Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Age group: 13 - 18

Lesson duration: 90 Minutes

Learn why some First World War soldiers have no known grave and how the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier helps us remember them.

First World War
Second World War
Language arts
Social studies and history

Lesson plans in this series can be used individually or in sequence to create a unit. Optional unit connections have been provided. We recommend using the lessons in the following order:

  1. What is a war memorial?
  2. Tomb of the unknown soldier
  3. Memorials to the missing
  4. Canada’s National War Memorial
  5. Community cenotaphs across Canada

Aim 

Students explore why some First and Second World War service members have no known grave and the meaning of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They use a WHO AM I? mind map to imagine and share a respectful profile of an unidentified service member. Through the connected symbols of an empty chair and an empty tomb, they deepen their understanding of the role public memorials play in recognizing and expressing family, community, and national grief.

Objectives

Through this activity, students will:

  • understand and explain the symbolic importance of a tomb of an unknown soldier;
  • gain perspective on the significance of memorials like these to family members whose loved ones have no known final resting place; and
  • share their impressions about this concept with their peers.

Classroom materials

Introduction

Optional: Unit connection

Last time: We explored what war memorials are and how communities across Canada created them to honour those who served and died.

Today: We look closely at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and consider who an unknown service member might have been—and why these symbolic tombs matter to families and to Canada.

Explain to students that one of the most feared individuals for Canadian families in the First World War was the person delivering telegrams. Their knock on the door could mean news of death or, almost as bad, a report of a loved one missing in action. Stories of the missing later discovered to have been taken as a prisoner of war kept hope alive for worried parents, siblings and friends. But for too many families, the lack of closure was agonizing as time passed and then their loved ones were eventually declared to be dead.

Unlike families whose fallen relatives were buried in a known war cemetery overseas, there would be no details of burial, no grave to maybe someday visit, no photo of the cemetery mailed to them.

Ask students how they think this could make families feel. Why might knowing where your loved one is buried be important?

Did you know?

During the war years, Canadian service members could be designated lost with no known grave for many reasons. Sometimes, their remains were never found on the battlefield, or they were lost at sea or in plane crashes in remote places. Sometimes, their identification disks were separated from their bodies. In other cases, they were buried in a marked grave in a cemetery that was destroyed by further fighting in the same area later in the war.

Guided discussion

Continue the class discussion using the Tombs of Unknown Soldier PowerPoint. Notes on each slide provide a comprehensive discussion guide.

When the presentation has concluded, explore these questions as a class:

  • What is the significance of this type of war memorial and how does it differ from other symbols of remembrance?
  • In what way does a tomb of an unknown soldier hold special meaning to both the families of the fallen and other people in the country?
  • Why do we know that the unknown soldier is likely male? Discuss the possibility of the unknown soldier not being white.**
  • What do we not know about the person in the tomb? (i.e., what he looked like, where he was from, his favourite food, if he had a family, etc.)

Note: We know the fallen soldiers entombed in both the Canadian and Newfoundland Unknown soldiers tombs were men because they were members of the infantry and died in battle. Women were not permitted to serve in combat roles during the First World War. Also note that demographics varied between Canadian and Newfoundland forces. Though in both cases most service members were white, it is important to recognize that people from all communities, social and ethnic backgrounds served. This includes First Nations, Métis and Inuit people as well as members of many racial and religious backgrounds.

For deeper learning

Use the videos below to enhance discussion of who the unknown soldier in the tomb may have been. They challenge students to imagine. Use the video on its own or learn more about soldiers featured in the video by exploring the accompanying slideshow and notes.

Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:

Tomb of an Unknown Newfoundland First World War Soldier:

Activity

Who am I?

Provide students with a copy of the worksheet WHO AM I? mind map. Students can imagine who the Unknown Soldier was (whether from Canada or from Newfoundland and Labrador). They can introduce their Unknown Soldier to the class by describing his physical characteristics, family background, interests, future aspirations and profession.  Invite students to identify one detail from their mind map that they believe would matter most to the soldier’s family and explain why.

Empty chair, empty tomb

Introduce the metaphor of the “empty chair”—a symbol used in many cultures to acknowledge someone who is missed or absent. Explain to students that the empty chair represents a personal, everyday kind of absence felt in a home or community when someone is no longer there.

Ask students to reflect on the mind maps they’ve created. Invite them to think of a place their imagined soldier may have regularly occupied back home—such as a seat at the dinner table, a school desk, a workshop bench, or a church pew. Using details from their mind map, each student will create a simple visual representation of their soldier’s empty chair. It could be a sketch, a collage, a photograph, or a digital image. Their goal is to show the everyday space left behind in the lives of their soldier’s family or community.

Just as the empty chair represents the space a loved one once filled at home, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier represents an “empty tomb” — a national symbol of all the soldiers whose families never had a grave to visit, and whose absence is still felt in their communities.

The ripple effect

Create a display in your classroom or school.  Place a photo of the Tomb of the unknown soldier at the centre, surrounded by WHO AM I? mind-maps. Chair illustrations or letters can be placed around the outside. 

Wrap-Up

Lead a class discussion to help students reflect on what they learned about unknown soldiers and why symbolic tombs are important. You may wish to explore questions such as:

  • How does a tomb of an unknown soldier help families who never knew what happened to their loved one?
  • What did imagining an empty chair help you understand about how families and communities feel when someone is gone?
  • How is the empty tomb a national version of the empty chair?
  • How does this type of memorial differ from other forms of remembrance we have seen?
  • Why is it important for Canada and Newfoundland to honour those whose names and stories were lost?

Encourage students to make connections between the unknown soldier, the thousands of service members who were never identified, and the broader idea of national remembrance.

Unit connection

Looking ahead: Next, we expand from individual unknown soldiers to large memorials that honour the thousands of Canadians and Newfoundlanders who have no known grave.

Extension activity

Did he have freckles?

Help students get their creative juices flowing by pairing this lesson with activities from our expanded Did he have freckles? (Canada) or Did he have freckles? (Newfoundland) resources. Students can use their WHO AM I? mind map to create a descriptive thumbprint, draw a portrait of their soldier, or compare their hopes for the future with a dream cloud.

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