D-Day for Kids: How to Teach Its History + 5 Activities

Like most of our history guides, we’d like to start the article by acknowledging the complexity of teaching dark periods of history. We even made a separate article (How To Teach Dark Periods Of History) where we share tips that can help teachers and homeschooling parents when teaching young kids complicated and emotional events. In this guide, we’re going to cover D-Day for kids ahead of the anniversary of the Normandy Landings. 

Is D-Day a difficult topic for kids? It can be. To explain the reasons that led to the so-called “Operation Overlord” during World War II, you’ll most likely have to touch upon topics such as nazism and the civilian death toll. While Operation Overlord is one of the most successful military campaigns, and D-Day is considered the beginning of the end of the war, we still have to be mindful when discussing these topics with kids. The main concern is to make sure kids feel safe and comfortable analyzing and critically debating wars. 

To achieve that goal, we’ll share a brief overview of D-Day and related events, while avoiding unnecessary details but still elaborating on the key facts that make D-Day such an important historical event. By the end of the article, we’ll also share several activities through which you can engage kids and mark the day. 

The History of D-Day for Kids

D-Day refers to the first day of the Normandy Invasion, also known as Operation Overlord or Normandy Landings, during WWII. It was launched on the 5th of June, but the attack officially began on the 6th of June 1944. D-Day is considered one of the most significant events in world history, some saying it was a miracle that changed the course of events with Nazi Germany losing control in Europe. Less than a year after the D-Day invasion, the Allies accepted Nazi Germany’s surrender, ending the war. 

Since the Normandy Battle was part of WWII, it would be best if it’s taught after the kids have learned about WWII. However, in the case they haven’t, then make sure to contextualize by explaining the timeline that led to this historical event. 

The Background

It’s very hard or even impossible to explain D-Day without talking about WWII, Nazi Germany, or the Allied vs. Axis powers. So, in this paragraph, we’ll go over the key concepts that set the foundation for D-Day that followed. 

Firstly, explain WWII. There are two global and violent conflicts in human history – WWI and WWII. The Second World War began in 1939 and ended six years later in 1945. More than 100 million people were involved in the war from over 30 countries. WWII is considered the deadliest conflict in human history with over 80 million fatalities, out of which half a million and more casualties (both sides together) happened only on D-Day. It’s believed that the official start of WWII was when Germany invaded Poland. 

Secondly, explain the opposing military alliances. Unfortunately, the events that led to WWII are way too complex to dive into here in this paragraph, but the important thing for kids to know is that WWI left some countries unsatisfied with their territories and several conflicts were still happening in the East. When Germany began the invasion of Poland, France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. 

The Allies were called the countries that sided with France and the UK. These included the Soviet Union, United States, Poland, and other smaller countries. “The Big Three” of the Allies were considered to be the UK, USA, and the Soviet Union. 

On the other side, the Axis powers were Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, and Fascist Italy.

Finally, putting it all together. Explain to kids that by 1943, Adolf Hitler controlled most of Europe. His economy was no match for the Soviet Union and Britain alone. With elaborate planning, The Big Three agreed on a joint invasion in May, 1944. 

Operation Overlord (Normandy Landings)

The planned invasion became known under the code-name Operation Overlord. It considered deploying hundreds of troops over the course of several weeks or even months, beginning with three divisions in Normandy and following with 11 more divisions across the English Channel within two weeks. 

If they were successful, another hundred divisions were expected to be assembled in France, subsequently. 

Hitler expected this invasion and reinforced the troops in France before the attack. 

The First Day of the Invasion: D-Day (June 6, 1944)

On the 5th of June, Allied troops left England and headed to France. The attack was planned to begin at night during a full moon (otherwise the soldiers couldn’t see). The first soldiers landed inside Normandy with parachutes and were instructed to seize important structures and clear the roads, so the main troops landing on the beaches could storm Normandy without resistance. 

The Allied troops landed on five beaches around Normandy, including Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, and Utah.

The plan succeeded in the end, but things didn’t quite go as planned. Some of the beaches had strong defenses and were able to attack the Allies troops while still in the water. Both sides suffered great losses, although the Allies managed to invade the city by nightfall.

The Battle on the five beaches and everything else that occurred on the 6th of June in Normandy is referred to as D-Day or Normandy Invasion. 

What Followed?

D-Day is an extremely important day because it represents a turning point in the war. The Allies were finally able to break through the German defenses by the end of June and stop the powerful control Germany had in Europe. 

While the German soldiers started feeling exhausted and planned their retreat in July, the Allied powers already had another operation planned – Operation Cobra. 

In the following months, the Allies captured hundreds of thousands of German troops and managed to free France. 

While we can’t deny that this was an amazing and heroic campaign, we have to address the fact that it came at a great cost. The Battle of Normandy, or D-Day, is considered one of the deadliest events in human history. There are no exact figures about the fatalities but historians estimate that on D-Day, Germans lost around 450,000 soldiers (killed, injured, or captured). The estimations about the Allies is around 300,000 personnel killed or missing. 

The Significance of D-Day for Kids

If D-Day didn’t happen, how would the world look like today? 

This thought was not far from reality as in 1940 there were a lot of pressures within Britain to make peace with Germany. 

Had history taken a different course, then Adolf Hitler, the infamous dictator, would have succeeded to conquer Europe. In fact, historian Gerhard L. Weinberg, author of A World at Arms, wrote a book titled Visions of Victory where he explored different scenarios. He believed that if Hitler won WWII, then soon after WWIII and WWIV would have followed his conquest to conquer the whole world, unless someone stopped him. The scenario is chilling and frightening to think about as it was really close to actually materializing. 

Fortunately, through the great sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of brave soldiers, we live in a much better world. It’s important for kids to understand this sacrifice, to honor and respect the lives of people who fought for our future. Many children today have grandparents or great-grandparents who served during WWII. 

Educational Activities About D-Day for Kids

Once the teaching part of the lecture is done, it’s time to engage kids in more practical learning activities that will effectively capture their attention and make them more invested in the topic. 

Play Quizzes

To make the lecture more practical and fun, it’s a good idea to introduce quizzes and other games after presenting the key information about D-Day. This is a really good way to see how much kids have understood from the material and whether they feel comfortable talking about it. Plus, finishing off with an entertaining quiz or a game is one of the best ways to put the heavy hearted mood behind. 

On our website, you can find a 20-page D-Day worksheet pack containing key information about the invasion and ready-to-use worksheets with guessing games, filling out missing information, timeline mapping, and much more. Simply, follow the link above and click to download the whole worksheet pack. 

Additionally, if you want to broaden the lecture topic and talk about WWII more generally, then go to the Social Studies > Famous Wars > World War 2 section. There, you can browse through all the worksheet bundles we have on events, battles, people, or countries related to WWII. 

Watch Documentaries

What we can’t fully capture with words, we can show through movies and documentaries that vividly and very emotionally illustrate the D-Day invasion. With special effects and reconstructed images, as well as some original photos captured during WWII, kids can see the events unfold in front of their eyes. Educational documentaries are memorable experiences and a really great solution for knowledge consolidation. 

Here are some great documentary ideas about D-Day for kids: 

1. D-Day History For Kids by Bedtime History

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2. Original D-day footage US Troops storming the Beaches of Normandy

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3. History KS2: D-day

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/history-ks2-d-day/zf49rj6

4. Normandy: Surviving D-Day | Documentary

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5. Why Was Normandy Selected For D-Day?

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Visit Museums

Museums are a great place for teaching history and consolidating knowledge. Plus, kids will be super excited to change the scenery and go on a field trip – that is, if museums are open and you can visit them in-person considering the situation with the pandemic. But, in case they’re not, we’re sure you’ll find interesting virtual exhibitions and other events where the whole class can attend. 

In the USA, there are around 25 museums dedicated to WWII or events related to WWII. When it comes to virtual opportunities, the National WWII Museum in New Orleans has a separate wing dedicated to the D-Day invasion and features a long-distance learning program that teachers can use. 

Make a Historical War Map

For most of us today, the concepts of world wars feel more like a movie than real-life events and states under which people lived for years. To help kids visualize and better understand the invasion, a contrast to thinking about it just in terms of numbers and names, is to create a historical war map and re-enact the attack strategy. 

While viewing the map and drawing the routes, students can calculate the actual time needed to transport military personnel to their desired location, the risks, the costs, the skills needed to complete the mission, the influence of the weather, the benefits of disadvantages of the terrain, and other aspects that portray the reality behind D-Day. 

Organize a Critical Debate Weighing Impacts

We’ve said many times before that history is a vital part of our education, even though it can be overwhelming. And, we believe that critically analyzing historical events and weighing in the arguments for and against while considering their heavy impact on whole cultures is the predominant factor that makes history so valuable. 

The main point of exposing kids to such intense events is to promote critical thinking, argumentation, analytical skills, and show the impact of decision-making. 

For these reasons, organizing a debate between students is an underused yet very important part of history lectures. Of course, such a lesson plan is most suited for older students (middle school and up). 

Example of questions for the debate:

• Does the end justify the means? Operation Overlord is one of the most successful military operations, but it came at a great cost. Would it be justified if it failed? 
• How Operation Overlord changed the course of history? What would’ve happened if it failed? 
• Comparing different perspectives: How the American and French perspectives about D-Day differ and why?
• Was there a better way to plan the invasion? Looking back, what could have been done differently?

Before You Leave

Hopefully, you’ve seen by now that D-Day for kids can easily become an interesting and stimulating topic thanks to our educational activities. On top of that, the information provided at the beginning of the article can help you stick to the essentials and explain the key concepts in a safe way. Kids will learn a lot more about the events during WWII and develop valuable skills. 

Keep in mind that by visiting our main website, you can easily check out the countless history worksheet packs, which might prove to be useful when teaching D-Day for kids. As you’ll see, we also offer worksheet bundles in other aspects of education, so make sure to bookmark our page for easy access whenever you need us. 
Finally, let us remind you about our blog! Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive notifications about our future posts. We promise to keep writing insightful and helpful content for teachers and homeschooling parents all around the world.