How should remembrance be taught in primary school?

The underlying focus of this week has undoubtably been on Remembrance but it is a topic that is difficult to deliver to primary school children.

Firstly it can be over glamorized with learners thinking that war is “cool” and not thinking about the emotional costs involved and the lasting impact that war has.

Secondly it can become overly depressive with learners getting upset remembering loved ones they have lost.

Therefore I have tried to deliver the topic in a balanced manner focusing on the costs of war, giving thanks and an understanding that we need to think about both sides in any conflict.

This week the lessons I delivered focussed upon the importance of remembrance and learners listened well to my own thoughts and were happy to share there's. I believe the learners give extra weight to my thoughts in this area due to my involvement with the army reserve.

On Tuesday afternoon learners practiced their handwriting by copying out Ode to Remembrance however only some of the learners were able to understand the words and the message they conveyed.

One thing that the learners did do which worked well and which I will do again was to record a short sentence from the learners on their thoughts or remembrance. This video was very effective and although learners found the technical issues amusing they showed some great maturity in their thoughts.

Star of the week – The learner’s remembrance video

Wish for the week – Always include learning objectives and success criteria it instantly gives lessons more structure and focus.

The Week Ahead

After two weeks that have been very busy with different meetings and visitors hopefully next week will see more of a return to normality. That said it is important that the assessment of Year 5 continues, that all the schools involved in the European Christmas Skype session are booked in to the school calendar and that learners practice dance routines for the Christmas play!