Name ____________________________ Date_____________ Date due: Wednesday, May 13 Memorial Day 2015 “What is Memorial Day?” Every year, the Dorn family of Little Silver runs a Memorial Day writing contest in which all MPS students participate. The Dorns have lived in the Little Silver area for many years and for decades, ran Dorn’s Photo Shop in Red Bank. Their son and brother, US Marine Corp Lance Corporal Phillip “Tinker” Dorn, was killed at age 21 by sniper fire in the Vietnam War. This Memorial Day th contest is their way of honoring his memory. This year, the 5 grade will be writing a narrative piece answering the question, “WHAT IS MEMORIAL DAY?” TASK: You will first need to research what Memorial Day is and why we celebrate it. Attached are several articles, and below are websites to use for your research. Once you have an understanding of why we celebrate Memorial Day ( take notes! ) , you are to write a story which retells the history of this important holiday. Some ideas for your narrative writing include, but are not limited to: ➔ a grandparent/uncle/aunt (possibly a veteran himself/herself) telling a child the history ➔ a child at a Memorial Day parade and wondering what it is all about ➔ a soldier telling the history (first person). * Use your imagination! Remember you are writing a story. S et the scene, create characters, brainstorm your beginning, middle, and end on a plot diagram. At the conclusion of your narrative writing piece, your reader should know why we celebrate Memorial Day. * BONUS: After you have completed your story, do you notice a signpost? Some Websites Include : http://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/history.asp http://www.usmemorialday.org/?page_id=2 http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history