7 Remembrance Day activities to engage K-12 students

Every year on 11 November, Australians pause for a two-minute silence at 11 am to honour those who served and sacrificed during wartime. For many students, Remembrance Day sits somewhere between a sombre assembly and a hazy understanding of “something to do with poppies.” To give the day true meaning and significance, turn that moment of silence into a springboard for deeper learning across the term with these activities.

Remembrance Day began as Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. It has since grown to commemorate all Australians who have lost their lives in war and conflict. With Australia’s involvement spanning from the Western Front to the Pacific, from Korea and Vietnam through to Iraq and Afghanistan, there’s no shortage of stories, perspectives, and cross-curricular connections to explore.

Whether you teach Year 2 or Year 12, the activities below offer practical ways to help students engage with the significance of this day. Each one pairs with video resources on ClickView so you’re not starting from scratch.

7 classroom activities for Remembrance Day

1) Explore what Remembrance Day means

Before diving into activities, it helps to make sure students understand the “why” behind the day. What do poppies actually symbolise? Why 11 am specifically?

For primary students in Years F to 6, the Remembrance Day Miniclip is a clear, age-appropriate introduction that covers the origins of the day and its key traditions: wearing poppies, the two-minute silence, and parades and services. Pair the video with a class discussion where students share what they already know, then fill in the gaps together.

For secondary students, start with the same Remembrance Day overview, then extend the conversation. Ask your class: how has the meaning of Remembrance Day shifted as the number of living veterans from the World Wars has decreased? What role do younger generations play in keeping those memories alive?

Try this:

• Watch the Miniclip as a class and have students note three facts they didn’t know
• In pairs, students write a short explanation of Remembrance Day as if they were telling a younger sibling
• For secondary students, compare Remembrance Day traditions in Australia with those in another Commonwealth country

2) Write war poetry across year levels

War poetry is one of the most powerful ways to connect students emotionally with the experiences of conflict. The trenches of WWI produced some of the most affecting literature in the English language, and poetry remains a deeply personal way for students to process difficult themes.

Use the Poetry ClickView topic to teach or revise poetic techniques before students begin writing.

For primary students:

• Read a short war poem aloud (Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” works well for upper primary, while simpler poppy-themed poems suit younger year levels)
• Ask students to write their own poem from the perspective of a soldier, focusing on what they might see, hear, and feel
• Create a visual representation of a war poem through drawing, painting, or collage

For secondary students:

• Analyse poems by Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, or Robert Graves, exploring themes, imagery, and the poet’s purpose
• Compare war poetry from WWI with more recent conflict poetry to examine how perspectives and styles have evolved
• Challenge students to write their own poem responding to a piece of archival footage or a veteran’s story

This activity sits naturally in English, but it also works beautifully in HASS as a way to humanise and contextualise historical events.

3) Build a trench model or diagram

Learning about the conditions on the Western Front is one of those activities that genuinely captivates students of all ages. There’s something about the physical reality of trench warfare that makes the history feel immediate.

Try one of these approaches:

• Cross-sectional diagram: Students draw a labelled cross-section of a WWI trench, identifying features like the fire step, parapet, duckboards, and no man’s land
• Bird’s eye view: Create a map-style diagram showing how trench systems connected, including communication trenches and support lines
• Shoebox model: For a hands-on option, students build a 3D trench model in a shoebox using craft materials

Pair this with the WWI Armistice Special: 100 Years episode from Behind the News, which gives Years 3 to 6 students context about the war and its end. Secondary students might explore All Quiet on the Western Front for a more confronting and detailed depiction.

To extend the activity, have students write a letter home from the perspective of a soldier in the trenches. The Letter Writing ClickView topic provides scaffolding for this task.

4) Hear the stories behind the service

Stories of war are what transform Remembrance Day from an abstract concept into something students genuinely connect with. First-hand accounts help young people understand that these were real events that affected real people, not just dates and statistics in a textbook.

For primary students:

• Watch Memories of WWII from Behind the News (Years 5 to 6), which shares personal accounts from the war
• Explore War Dogs, a short Behind the News story about animals in conflict that often sparks strong engagement
• For a longer viewing, Sgt. Stubby: An Unlikely Hero tells the story of a WWI dog through an animated film suitable for Years 5 to 6

For secondary students:

• Recent War Veterans from You Can’t Ask That gives students the chance to hear directly from veterans about their experiences, including the uncomfortable questions people rarely voice
• The Waler: Australia’s Great War Horse explores the Battle of Beersheba from an unexpected angle

After watching, ask students: how does hearing someone’s personal story change the way you think about war compared to reading facts in a textbook? This kind of reflection builds empathy and critical thinking at the same time.

5) Recognise First Nations veterans

Remembrance Day offers an important opportunity to acknowledge the contribution and sacrifice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service members, many of whom fought for a country that did not yet recognise them as citizens.

For primary students:

• Watch Anzac Stories: Douglas Grant and Sendy Togo (Years 5 to 6), which tells the stories of two First Nations men who served in WWI
• Use What Is Constitutional Recognition? as a starting point for discussing the broader fight for recognition that many First Nations veterans faced when they returned home

For secondary students:

• Reg Saunders: Aboriginal War Hero tells the story of the first Aboriginal Australian to be commissioned as an officer in the Australian Army
• John Schnaars: Honouring Indigenous War Veterans Graves follows one man’s mission to ensure that Indigenous veterans’ graves are properly recognised and maintained
• Gary Oakley shares another personal perspective from the Anzacs: Remembering Our Heroes series

Discussion prompts:

• Why is it important to recognise the service of First Nations Australians specifically?
• How does the experience of serving in a war differ when your own rights at home are not fully recognised?
• What steps have been taken since to honour First Nations veterans, and what more needs to happen?

This topic connects naturally to reconciliation, civics, and the Australian Curriculum’s cross-curriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.

6) Investigate art and innovation inspired by war

War has always driven both creative expression and technological invention. This activity works particularly well as a cross-curricular project linking History, Art, Science, or Design and Technologies.

Art focus:

• The Art of Remembrance (Years 7 to 10) explores how artists have responded to war and memory
• Have students create their own artwork inspired by the poppy as a symbol of remembrance, using the Art Techniques topic for guidance on methods like collage, painting, or printmaking
• Display finished pieces in the classroom or a common area to spark conversation among the wider school community

Innovation focus:

• The Periscope Rifle (Years 7 to 12) examines an Australian invention born out of the desperate conditions at Gallipoli
• The quick World War II: Silly Putty clip (under one minute) is a surprising example of wartime innovation that makes for a great lesson starter
• Challenge students to research other inventions that originated during wartime and present their findings to the class

Have you ever considered how many everyday items have their origins in wartime necessity? Students are often surprised by the connections, and it opens up rich discussions about the relationship between conflict and progress.

7) Connect the home front to your students’ lives

It’s easy to focus Remembrance Day lessons on the battlefields, but the story of the home front is equally compelling and often more relatable for students. While soldiers were overseas, wives, mothers, children, and elderly Australians kept the country running, contributed to the war effort, and dealt with rationing, uncertainty, and loss.

Watch Heroic Home Front as a class to introduce the concept, then try these activities:

• Design a care package: What would students include in a care package for a loved one serving overseas? Research what was actually sent during WWI and WWII, and don’t forget to explore the origin of the iconic ANZAC biscuit
• Create a ration recipe book: Students research the limited foodstuffs available during wartime rationing and design recipes that work within those constraints
• Compare home front efforts: How did life on the home front differ between Australia and other countries? Students compare the Australian experience with Britain’s using primary sources and video evidence

For a narrative perspective, 1918: Bertie from the My Place series (Years 3 to 6) follows a young boy trying to buy a special gift for his brother returning from war. It’s a gentle entry point for younger students into the emotional reality of waiting at home.

The episode The Abbouds: The Reunion from Woven Threads: Stories from Afar offers a more recent perspective on how war tears families apart, following an Iraqi family’s separation and the hope of reunion. This is a powerful way to show students that the impact of conflict on families is not confined to the past.

Tips for ongoing integration

Remembrance Day doesn’t have to be a single-lesson event. Here are a few ways to weave its themes into your teaching across the term:

• Build a classroom timeline: Start with WWI and add to it as you explore Australia’s involvement in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The World War I and World War II ClickView topics give you a strong foundation of video resources to draw from throughout the year
• Create a “walls of remembrance” display: Each time a class watches a veteran’s story or researches a historical figure, add a summary card to a communal display. By 11 November, you’ll have a rich, student-built tribute
• Connect to current events: Use recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions to show students that the themes of Remembrance Day are ongoing. The Behind the News episodes on Afghanistan Withdrawal and Afghanistan Crisis are accessible starting points
• Use peace as a lens: Pair Remembrance Day content with the UN Sustainable Development Goals series to shift the conversation from remembering conflict to building peace. Students respond well when they feel empowered to look forward, not just back

The most meaningful Remembrance Day lessons don’t just teach students what happened. They help young people understand why it matters, and what their role is in making sure we never forget.

Sources

1. Australian War Memorial (2025). “Remembrance Day”. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/remembrance-day
2. RSL Australia (2025). “Remembrance Day”. Available at: https://www.rsl.org.au/remembrance-day