September 11th

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http://goo.gl/gWXsDD

Next week marks the 12th anniversary of the September 11th attacks in New York.  This post provides resources made available if you'd like to discuss the topic with your students.  Use caution; always consider the student's age and maturity levels.  Look through the content prior to introducing it to your students. Most importantly, leave your politics at the door and be sure to clear up any misconceptions students may have while remaining objective and honest.



Education World

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson244.shtml
Contains numerous lesson plans related to the day.  This list was last updated in August 2011 so check to make sure all links you are interested in using work before presenting the lesson to students.






Teaching 9-11

http://www.learnabout9-11.org  
Current information with sample discussion questions, timelines, forums and an interdisciplinary curriculum in addition to other forms of media. 


Poetry

http://poetry.about.com/od/ourpoemcollections/a/poemsafterattac.htm
Dozens of poems written about the attack and it's aftermath.  Great activity for figurative language and critical thinking.


Teaching History

http://teachinghistory.org/spotlight/september11 Created by a center at George Mason University this site features 9-11 resources as one of it's spotlight features.  This organization receives funding from the U.S. Department of Education.  It includes a story about 8th grade students that practiced asking good questions and thinking like Historians when they interviewed family and friends about their experiences and memories of that day.



TeachHub


http://www.teachhub.com/september-11-teaching-resources 
This site contains video writing prompts, a science DNA lesson on Osama bin Laden, and a great Educator's Guide to teaching about controversial topics. 


National September 11 Memorial & Museum

The official site includes a section titled "Teach & Learn" that includes lesson plans, interactive timelines, FAQ's, primary sources and talking to children about 9-11.


Video Resources  

Use with caution.  The appropriate level for these resources is middle school.  Both of these videos contain footage from the actual day, including graphic video footage.  Media that includes images, music and video footage are meant to cause emotional responses.  This could be a good way to introduce media literacy and discuss how authors use these elements to convey a message to the audience.





Author's Note:

Many thanks to Ms. Bluford and Ms. Ellis for sharing their student work surrounding September 11th.  Ms. Bluford's kindergarten classroom read an article about the day and completed a "current events" activity.  Ms. Ellis' fourth grade classroom discussed the aspect of "community" as it related to 9-11 and  as a result created a paper quilt.  




















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