Previewing Activity	Holidays
Wars	War Monuments
Topics of Interest	PDF File

Before the program

Because the scope of this program runs from the Civil War through the Gulf War, it is important that students understand the timing of these events, the amount of time that was covered by each war and the relative importance of that war. Constructing a timeline and displaying it in the classroom is a good introductory step in this process. The events and the times to be covered are:

Civil War (1861-1865)

Memorial Day Named (began 1868; in 1971, celebration date changed to last Monday in May)

Armistice Day Named (Nov. 11, 1919)

Change to Veterans Day (1953 -- became a federal holiday celebrated first Monday in November)

World War I (1914-1919) (American involvement: 1917-1918)

World War II (1939-1945) (American involvement: 1941-1945)

Korean War (1950-1953)

Vietnam War (1957-1975)

Gulf War (1990-1991)

(It's important when making a timeline to keep the intervals of years consistent. All years need to be included even though there are spans of time during which there were no wars.)

Depending upon the age of the student, there are several approaches to making this timeline:

Elementary
The teacher could have the timeline made up and have cards that identify the important events and the dates for that event. Students could find the place on the timeline and place the card at the appropriate place.

Middle School and High School
Each group of students could be given an event and told to find the dates of the event. The class could, as a whole, develop the timeline or one group could make the timeline and the remaining groups could put the information that they gathered on it.

A second approach that could be used in the presentation of this program is to invite a veteran or a group of veterans to your classroom to talk to the students about their experiences in war. A local VA facility (medical center, benefits office or organizations such as the VFW) can provide speakers for your program. To contact your local VA facilities, look under the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Federal Government listings in the local telephone directory.