May

 Memorial Day

Duration:   1 week 

Objectives:    Students will:  

• study data related to the number of Americans who have lost their lives in wars and conflicts.
• create a graph to illustrate that data.
• understand the significance of Memorial Day as a day for remembering those who gave their lives so we might live in freedom.

Materials: 

• Internet access (preferred) so students can work with the free online tool, Create a Graph; options for using this graph-creation tool include using a school's choice of graphing software or art supplies
• History of Sacrifice (Students might access this resource online or be given a printed copy of the page.)

Key Vocabulary:  

Memorial Day, veterans, soldiers, Veterans Day, killed in action, killed, sacrifice, graph, graphing, software, bar graph, pie graph, statistics, data  

Procedures: 

In this lesson, students use an Internet-based tool (provided) or graphing software to create graphs showing our nation's "history of sacrifice." The graphs serve as visual reminders of those who fought for our country so we might enjoy the freedom we have today, and of the reasons we pause each year on Memorial Day to remember those who gave their lives.

Begin the lesson by introducing to students the History of Sacrifice, part of the White House Commission on Remembrance Web site. The History of Sacrifice introduces students to more than 50 wars, conflicts, or incidents in which U.S. servicemen and women have been killed.

Students can view the page online. If students do not have computer access, print and photocopy for students the page of statistics. An alternative source of that information can be found at Americans Killed in Action.

Have students look over the list. Talk about the number of conflicts from the American Revolution to Operation Iraqi Freedom. In how many of those conflicts have more than 100 American lives been sacrificed? In how many of those conflicts have more than 1000 American lives been lost?

In order for students to see clearly the number of people whose lives we remember on Memorial Day, have them create a graph in which they illustrate all the conflicts in which 1000 or more lives were lost. Students might create the graphs using art supplies. Since the numbers of casualties are so large for some wars, older students will be able to do this much more easily than younger students; younger students might round off all numbers to the nearest thousand since unrounded numbers will have little meaning to them anyway. The best way to illustrate the graphs, however, is to use graphing software such as

• your school's favorite choice of graphing software or
  
  
• Create a Graph, a free online tool. This cool tool offers you four graphing options; for this lesson, the bar graph or pie graph tools are best. 
  

Assessment:   

• How many Americans were killed in the Vietnam War? (58,219)
• Were more American lives sacrificed in the Civil War or in World War II? (the Civil War)
• In which war did almost 117,000 Americans lose their lives? (World War I)
• How many more lives were lost in the Vietnam War than were lost in the Korean War? 3,973 lives
• In how many wars on the chart did 100,000 or more Americans die? (three wars)

Home Learning:   

Students will complete A MEMORIAL DAY INTERNET TREASURE HUNT

Click here for an Answer Key to the Treasure Hunt questions.

Extension Activity:

Students can use the resources found at the Women Veterans Web page to create a graph showing the number of U.S. women who served during each conflict.