On Memorial Day in America, we remember and honor those in the armed services who have given their lives in the line of duty.
Poppies are often given out on Memorial Day as a symbol of those fallen men and women. This tradition comes from the first lines of the poem “In Flanders Fields” by Lieutenant Colonel John McRae, who wrote it during World War I and was remembering his fallen friends now buried in fields far from home.
Here’s the first stanza:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
You can tell that the speaker is already dead because he refers to the crosses that mark his place; in other words, a cemetery.
Now it’s your turn: If you were to choose something to distribute on Memorial Day other than a poppy to remember our fallen servicemen and women, what would you choose? Explain.
Click here to enjoy a Memorial Day prompt for middle school students.
Copyright © 2015 by Sharon Watson
Photo credit: Sharon Watson
A version of this prompt was first posted on SchoolhouseTeachers.com. You can go directly to SchoolhouseTeachers.com to sign up and take advantage of all Sharon Watson’s daily prompts and many exciting courses written by other experts in their fields, or click here to see the courses Sharon has written for SchoolhouseTeachers.com.
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Help your struggling writers—and you!—by identifying five hurdles to writing. Then learn practical actions you can take against those hurdles.
This article by me in The Old Schoolhouse magazine is also loaded with links to other helpful posts that will give you and your writers some welcome relief.
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