13 Remembrance Day Crafts & Ideas to Honour the Past With Primary Students

November is just on the horizon, marking the time to start planning Remembrance Day activities and crafts for your primary class. If you’re unsure about how to introduce Remembrance Day to young learners or need some creative ideas to commemorate the day, you can count on us to help you out.

The Teach Starter teacher team has compiled a list of 10 crafty and curriculum-aligned activities to teach your students about the history and importance of Remembrance Day for Australians. From visiting a local war memorial to creating a mosaic poppy artwork, you’ll find plenty of meaningful and engaging activities that help you honour all members of the armed forces.

How Can We Commemorate Remembrance Day With Kids?

Remembrance Day is observed annually on 11 November, and in 2024, the day will fall on a Monday. It’s the perfect opportunity to start the week with meaningful conversations and commemorative events to honour and remember those who sacrificed for our freedom.

Teacher-Tested Remembrance Day Ideas

Our expert teachers have worked hard to create meaningful resources you can use immediately for Remembrance Day. Here are some of our favourite Remembrance activities for kids:

Highlight the Differences Between Remembrance Day and Anzac Day

This tip comes from teacher Sarah Carter, a Teach Starter ambassador. While working on Teach Starter’s collaborative Remembrance Day quilt with her year 1 class, Carter says she recognised some students were confused about the differences between these two important dates, and she advises making the distinction for your students.

‘I spoke about my great grandfather who was in WWI and where the battles he was in were,’ Carter says. ‘Even more so with the current state of our world, my students were more understanding and thankful for the country we live in, call home and what our soil sets who served have done for us.’

Take a peek at her class’ colourful quilt, and download your own poppy quilt template!

Teach About the Australian Flag Protocol for Remembrance Day

While you might be across Australian flag etiquette on Remembrance Day, this is something that kids might not be aware of just yet. So, giving your students a quick overview of flag protocol is a great way to start Remembrance Day. You could even set up a mini version of the Australian flag and pole in the classroom and task a few students with raising and lowering the flag at the set times.

Take an Australian War Memorial Virtual Excursion

Did you know? You don’t have to be based in Canberra to visit the Australian War Memorial (AWM); they offer virtual excursions for kids to experience from the classroom!

During the live and interactive sessions, students can learn from experts about Australian military history, explore some of the galleries at the AWM and learn about historical objects in the collection of photographs, art and film.

Write Letters From The Trenches

Get your students to step into the shoes of a soldier or nurse and write a letter home to their loved ones. After teaching your students about the history of World War I and II, your class can put their knowledge of what life was like during wartime into words.

This is an excellent activity for kids to practise creative writing and descriptive language to build a narrative detailing their ‘experience’ as a soldier or nurse.

Visit Your Local War Memorial 

Many towns and cities across Australia have a dedicated war memorial park or precinct, such as Anzac Square in Brisbane City or The Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, which are excellent locations for a class excursion. Why not take some learning activities along with you?

After walking around the memorial site, reading information plaques and taking in the atmosphere as a class, students could write a reflection letter to show their gratitude for Australian soldiers or complete a colouring-in sheet to learn more about the symbols associated with Remembrance Day.

Study Remembrance Day Poems

A perfect way to teach kids about Remembrance Day and brush up on language devices is through poetry. Read a poem or two as a class and then encourage kids to identify themes and poetic devices used in the text, such as alliteration.

We’ve collated a few famous Remembrance Day poems to help you get started:

• Ode of Remembrance (from For The Fallen by Laurence Binyon, 1914)
• In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, 1914
• We Shall Keep the Faith by Moina Michael, 1918
• The Farmer Remembers the Somme by Vance Palmer, 1920

Write Acrostic Poems Themed to the Day

After studying classic Remembrance Day poems, students can channel inspiration into writing their own acrostic poems! We’ve got the perfect printable template to help your class write descriptive and informational acrostic poems commemorating those who serve in the armed forces. Best yet, you can hang up the completed templates to help decorate your classroom in preparation for the day. If your students are still a bit stuck on ideas and putting their writing into words, you can also:

• Provide students with a mind map template so they can get any ideas down onto paper first.
• Hold a class discussion about Remembrance Day and what it means to everyone within the group before completing the activity. We recommend charting some main ideas and adjectives describing soldiers for students to use when writing their poems.

Remembrance Day Crafts for the Classroom

Build a Remembrance Day Classroom Display

If your classroom display needs a refresher after Halloween, you can refocus your wall to mark this Remembrance Day. Want to showcase students’ work? This Remembrance Day Bunting Writing Reflection combines a reflection template with a colouring activity for a curriculum-aligned and eye-catching display.

Have your students reflect on what they know about the history of the day and why we honour the day. Students can also colour the poppies on the bunting. Once your classroom display is complete, assemble the bunting and hang it up in your classroom to commemorate the day.

Create a Remembrance Day Headband Craft

Is your school hosting a Remembrance Day assembly or a school march? Have your students show their appreciation for those who lost their lives by making and decorating a Remembrance Day Headband Craft. This symbolic gesture will not only be enjoyable for your students to complete but will surely bring a smile to a soldier’s face.

Create Australian Flag Collages

Are you looking for a way to add a tribute to Veterans Day to your art classes? Why not focus on the art of collage? Encourage students to create Australian flag collages using torn red, white, and blue construction paper.

Make Paper Plate Medals

Introduce your students to the different medals that soldiers have earned for their bravery, such as the Australian Operational Service Medal, then have students design and decorate their own paper plate medals to honour those who have served. Students can provide their own names and write an accompanying paragraph that explains why this is an important tribute to honour.

Make Mosaic Poppy Art

Looking for a meaningful craft activity to accompany your Remembrance Day teachings? This beautiful Mosaic Poppy Art activity comes with everything you will need to add an extra special touch to your classroom display.

Using the template, students can better understand why a poppy is a popular symbol on Remembrance Day, as well as a lesson on how to create a mosaic – it’s a win-win!

Get Creative With a Collaborative ‘Field of Poppies’ Collage

A wonderful way to get the whole class involved in commemorating Remembrance Day is with a collaborative collage of the iconic poppy symbol. Each student can cut out poppy shapes from recycled craft materials such as scrap paper and magazines and use paints and markers to colour in their designs. Once finished, grab a large piece of cardboard and have the class glue all their flowers to create a ‘field of poppies’ to display in the classroom.