Paired Texts > In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae 1915

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

Dreamers
Dreamers
Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (1886-1967) was an English writer, poet, and soldier. "Dreamers," a poem about the dark side of war and its impact on soldiers, was likely inspired by Sassoon's own experiences in World War I.

Pair “Dreamers” with “In Flanders Fields” and ask students how the living soldiers in “Dreamers” compare to the dead soldiers in “In Flanders Fields”? What overall portrait of soldiers do the two poems provide?

10th Grade Poem
"A Mad Dash to Disaster": The First World War
"A Mad Dash to Disaster": The First World War
Mike Kubic

"'A Mad Dash to Disaster': The First World War," is an informational text that provides an overview of World War I, outlined with quotes by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Pair “‘A Mad Dash to Disaster’: The First World War” with “In Flanders Fields” and ask students to discuss the costs of war in context of World War I. What can we learn from World War I about the difference between who starts wars and who fights in them?

12th Grade Informational Text 1460L
Dulce et Decorum Est
Dulce et Decorum Est
Wilfred Owen

The horrors of chemical warfare during World War I are described in this gripping poem.

Pair “Dulce et Decorum Est” with “In Flanders Fields” and ask students to compare the themes and tone of the two World War I poems. How are battlefields presented in each poem, and what lessons do the poems provide regarding warfare?

10th Grade Poem
The Poppy Lady
The Poppy Lady
Barbara Elizabeth Walsh

In the informational text "The Poppy Lady," Barbara Elizabeth Walsh discusses how Moina Michael started a trend for wearing red poppies to remember soldiers.

Pair “In Flanders Fields” with “The Poppy Lady” and ask students to further discuss the poem that inspired Moina Michael to wear poppies as a challenge for students. How are the soldiers portrayed in the poem? What about the soldiers does the poem inspire Moina to remember and honor?

5th Grade Informational Text 880L
The Origins of Memorial Day
The Origins of Memorial Day
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

In "The Origins of Memorial Day," the history of how Memorial Day has changed over the years is discussed.

Pair “In Flanders Fields” with “The Origins of Memorial Day” and ask students to discuss how soldiers are honored. How does the speaker in the poem want the dead to be honored? What do the poppies represent in the poem? What symbols are used on Memorial Day? Would the speaker from the poem approve of Memorial Day celebrations? Why or why not?

7th Grade Informational Text 1220L
2000 lbs
2000 lbs
Brian Turner

In this poem, an explosion in a public square affects many lives.

Pair “2000 lbs” with “In Flanders Fields” and ask students to discuss the themes in each poem. Do the narrators in each poem respond to war and death in similar ways? Why or why not? Do they have the same view of their enemy? What lessons do students think each poem is trying to convey about war?

10th Grade Poem