What Would a Soldier Say? Worksheet

Memorial Day is easier for a six year old to hold on to when it has a person in it. Using this What Would a Soldier Say? Worksheet, first graders picture one soldier, imagine what that soldier would say to them, and then write an answer back in their own words. Putting words in someone else’s mouth is real writing work at this age, because the child has to decide what that person cares about before a single sentence can be written, and thanking someone on paper turns a holiday into something a child actually does.

The What Would a Soldier Say? Worksheet is a one page printable. A line at the top asks the child to name a soldier they want to thank, which can be a family member, a neighbor, or a soldier they have only heard about. Three numbered prompts follow, each with two full width writing lines: what the soldier would say to me, what I would say back, and one way I can say thank you. Because every answer comes from the child, there is no single correct response to any prompt, so the page works just as well as a conversation starter as it does as independent seat work. Print it, talk the first prompt through together, and let the writing follow the talking.

What’s Included

• A one page PDF worksheet written for 1st Grade
• A name line for the soldier the child wants to thank
• Three numbered writing prompts, each with two full width lines
• First grade writing lines with room for large handwriting
• A friendly illustration of a child and a soldier saying hello

Three Reasons This Helps Kids

• Writing what someone else would say asks a child to take another person’s point of view, which is the thinking behind every character a first grader will ever read about.
• The three prompts build on each other, so a child who can only manage one sentence still finishes a complete piece of writing instead of an unfinished page.
• Naming one real way to say thank you moves the lesson off the paper and into something the child can go and do this week.

Ideas for Teachers and Parents

• Use this first grade memorial day worksheet on the Friday before the holiday and read the finished pages aloud as a class.
• Copy the best lines onto a card and actually send it to a local veterans group.
• Pair children up and let them read their soldier’s words to each other before they write the reply.
• Ask a family member who has served to visit, then let the class compare what they imagined with what they heard.

Related Resources

• Write a Memorial Day Letter to a Soldier Worksheet
• Memorial Day Reading Comprehension Worksheet
• Patriotic Holidays Worksheet
• 50 States Song (Animated Music Video)