and Youth Corner sections on the Veterans Affairs Canada Web site. A wartime meal could be planned, prepared and served as a special class activity or a fun project to do at home. Getting to the Bottom of the Story! (ages 15-18) During the Last 100 Days of the First World War (August 8 to November 11, 1918), the men of the Canadian Corps were engaged in some difficult battles as they pushed the German army back and liberated towns and villages in France and Belgium. Have youth research and prepare an essay on one of the following battles during this period: the Battle of Amiens; the

5 Battle of the Scarpe; the Battle for the Drocourt-Quéant Line; the Battle of Bourlon Wood; the Battle of Cambrai. Suggested points of focus: 1) What was the objective of the Canadian Corps? 2) How did they prepare for the battle? 2) What was the nature of the German defences? 3) What were some of the problems that the Canadian Corps faced prior to or during the battle? 4) What was the end result of the battle? Suggested Resources: Canada s Hundred Days by J. B. Livesay. This book is out of print, but a digital copy is available in.pdf format at: canada100days00liveuoft/canada100days00liveuoft.pdf. Spearhead to victory: Canada and the Great War by Daniel G Dancocks. Edmonton. Hurtig, Shock army of the British Empire: the Canadian Corps in the last 100 days of the Great War by Shane B. Schreiber; Westport, Connecticut. Praeger, The Fish Bone is a useful graphic organizer for note taking and/or the categorization of information for a research paper. Click on the hyperlink to download a template. Organisateur graphique Nom: Date: Sujet: Fish Bone Où / Where? Pourquoi / Why? Graphic Organiser Name: Date: Subject: Comment / How? Second World War and traded their hockey uniforms for military uniforms. Organize a Memorial or Veterans Appreciation Tournament for your school or minor hockey association. Local Veterans may be asked to make a puck drop or be honoured in other ways. Game programs could be circulated featuring the names and stories of local Veterans and those who died in service from the local area. Triple Threat; Triple Treat; On With the Show (ages 10-18) Canadian entertainers have long travelled overseas to entertain the men and women of Canada s Armed Forces. Organize a school or community concert (a revue) in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day and invite local Veterans to attend. Invite youth to write, produce and act in a one-act play based on an episode in Canada s military heritage. Today s youth include many well-trained, as well as natural performers who live for an opportunity to take the stage! Answers to Newspaper Activities: Tales of Animals in War Puzzle #1: South (Arrow facing down) The pattern is : South, East, West, North Puzzle #2: Ferry Command Puzzle #3: Veteran Puzzle #4: Frogmen Puzzle #5: Merchant Navy Conclusions Qui / Who? Quoi / What? Quand / When? Crossword: Across Down Enrichment Activities: Trading Uniforms (ages 5-18) Many NHL players hung up their skates during the 3. KATRINA 1. FRONT 6. SISTERS 2. DAYS 7. SHUSTER 4. OTTAWA 9. U-BOAT 5. CHUCK 11. KOREAN 8. HORNELL 12. CALM 10. BRUINS