Teacher Bulletin

Thursday 6 June 2024 marks the 80^th anniversary of D-Day. This Teacher Bulletin contains some ideas to help your school mark the day.

Education pack

Assemblies 

Films

• A Newsround special: a 30-minute D-Day special available on BBC iPlayer from 3 June, suitable for children aged seven and older. Two children, William and Lyra, explore their family connection to D-Day, and travel to Normandy with two veterans, Mervyn and Arthur. Through spending time with them, and hearing their stories, William and Lyra realise the sacrifices made by the wartime generation in order to liberate Europe.
• D-Day: The Last Heroes: In these three short films, aimed at secondary school pupils, historian Dan Snow examines how two years of meticulous planning shaped D-Day. He recounts the events at Sword Beach and Omaha, using the memories of those who were there, and hears extraordinary stories of heroism, self-sacrifice, and determination from those who took part.

Live events

• Monday 3 June 2pm: The National Archives will be running a 45-minute live event with broadcaster Dan Snow. Suitable for Key Stage 2 and 3.
• Thursday 6 June 9am: The British Council in partnership with the Normandy Memorial Trust will be hosting a D-Day assembly for secondary schools.

Classroom resources

• Through Historic England you can access aerial photography archives. You can use them to find the location of your school and search for photographs that will reveal how the area has changed over time. You can also see historic aerial photography of Exercise Tiger (the practice amphibious assault on the coast of Devon) in action. You can read more about D-Day on their blog.
• The Royal British Legion has lots of information and resources on remembrance. This includes a Key Stage 2 resource based on a new book by Michael Morpurgo called Finding Alfie: A D-Day Story.
• The Imperial War Museum has two classroom resources about D-Day, for Key Stage 2 and 3. The first explores what D-Day was and the second focuses on the people and planning. They also have lots of other information on D-Day:
  • 10 things you need to know about D-Day
  • Clever innovations used on D-Day
  • How D-Day was delayed by a weather forecast
  • Parachutes, dummies and inflatable tanks
• English Heritage has information about the D-Day deception: Operation Fortitude.
• Oak National Academy has lessons on the second world war and D-Day.

Visits

Schools can also arrange relevant free visits with English Heritage, including to Dover Castle which was involved with Operation Fortitude South - the creation of a dummy invasion plan for D-Day.

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