How do we make this day important?
It is hard to believe that a decade has past since what may be considered the darkest day in the history of our country. This year the commemoration for the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon will include memorial services, television programs, and many speeches.
A recent article in USA Today noted that September 11th “was a memory for teachers but for students, its history.” Many elementarily students had not yet been born in 2001 and even high school seniors were only eight years old on the day of the attacks. Students need to know what happened and why. The question is – how to teach it. For most teachers and students, September 11 is at the beginning of the school and a quite a heavy and somber topic to address right at the beginning of school. Since history is often best told in stories, students should be given the opportunity to read, see and hear about survivors, first responders, and families of victims.
There has been a considerable number of books recently published that deal with all of the above aspects of 9/11. CBS News has released a book and DVD entitled “What we Saw; The Events of September 11, 2001 In Words, Pictures, and Video.” (Simon and Schuster ISBN 9781454626667)Another noteworthy book is “Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11’s Last Survivor.” (Howard Pub. ISBN 9481451635201). Also take a look at “After the Fall: New Yorkers Remember September 2001 and the Years that Followed (New Press. ISBN 9781595586476) Check with your school and well as your local public library to see what is available and what might age appropriate for your students.
Finally there are dozens of web sites with teacher’s materials, photo and lesson plans suggestions for classroom teachers. As educators we have an obligation to keep September 11 in the public conscience. Students should learn more about the events as they mature and can understand more.
You can find 9/11 material at the web addresses below.
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/teaching-911-ideas-and-projects-from-teachers/
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