In the wars

• 5 Stars

With the celebration dates for the D-Day Landings just around the corner on 6 June, schools can celebrate this event with some fantastic activity ideas linked to wars – past and present. It is important to compare and contrast conflict issues in the 21st century to wars that happened in the 20th century.

The following activities allow children, of all ages, to empathise with the characters, and the settings and plots of wartime stories, such as Carrie’s War by Nina Bawden and Friend or Foe by Michael Morpurgo, that could be used as introductions. Most are of a cross-curricular style and work well in groups, whole-class sessions, and in some cases, year-group sessions. The ideas could be undertaken around either doing a Blitz Week, a World War II Day, or even spread out over a term. The choice is yours!

Activities

Key Stage 1 and 2

• Evacuation day
• Building shelters
• World War II lunch
• Workshop afternoon
• D-Day display
• Wartime poetry