My 9/11 Lesson

One of my readers emailed me to ask me what I do as a teacher on 9/11, and I responded to him, but I should have let you all know what I do on 9/11. I know that there are some teachers who read my blog, and might be interested in my lesson for that day. Here is what I do as a teacher, every year on September 11.

First, as a teacher you will need to lay out why it is important for students to remember what happened in 9/11/01. It is a teachable moment, so does have educational value, especially for social studies classes. Our nation changed on that day- there is a pre-9/11 mentality and a post-9/11 mentality, and post-9/11 our nation is proactive about our security by passing legislation, engaging in wars, and having more aggressive interrogation techniques. Our nation changed that day because we lost so many people, people who might have cured cancer or invented the flying car, and because the terrorists hit us so hard in our homeland, destroying our innocence and naive beliefs that they couldn't do that.

Next, review what happened for those students who are not fully aware of all the details. Make sure that your review is short - who did it, what they did, the number of deaths, the impact of those deaths, the impact on the US, and the lasting impact on the US. Also address at this time the heroes of 9/11- the leadership of Mayor Giuliani, the firemen and police, and the average people who were also heroes.

Also at this time, address conspiracy theories and 'truthers,' and dispel those myths in no uncertain terms. Don't go into the myths and do not leave any doubt in students minds that these conspiracy myths and 'truthers' are wrong- they dishonor the deaths of those who died, they dishonor those who worked hard to stop something like this for happening again, and they dishonor you by insulting your intelligence. Students need to in the future confront 'truthers' the same way that they would confront a Holocaust denier. This introduction portion should take no more than 5 minutes.

9/11 is not part of history- it is a part of these students' present. It affects their lives, their world, and their government. These students are becoming adults and joining the world as educated people, and in order to join it fully, they need to experience what 9/11 was in order to fully understand it. It is important for students, especially those who were too young to remember, to feel that day. They need to feel what our nation felt on that day- they need to face the emotions and see the sights that we all saw, so that they can fully be a part of this world we live in today. This event has to be personal to them, an emotion that they feel, just like we all did. It can't just be worksheets and videos'- the teacher needs to have them discuss their feelings before and after the event.

For the next 5-10 minutes, discuss with students what they remember from that day and get them thinking about where they were, what they were doing, and how it impacted them. Try to encourage them to remember not just the events of the day but the emotions and feelings that they felt. For older students, they might still remember a bit of this, but the younger students might only remember vague impressions. That's okay- after today's lesson, they will remember it better.

Before showing the video, make sure that you ask students if they had any family members who worked in New York City during these events or lost anyone on 9/11. These students can leave if they become too emotional or if they feel they can't handle the lesson. Tell all the students that it okay to be moved by this video, and that if they feel moved to tears, they can step out of the room. All they have to do is say they have to use the restroom or something- if they really have to use the restroom, they can say that too- and the class won't know if they are leaving because they have to use the restroom or because they have to cry. Students need to feel safe and that it is okay to express emotions- many people openly weeped on 9/11 and there is nothing at all wrong with that.

Next, show the video. The video that I show is In Memoriam - New York City, 9/11/01 (2002). I choose this video because it does not have political commentary, it does not sugarcoat the events, it does not try to soften the events, and it is not edited for language or violence. It is the best video I found that simply shows the attacks on New York City, over and over again, from different angles, with pictures and video both mixed in. There are several interviews that are heart-breaking, but not too many of these to overwhelm the pictures from the attacks themselves. This video is disturbing- as was 9/11 itself. The video is bursting with tenacious and inspiring humanity- as was 9/11 itself. And the video provides an appropriate balance too, as it is narrated by the wisdom of New York City's then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani. This video in particular makes it virtually impossible to forget the 3,047 lives lost to terrorist brutality. This is not a journalistic endeavor, but a potent visual reminder that 9/11 was a day of unity, transcending the horrors witnessed here.

For a 60 minute class, only show about 30 minutes, or up to the part where they begin to look for survivors, and then down the volume and tell the students that they only found 11 people in rubble. For a 90 minute class, show the whole video, and afterwards just let the room remain silent for a minute or two before you begin the next portion of this lesson.

For the last part of this 9/11 lesson, you as a teacher will need to spend about 10 minutes asking students how they feel. First ask them if this was how they remembered it- if their memories or what they have seen since matches with the feelings that they have right now. Most students will be shocked and stunned by what they just saw- you will need to gently ask students or call on a couple that look like they are not too shaken and can get out an answer.

Then ask the students to try to describe some of the feelings that they have now. Explore these feelings and ask students to try to verbalize what they are feeling. Do they feel shock? Are they sad? A lot of students may feel angry, or be scared, or full of pride about the heroes, or determined, or confused, or feel like they want to help, like they want to lash out, like they want to do something to stop it from happening again. All of these feelings are okay- validate these students and let them know that it okay to feel these ways, since this was how we felt as a nation.

After each feeling is talked about and explored, follow up with the students and ask them what possible policy responses there might be to those emotions- ask them how they can translate their feelings into action and rise above the situation without losing sight of it. This part of the lesson is a great time to teach- spend a minute after each feeling talking about how America felt that same way and what we as a nation did and are doing about that emotion. This will help the students to understand why our nation responded the way we did to this event.

America was angry and wanted to punish those who attacked our nation- and not only those people directly involved, but those people who cheered when we were hurt so bad, those nations who supported terrorism or encouraged it, those peoples who helped those who attacked us. That's why we started the War on Terror, that is why we are in Iraq and Afghanistan, and after seeing the video, students will understand better these things. America was scared, and is still scared, and that is why the Patriot Act was passed and security procedures were stepped up, and we should still be scared as a nation and vigilant about our security. America felt like it wanted to do something, anything to help, and that is why this day to many becomes a day of service, and students can help out even today by giving blood or donating items to our troops. America felt like it had to do something to prevent this from happening again, and part of that is the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and if students want to help this effort, they can join the military or the CIA or the FBI. America was confused, and that is why we are making more of an effort to understand what may have motivated these people to do this to us, and students need to learn about other cultures and try to understand them better. America was sad, and are still sad today, and students can attend local vigils and remembrances around the area and express their sadness.

Validate the students emotions and then connect them to what we did as a nation and what the students can do now. When students are out of emotions and you have made all your teaching points, walk away from the students and just let them talk among themselves for the last couple minutes of class. Students will recover from their shock and gather themselves again before going back out into the world. Many will remember this lesson for a long time to come.

This is the lesson plan that I have for 9/11. Feel free to use it in your classrooms.