Quick Summary
Minitex staff and librarians who work with eLibrary Minnesota, Ebooks Minnesota, Minnesota Digital Library, and Resource Sharing create monthly Resource Packs for Minnesota schools to highlight content that can be used in the classroom. This month's pack features fiction, nonfiction, and primary sources about Veterans and Veterans Day.
As we approach Veterans Day this November, consider using this month’s Resource Pack to bring the stories and contributions of veterans into classrooms across Minnesota. The November pack includes a variety of engaging resources from eLibraryMN, Ebooks Minnesota, and Minnesota Digital Library, providing a mix of academic articles, ebooks, and primary sources for students of all ages to help Minnesota teachers help students to understand the lives and stories of veterans.
For younger learners, there are many ways to introduce the importance of Veterans Day. Scholastic’s Thank a Veteran issue inside of EBSCO Explora Kids offers an opportunity for students to explore simple but meaningful ways to express gratitude to the veterans in their lives. Within Explora, students can dive into the history of wars to gain a broader perspective on why soldiers enter the military and become veterans. Use this foundation as a starting point for exploring the broader impact veterans have had on history and society. In addition, Britannica’s article on Veteran’s Affairs helps middle-grade students understand the government’s role in supporting veterans.
As students enter middle and high school, they may like to try a more interactive approach to research. Students can use the Gale Topic Finder to search for articles in a visual way, clicking deeper into concepts that will help them to take a larger question and narrow it down to its more specific subtopics.
Older students can delve deeper into more complex topics around veterans issues through the Points of View database. Explore topics like the Veterans Administration scandal or the challenges veterans face with PTSD. These resources are perfect for encouraging thoughtful explorations of the various perspectives that surround veterans, their treatment, their struggles, and their role in American life. Finally, EBSCO Explora High is another excellent tool for high school students who want to take their research further. Find search results for topics such as Employment of veterans -- Law & legislation, Veterans' benefits, and Education of veterans.
Turning to Ebooks Minnesota, younger readers will also find engaging veteran’s stories and histories in the collection. Titles like Veterans Day depict simple but powerful ways of celebrating the day, while Heroes of the Battlefield brings the courageous stories of World War II soldiers to life. The United States Army provides a detailed look at the role of the Army and the training that soldiers undergo, while And the Soldiers Sang tells the moving story of the famous Christmas Truce of 1914 during World War I. The Ebooks Minnesota collection also includes books that will resonate with high school students. African Americans in the Armed Forces highlights the experiences of Black soldiers throughout U.S. history, while Surprising Facts About Being an Army Soldier gives an inside look at what it’s like to serve in the Army today.
Students may also be interested in the historical experiences of soldiers at war and when they returned home through primary sources from the Minnesota Digital Library. This set features photographs, documents, and audio recordings telling veteran stories from the Civil War to the more recent past. Highlights include survivors of the First Minnesota Infantry at Gettysburg, a Veterans of Foreign Wars membership card, interviews with a World War II surgical nurse and U.S. Army veteran, and links to MDL’s “War Stories” online exhibit series.
Interested? Then be sure to check out the Veterans Resource Pack today!
Image credit: World War I veterans in Belle Plaine, c. 1920. Scott County Historical Society collection, https://collection.mndigital.org/catalog/scott:284
