Book Talk Thursday ~ The Wall {Freebie}

**I posted this before Memorial Day 2013, but I feel this freebie is perfect for Veterans Day as well!**

Sorry for such a long post today, but it is a special one for our school and students! Keep reading for Book Talk Thursday and a freebie!!

Our school does something so amazing on this day each year. We welcome over 500 veterans and their families INTO our school to eat lunch, spend time with the children, and enjoy a program the kids perform. Each year, they ride their motorcycles from California and other parts of the United States to Washington, D.C. Our school is one of the stops!

We welcome the riders from Run for the Wall as they journey to Washington DC. This is their 25th anniversary, so it was huge! There were over 650 riders this year! If you follow me on Instagram {readingtowardthestars}, you can see pictures from all day long! Here are some pictures of our day!

The students filled the walls with art.

The Wall of Names that go up each year. They are signed by those who return each year.

Here they are!!

New riders putting their names on the Wall of Names for the first time!

Our full gym!

And they are off!

Now for Book Talk Thursday, which is about a book I love to share with the students at this time of year.

I love the book, The Wall by Eve Bunting! It really gives students of all ages a picture of the true meaning of The Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall in Washington DC.

In the book, a father and his son go to the wall to find the boy's grandfather's name. The story is told from the boy's point of view as he describes seeing flags and flowers. He places his school picture, even though he feels his "Grandpa won't know who I am." His father reassures him that he will.

Eve Bunting's tone of the book reminds the reader that it is truly a place of honor.

One of the things the veterans love to do each year after coming to the school is to leave behind the notes our students give them. They place them in plastic bags and leave them with flowers and momentos. It is a sweet gesture to show that others care.

This year I created some fun letter writing papers to help students create nice looking letters to any veteran. I really wish I weren't testing this week before because I would have been able to take the time to use them with my students. So, I am passing these on to use as freebies! Just click here or on the pictures below to grab them!