Today, I have an easy Anderson shelter World War II activity. Also, you’ll love my World War II unit study and free lapbook for more ideas.
I have an upcycled Anderson shelter tutorial for you as well as other great WWII crafts.
No need to run out and buy fancy diorama supplies.
With some old Amazon boxes, paint, and construction paper you can create a replica air raid shelter.
Encourage your child to get creative with supplies and how they fit basic needs inside.
During the war with the constant threat of air raid attacks air raid shelters were built and used to protect in the event of an enemy attack.
Anderson shelters were the most widely used civilian home shelters in the UK during World War II.
They were made of corrugated steel and held 4-6 people.
Too, they were built in sections and usually built right into backyard gardens, covered in dirt for added protection, and then sometimes sandbagged in.
Built into the earth they were dark, dirty, and chilly inside but gave families a sense of safety.
World War II Activity Resources
15 Books and Resources for Studying About World War II
Add some of these books about World War II and the time in history when there has been no other war before or after that killed so many people.
Through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.
From spy maps and victory banners to spotter planes and ration cakes, Great World War II Projects You Can Build Yourself brings one of the most defining periods of American and world history to life through hands-on building projects and activities. Detailed step-by-step instructions for creating each project combine with historical facts and anecdotes, biographies, and trivia about the real-life models. Together they give kids a first-hand look at daily life at home and on the front lines during America's war years.
In the bleak winter of 1940, Nazi troops parachuted into Peter Lundstrom's tiny Norwegian village and held it captive. Nobody thought the Nazis could be defeated—until Uncle Victor told Peter how the children could fool the enemy. It was a dangerous plan. They had to slip past Nazi guards with nine million dollars in gold hidden on their sleds. It meant risking their country's treasure—and their lives. This classic story of how a group of children outwitted the Nazis and sent the treasure to America has captivated generations of readers.
A grandfather reminisces about his service as a Tuskegee Airman.
December 7, 1941-the day a sleeping giant awoke. Japan's surprise attack devastated the American Naval Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and forced the Americans into WWII. These moving accounts of the lives affected by the assault capture the scope of the day's emotions and repercussions. Viewpoints of both historical and imagined characters include the mother of a Japanese pilot, officials from both countries, and the grandchild of a WWII veteran.Powerful illustrations accompany every tale.
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
In her amazing diary, Anne Frank revealed the challenges and dreams common for any young girl. But Hitler brought her childhood to an end and forced her and her family into hiding. Who Was Anne Frank looks closely at Anne’s life before the secret annex, what life was like in hiding, and the legacy of her diary. Black-and-white illustrations including maps and diagrams provide historical and visual reference in an easy-to-read biography written in a way that is appropriate and accessible for younger readers.
As he watches his homeland of Hungary being taken over and run by invaders from Nazi Germany, young Prince Michael of Chestry strives to retain his identity and integrity during one of the most dangerous seasons in human history.
Michael carries an acorn all the way from his castle home in Chestry Valley to the warm soil of
the Hudson Valley farm in the USA where he makes a new home after WWII.
British airman Dym Ingleford is convinced that the young German prisoner, Max Eckermann, is his brother Anthony who was kidnapped years before. Raised in the Nazi ideology, Tony has by chance tumbled into British hands. Dym has brought him back, at least temporarily, to the family he neither remembers nor will acknowledge as his own. As Tony keeps attempting to escape, his stubborn anger is whittled away by the patient kindness he finds at the White Priory. Then, just as he is resigning himself to stay with this English family, a new chance suddenly opens for him to return home-to Germany!
Lida thought she was safe. Her neighbors wearing the yellow star were all taken away, but Lida is not Jewish. She will be fine, won't she?But she cannot escape the horrors of World War II.Lida's parents are ripped away from her and she is separated from her beloved sister, Larissa. The Nazis take Lida to a brutal work camp, where she and other Ukrainian children are forced into backbreaking labor. Starving and terrified, Lida bonds with her fellow prisoners, but none of them know if they'll live to see tomorrow
This book is packed with information that kids will find fascinating—excerpts from actual wartime letters written to and by American and German troops, personal anecdotes from people who lived
through the war in the United States, Germany, Britain, Russia, Hungary, and Japan, and gripping stories from Holocaust survivors—all adding a humanizing global perspective to the war.
Learn how this heroic group of American Indian men created a secret, unbreakable code and helped the US win major battles during World War II in this new addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling series.By the time the United States joined the Second World War in 1941, the fight against Nazi and Axis powers had already been under way for two years. In order to win the war and protect its soldiers, the US Marines recruited twenty-nine Navajo men to create a secret code that could be used to send military messages quickly and safely across battlefields. In this new book within the #1 New York Times bestelling series, author James Buckley Jr. explains how these brave and intelligent men developed their amazing code, recounts some of their riskiest missions, and discusses how the country treated them before, during, and after the war.
Written and illustrated by Native Americans from various tribal nations, these graphic novels detail the deep emotions of leaving one's homeland to fight in a war far away, the comfort and benefit in finding those who speak our native language, and the pride in knowing you served your country while honoring your people. A high percentage of Native Americans serve in the U.S. military and bring special talents that have aided their fighting units during wartime, including the famed code talkers of World War I.
Note: This book does not give any content about torture & distortion stories, kidnapping, burn, or any negative events that had a relationship with killing,
This book is a collection of stories based on real-life events during World War II. A selection of 10 inspiring stories, introduces us to unique characters with different characteristics.
Now you can, with these exciting tales of World War II written especially for reluctant readers.
In his highly acclaimed middle-school class “Great Battles for Boys," author Joe Giorello has ignited a love of military history in hundreds of boys. Now with this engaging non-fiction book written specifically for boys ages 8-14, your son can experience that same thrilling adventure in learning.
Additionally, look at these other fun WWII activities.
Activities for Kids to Learn About World War II
- Free World War II Unit Study Ideas and Fun Lapbook
- Free Navajo Code Talkers Worksheet and How to Make Dog Tags Activity
- 8 World War II Historical Fiction Books for Middle School
- World War II Homeschool History: Minibooks Causes & Great Depression
- World War II Hands-On History – Make Ration Cakes
- World War II Hands-On History – Make a Secret Message Deck
- World War II Free Resources For a Middle School Unit Study
- Watch this YouTube video Why Were Air Raids Used In the Second World War?
- Look at Military Clothespin Airplanes
Finally, look at how to make an Anderson shelter World War II craft.
How to Make World War II Shelter Craft
To create your Anderson shelter look on Google or in your favorite reference books to get a little more idea on what details you might want to add,
Also, look at the furnishings and what the rest of the interior might have looked like.
To create your Anderson shelter, look on Google or in your favorite reference books to get a little more ideas on what details you might want to add and what the furnishings and the rest of the interior might have looked like.
You will need:
- A cardboard box
- Silver spray paint
- Scissors or straight-edge razor
- Colored construction paper
- Hot glue gun/sticks
Some additional things you might set out for your child to create furniture and other interior pieces are:
- Popsicle sticks
- Toothpicks
- Button
- Colored paper
- Fabric scraps
- Small wood pieces
First, find a good size box and cut it into a rectangle, just slightly larger than you want your shelter to be, this is the main body of the shelter.
Cut a second piece of cardboard several inches larger than this all the way around, glue brown paper to your base, and add green wherever you would like grass, we ripped ours for a little texture.
You will also need smaller rectangles that are slightly larger than the opening of the shelter size you are making, this will serve as the ends of the shelter.
Flip over the larger rectangle and cut slits from one side to the other every ½ -1” apart all the way across, just cutting through the top layer of cardboard, this will give your cardboard a nice flexibility, so it bends well to create our cylinder half shape.
Arch your shelter’s main piece and test it out for size on the base, once you get it where you want it trace around it. This will let your child know the boundaries for what will fit inside.
Take the shelter body and two smaller rectangles outside and paint both sides with silver craft paint or silver spray paint.
Now it is time to put together some simple furniture, this is a good time to lay out your extra craft supplies for making things like beds, tables, and crates of supplies. Remind your child that they need to stay within the outline of the shelter.
You will also need to be mindful of how tall you make your bunk to be sure it fits well underneath, we had to cut ours down quite a bit after the first draft.
We made bunk beds by hot-gluing small pieces of cardboard between 4 cut-down wood coffee stir sticks. Adding “pillows and blankets” made from construction paper.
A similarly made table was added as well as a ration crate.
Once your paint is dry you can bring your shelter pieces back in. Fold one end inward right on one of the cuts you made, and hot glue it to your base. Now you can arch it over and position it how you want it but don’t glue the other side yet. This will give a good idea of if your furniture will work height-wise.
Make any adjustments needed to the furniture then hot glue furniture pieces into place.
Roll the top over, fold the other side end in just on a crease, and hot glue it in place.
Trim your end pieces on the top corners to give them a little more of a squared-off arch shape, then cut a door in one.
Glue into place on the front and back of your structure, this will give your main piece more stability as well.
To create a sandbag effect, make flattened-out ovals in staggered rows on yellow or tan paper, cut them out, and glue them to the back.
For the front, you can do the same on either side or create little pillows by stuffing scrap paper into folded-over pieces for dimensions, and glue in place.
