Here is our list of the best Anzac Day ideas for students.
Anzac Day is a holiday in Australia and New Zealand that pays tribute to New Zealanders and Australians who served and died in conflicts, wars, and peace-keeping operations. Australians and New Zealanders celebrate Anzac Day on 25 April each year. Ways to celebrate the holiday with students include Anzac Day march, rosemary bush planting, Anzac Day cookie baking, and postcards for the troops. The purpose of these activities is to educate students about the contributions of those who served in the military.
These celebration ideas are similar to Australia Day games, Remembrance Day activities, Veterans Day ideas, and virtual Memorial Day celebrations.
This list includes:
- Anzac Day ideas for schools
- Anzac Day games for kids
- Anzac Day activities
- online Anzac Day activities
Here we go!
List of Anzac Day ideas for students
From visits to war memorials, dramatic play to Anzac Day march, here are some Anzac day activities and ideas for students.
1. Word jumbles
This activity is one of the best Anzac Day brain teasers. Students will make words related to Anzac Day from the jumbles. This game is an activity that I often engage my students to commemorate Anzac Day. To make the game more challenging, I include word jumbles that cannot make a word. This step will help the students get more creative as they try to guess words out of incorrect jumbles.
Here are Anzac Day word jumbles:
You can also include a list of soldiers who are heroes. Students who guess the word correctly first get a small prize.
2. Armed forces trivia
Trivia is a game that challenges participants to answer questions. Students can either fill in blank sections or choose the correct answer among the provided answers. Your students will enjoy this activity and learn about Australian and New Zealand history. This activity will show how competitive students can get and the level of history knowledge.
Here are some trivia Anzac Day questions for students:
For more game material, check out these general trivia questions for teams.
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3. Flower pressing
Flower pressing is a great Anzac Day idea for students. Children will create cards or bookmarks with flowers to commemorate soldiers who served during the war. You may need to purchase a few bouquets or ask the students to look for flowers in a nearby garden. Adding a ‘HERO’ artwork alongside the pressed flowers on the cards is a clever way to make the activity more interesting.
4. Visits to war memorials
Visiting war memorials across New Zealand and Australia is an interactive way for students to learn about war history. You can organize a joint visit to war memorials around the city or plan a trip to a neighboring town to see memorials.
Some of war memorials that you can visit include:
- Hyde Park Memorial
- The State War Memorial
- Queensland National Anzac Memorial
- The Darwin Cenotaph
- The South Australian National War Memorial
- The Shrine of Remembrance
If you are looking for virtual Anzac Day activities, then visiting war memorials is a perfect idea. You can instruct students to take pictures of a nearby war memorial and share the photos with other students in an online presentation. Some memorials have existing online tours you can explore, and you may also be able to find a guide offering Zoom tours of these sites. A joint virtual tour to war memorials such as the Virtual Australian War Memorial in Canberra is among the best online Anzac Day activities for students.
For inspiration, check out these lists of virtual tours and online field trips.
5. Poppy art
Poppies are a symbol of endurance that you can use to commemorate Anzac Day. Students can make poppies to wear over their hearts.
The students will need;
- Two coloured construction papers, one white and the other black
- A glue stick
- Scissors
- A safety pin
- Transparent tape
- Two coins in varying sizes
Instructions:
- Place the smaller coin on the black construction paper and create a circle by tracing the shape of the coin.
- Repeat the same with the larger coin on the red construction paper. For every black circle, make four to five larger red circles. The red circles represent the poppy leaves.
- Cut out the outlined circles.
- Take the black circle and glue the red circles on the backside. The circles should overlap each other.
- Secure the back of the red circles with the safety pins and tape.
Students will wear the poppy pin on Anzac Day.
This simple activity teaches students visual and graphic arts skills and Australian and New Zealand history.
For an online poppy art activity, provide lists of supplies and meet up on Zoom to create the crafts together, or create an online photo album gallery where students can upload finished projects.
6. Anzac puzzles
The Anzac puzzle is an interactive activity for students. For this activity, display fact cards around the classroom and give the students the puzzle pieces. Students will use the facts to complete the puzzles and produce an Anzac puzzle poster.
You can make this activity more interesting for students by including fact cards that do not match the puzzle piece. This twist will make the exercise more rigorous and engaging as students hunt out the information. The activity is a learning activity that will also teach students organizational and reading comprehension skills.
If you are looking for creative Anzac Day games for kids, then puzzles are your best bet!
Here are more group puzzle games.
7. Dramatic plays
For an interactive and fun learning activity, a dramatic play will make the day even more memorable. In this activity, your students roleplay as nurses, soldiers, and other frontline medical staff attending to the wounded people on the battlefield.
First, group the students into wounded soldiers, nurses, doctors, and unwounded soldiers. In the play, the unwounded soldiers will attend to the wounded soldiers with the help of the medical staff. You can get medical toys for students to use in this activity.
If you are looking for interactive and educational Anzac Day ideas for schools, then use this activity to teach kids the importance of first aid and first aid basics for students.
For more group theater games, check out this list of improv activities.
8. Soldier silhouette artworks
A silhouette is a dark shape that you can use to outline a scene, animal, person, or object. These images can portray the subject as a block or dark shape that contrasts against a brighter background. This contrast makes the outlined object more striking. Students can use a sunrise, sunset, or blue sky as the background.
Soldier silhouette artwork is an easy and engaging Anzac activity for students. Students will create a sunset or sunrise silhouette design with a soldier in the background.
For this activity, you will need:
- Brushes
- Different coloured paints
- Water
- Scissors
- A thick paper
- Black card
First, instruct the students to create a bright background and cut the silhouette in black paper. The artists will lay this shape over the colorful background. The students can experiment with colors, or you can send instructions for which colors to use.
As a learning activity, ask the students to name the silhouette and state the soldier’s role in the war. The exercise will teach students the country’s history, the cost of war, and scientific aspects of light.
9. Anzac scavenger hunt
Scavenger hunts are games that use clues and hints to lead participants to items or complete challenges before time runs out. The Anzac scavenger hunt is an activity that takes students back in time. Here are Anzac Day scavenger ideas for students:
- Find a front-line war participant in the community, talk to them and share their story with other students.
- Find pictures of animals that are important in the war and state what role they play. Hint: Donkey, dogs, cats
- Find a song or poem that commemorates Anzac Day and recite it to other students
- Find military memorabilia items in their homes and share them with other students
The Anzac scavenger hunt is also among the most engaging online Anzac Day virtual ideas for students. Students can find the assigned items or facts and share them online.
Check out this guide to virtual scavenger hunts and this list of DIY scavenger hunt riddles.
10. Anzac Day march
This event is a favorite outdoor Anzac activity for most students. You can find a march in your community and attend the event with the class. This gathering is a great way to instill the ideas of patriotism, pride, and sacrifice.
You and the students can stream a live march together. You can use this watching party as an interactive session where students can ask questions and learn more about this celebration.
Here are more outdoor team building activities for groups.
11. Family tree
Making a family tree helps trace a student’s family history and teach national history. This activity works best when parents are available to guide students about their heritage.
First, give students a tree template and instructions, and outline a minimum number of ancestors to include. Be sure to encourage students to go as far back into the past as possible. You can also ask students to identify the family members involved in the war and highlight notable contributions and heroic acts.
12. Postcards for the troops
Australia Post delivers care packages to the deployed troops semi-annually from the community groups, schools, organizations, and individuals. Your students can also participate in this commendable activity.
To kick off the exercise
- Have a sit down with your students to brainstorm postcard ideas.
- Make postcards as a team.
- You can also ask the students to share non-perishable items to send to the deployed troops.
Ensure that the postcard and the non-perishables meet all Defense and host nation import and transport requirements.
13. Rosemary bush
Pinning a sprig of rosemary to the chest is an Anzac tradition that signifies the remembrance of the sacrifice by the soldiers. You can bring the symbolism to your school by planting a rosemary bush. You can also have this as an online Anzac activity for students by asking participants to plant a rosemary bush in or around their homes. Students should share a picture of the planted rosemary bush in a Zoom meeting or online photo album.
For maximum fun, students should participate in all steps of the planting process, including digging the hole, watering the rosemary, and fencing in the bush.
14. Medal design
During Anzac Day ceremonies and marches, active service members and veterans wear medals as a sign of honor. You can ask the students to research different medals used to commemorate this day. Then, each student will design a medal and show off their medals to the fellow students.
You can make this exercise more interesting by having a medal exchange activity where students swap homemade medals. You can also give an award to the most creative medal.
15. Anzac diary entry
If you want to teach your students creative writing, then this Anzac Day activity is a must-try. Diary entries are a simple activity that requires no preparation and are also suitable as an online activity to commemorate Anzac Day.
The students will create an Anzac Day diary by imagining that they are serving as frontline members in the war. For example, students can be soldiers, nurses, transport personnel, or commanders. You can give participants prompts to structure the entries and encourage your authors to be creative in their writing. This exercise will deepen student’s understanding of Anzac Day and help them to empathize with the veterans.
16. Moment of silence
If you are looking for simple Anzac Day activities and ideas for students, then you will love the moment of silence. You do not need to prepare for this activity. Instead, ask the students to remain silent for a few minutes and honor the war veterans.
While you can hold only this activity on Anzac Day, the moment of silence is a great way to start other celebrations for the day. For instance, you can begin your Anzac Day activities by staying silent for two minutes while holding candles and proceed to other activities such as an Anzac Day march.
For a virtual Anzac Day activity, schedule a call on your online platform of choice and stay silent for a few minutes. To avoid distractions, all microphones should be off.
17. Anzac cookies
Handstick cookies are a popular Anzac Day treat for students. Students can make cookies with ingredients that do not spoil quickly and can survive naval transportation.
To prepare the activity, find an authentic Anzac cookie recipe. While traditional recipes require flour, rolled oats, golden syrup, sugar, baking soda, butter, and boiling water, you can alter the recipe. For instance, adding desiccated coconut is an excellent idea for students who love the aroma. Students can enjoy the homemade cookies while listening to a short story or watching an Anzac documentary.
Baking is also one of the best online Anzac Day activities. For the virtual version of the exercise, students will bake the cookies at home using the same recipe and share their results online with the team.
18. Donations to veterans
Donating to veterans and their philanthropy is a great way to commemorate Anzac Day. You can organize activities that students can use to fundraise for different charities for this activity. You can also make it a competitive activity by rewarding the team that gets the most donations.
Here are ways you can raise donations:
- Organize a run where participants fundraise for a good cause. You can do a run together or plan for a virtual run.
- Host an online show and charge admission. For instance, students can recite a poem or perform a song.
- Help the students to hold a virtual action and channel the funds collected to a charitable organization. You can decide what items to sell and ask the students to solicit them from their homes, friends, or the community. For instance, artwork or war memorabilia auctions may perform well.
- Encourage students to offer personal online classes. They can capitalize on their talents and teach other students skills such as guitar lessons or baking.
Here are some charitable organizations that you can donate to:
- The Returned & Services League of Australia WA Branch Incorporated (RSLWA)
- HELP for HEROES
- The Commando Welfare Trust (CWT)
- True Patriot Love Foundation
The financial contributions will enable organizations to support military members and preserve the war history sacrifices.
Here is a list of virtual fundraising ideas.
Conclusion
Anzac Day honors the war veterans for their sacrifices during the war. These Anzac Day activities and ideas for students will help your team commemorate the special day, learn more about the country’s history, and practice vital skills such as creativity, courage, and endurance. For virtual school settings, online Anzac Day activities are a great way to pay tribute to the war veterans.
Next, check out this list of online classroom games, these virtual escape games in Australia and these virtual team building activities in Australia.
