Help students learn how Canadian memorials and monuments around the world honour those who served and sacrificed across our military history. Discover engaging lesson plans, videos, research projects and more to support meaningful remembrance for youth of all ages.
Every memorial tells a story unit
Help your students learn the stories memorials tell about history and those who made it. Choose from five lessons or complete the entire unit. Lesson plans are best suited for ages 12-18 but can be adapted for younger audiences.
Memorials to the missing
Analyze the design and purpose of First World War memorials honouring those who died with no known grave.
Canada’s National War Memorial
Examine the artistic features and ceremonial role of Canada’s National War Memorial.
Community cenotaphs across Canada
Research and interpret features of community memorials and cenotaphs across Canada.
Lesson plans
Check out these featured lesson plans or view all lesson plans for your students.
Remember Flanders
(Ages 10-15)
Let the poem In Flanders Fields and the Remember Flanders Memorial inspire students to turn art into action. Includes video, audio and written poem translations in dozens of Indigenous and international languages.
Did he have freckles? Canada
(Ages 12-18)
Help students learn about the special meaning of Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa. Encourage them to imagine who the person resting inside could have been.
Did he have freckles? Newfoundland
(Ages 12-18)
Students will connect to Newfoundland’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by imagining who it honours. Have students compare their lives to those of young people who served a century ago.
Videos
Join Remembrance Club friends, Pax and Gandy, as they visit memorials in Canada and France. Pair this five-minute video with Every memorial tells a story discussion guides, lesson plans and activity sheets for students in grades K-6.
Afghanistan monument video
(Ages 12-18)
Artist Adrian Stimson of the Siksika (Blackfoot) First Nation explains the inspiration for his design of the new National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan.
Memorials in Canada playlist
(All ages)
Explore meaningful memorials in Canada with our YouTube playlist. Includes the youth-friendly Decoding Art series.
Research projects
Research a memorial in your community
(Ages 10-18)
Are cenotaphs and memorials in your community recorded in our National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials? Students can learn about listed memorials or research new ones. Submit new information and updates or photos of your local memorials by emailing education@veterans.gc.ca. Submissions are open to schools or youth researchers only.
Honour local heroes
(Ages 12-18)
Use the Canadian Virtual War Memorial to help students exercise their research muscles. You can:
- Find photos and information about the people honoured by memorials in your community.
- Research your local heroes and submit photos or information about them by contacting us at cvwm-mvgc@veterans.gc.ca.
- Select from one of our 20+ Remembrance dog tag collections for a simple but meaningful research activity aimed at helping students put a face on remembrance.
Web and digital resources
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
The Canadian Virtual War Memorial (CVWM) honours the sacrifices of the more than 120,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who have given their lives serving in uniform.
National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials
Explore our crowd-sourced database of almost 10,000 memorials in communities across Canada.
Google expedition and Streetview
Visit the Canadian National Vimy Memorial or the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial with Google Expedition or Google Streetview.
From our partners
The Vimy Foundation
Make a Digital Pilgrimage to Vimy Ridge. Discover how memorial designer Walter Allward brought stone to life. Explore the stories behind the names on the memorial. The Vimy Foundation offers a rich collection of bilingual lesson plans and digital tools.
The CWGC Documentary
This 15-minute video explores the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in honouring war dead around the world. (Available in English only)
Telling Times
Discover the history of Canada’s National War Memorial with CPAC’s 6-minute documentary.
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