Commemorating Special EventsActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning engages Year 1 students with concrete, meaningful tasks that connect abstract ideas about remembrance to their lived experiences. By creating timelines, symbols, and drawings, students move from passive listening to active participation, building empathy and understanding of shared community values.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify key community commemoration days relevant to Australia, such as ANZAC Day and NAIDOC Week.
- 2Describe common actions families and communities use to commemorate special events, like parades or sharing stories.
- 3Explain the importance of remembering special events collectively for community connection.
- 4Compare how different events, like a birthday and a national holiday, are commemorated.
- 5Create a visual representation, such as a drawing or collage, showing how a chosen event is remembered.
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Whole Class: Special Days Timeline
Brainstorm community and family special events as a class. Draw or write them on card strips and sequence them on a large timeline mural. Discuss one way each event is commemorated, such as songs or meals.
Prepare & details
What are some special days that we remember together as a community?
Facilitation Tip: During the timeline activity, provide pre-printed event cards with both words and simple illustrations to support students who are still developing reading skills.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
Small Groups: Commemoration Symbols
Provide craft materials for groups to design a symbol, like a flag or wreath, for a chosen event. Groups explain their design's meaning and how it helps people remember. Display symbols in the classroom.
Prepare & details
How do people show they remember an important event from the past?
Facilitation Tip: For the symbols activity, display examples of real commemoration items like poppies or flags to spark concrete connections before students begin creating their own.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
Pairs: Family Memory Interviews
Pairs take turns asking about a family special day, noting how it is marked with food, stories, or visits. Pairs share one highlight with the class via a talking stick.
Prepare & details
Why do you think it is important to remember special events together?
Facilitation Tip: When conducting family interviews, model the questions first with a confident student to demonstrate appropriate language and tone.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
Individual: My Remembrance Drawing
Students draw a special event from their life or community, label actions that show remembrance, and add why it matters. Share voluntarily in a class gallery walk.
Prepare & details
What are some special days that we remember together as a community?
Facilitation Tip: During the remembrance drawing, encourage students to include a simple label to explain their image, reinforcing literacy connections.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
Teaching This Topic
Teachers should balance factual content with emotional engagement by using stories, songs, and artifacts that resonate with children’s experiences. Avoid overwhelming students with too many events at once. Focus on depth over breadth by revisiting a few commemorations in multiple ways. Research shows that concrete experiences, like handling symbols or creating art, help young children process abstract concepts like memory and respect.
What to Expect
Success looks like students identifying various types of commemorations, describing why communities choose specific actions, and expressing personal connections to family or national traditions. Look for accurate vocabulary use and thoughtful reflections during discussions and activities.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring the Commemoration Symbols activity, watch for students assuming all commemorations are joyful.
What to Teach Instead
Use the symbol-making process to highlight respectful or solemn symbols like wreaths or flags. Ask groups to explain why certain colors or shapes are chosen, guiding them to recognize that some symbols represent quiet reflection.
Common MisconceptionDuring the Special Days Timeline activity, watch for students believing commemorating is just a day off.
What to Teach Instead
Have groups add actions to each event on the timeline, such as 'singing,' 'parading,' or 'sharing stories.' Ask students to explain how these actions help communities remember, shifting focus from the day itself to the purpose behind it.
Common MisconceptionDuring the Family Memory Interviews activity, watch for students thinking only adults participate in remembering.
What to Teach Instead
Use the interview questions to highlight children’s roles, such as 'How do you help your family remember?' Provide examples like 'I draw pictures' or 'I attend the ceremony,' so students see their contributions as valuable.
Assessment Ideas
After the Special Days Timeline activity, present students with pictures of different events. Ask them to point to the picture showing how a community remembers an important event and explain why it shows remembrance, not just a celebration.
During the My Remembrance Drawing activity, give each student a small card to draw one way their family or community remembers a special day and write one word describing how it makes them feel. Collect these to assess understanding and emotional connection.
After the Special Days Timeline activity, ask students to imagine they are planning a special day to remember an important event in the school’s history. Listen for ideas that include actions like 'making a poster' or 'sharing stories,' ensuring they connect actions with shared experience.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Ask students to design a new symbol for a national day not yet covered in class.
- Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters for the family interview, such as 'My family remembers _____ by _____.'
- Deeper exploration: Compare two commemorations side by side, noting similarities and differences in actions and emotions.
Key Vocabulary
| Commemorate | To remember and show respect for someone or something important from the past. |
| Anniversary | A date on which an event took place in a previous year, often celebrated or remembered. |
| Memorial | A statue, monument, or ceremony created to remember people who have died or to remember an important event. |
| Tradition | A belief, custom, or way of doing something that has been passed down through generations. |
| Holiday | A special day of celebration or remembrance, often a public day off work. |
Suggested Methodologies
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