Observing Remembrance Day in schools
Learn about Remembrance Day requirements for schools and find resources to support learning and commemoration.
Remembrance Day in schools
School boards are required to hold a Remembrance Day service in every school on November 11 or the preceding Friday if it falls on a weekend.
Veterans’ Week takes place from November 5 to 11, ending with Remembrance Day on November 11.
Remembrance Day provides opportunities for students to learn about the service and sacrifice of past generations, their contributions to Canada and the responsibility we share to carry that legacy forward.
About this guide
This guide sets out expectations for observing Remembrance Day in schools.
It includes:
- requirements for when and how schools observe Remembrance Day
- criteria for selecting Remembrance Day activities
- guidelines for involving veterans and active service members
- expected outcomes for student learning and participation
- examples of activities schools can use to engage students
- sample lesson plans and additional resources for educators
Download the guidelines
Remembering Together: Observing Remembrance Day in Ontario Schools
Learning resources
Access free learning resources that support Remembrance Day learning in classrooms or at home. Resources include lesson ideas, primary sources, historical records and interactive activities about Canada’s military history, service and sacrifice.
TVO Learn
TVO Learn provides free learning resources that explore themes of remembrance, service, bravery and leadership.
Resources are organized by grade level:
- kindergarten to Grade 2: Respect and Responsibility
- Grade 3 to 5 Remembrance and Bravery
- Grade 6 to 8: Service and Sacrifice
- Grade 9 to 12: Trailblazers and Changemakers
Archives of Ontario
Archives of Ontario provides primary sources, online exhibits, lesson plans and educational programming that can help students learn about Ontario and Canada during the First and Second World Wars.
- Canadian Posters from the First World War: explore an online exhibit of Canadian wartime posters and learn how recruitment and financial support were promoted during the First World War.
- Faces of the First World War: explore photographs and other archival materials related to people who served during the First World War.
- The Home Front During the Second World War: explore archival materials about life in Ontario during the Second World War.
Veterans Affairs Canada
Veterans Affairs Canada provides stories, lesson plans and classroom activities about remembrance and Canada’s military history.
- People and stories: explore stories about Canada’s military history and the service and contributions of Black Canadians, Chinese Canadians, women, Indigenous peoples and other historically underrecognized groups.
- Remembrance Dog Tags – Fallen Black Canadians: a research activity for intermediate and senior students that explores the lives and military service of Black Canadians who died in service.
Remembrance lesson plans: access lesson plans and learning activities about remembrance and Canada’s military history