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Remembering September 11th

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I’m sure you remember exactly where you were when the twin towers were hit. I certainly know I do! However, today’s students are often too young to remember what all went on during that day and the months after that (and many had not even been born yet!). This year I want to do something to help students remember and understand why this day is so special and needs to be respected and honored.

 

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September 10 “Homework”

On September 10, my students will receive a homework assignment – to ask their families where they were on 9/11 and their thoughts on that day. This will give me insight into what my students already know, and it will help students who have no/little knowledge get some information before we start our lesson in class. (Obviously this won’t work for most students today. Have them ask their parents were they were instead.) 

Book Idea

On September 11, I am going to start by reading 14 Cows for America. Just recently I was introduced to this book by my school’s librarian. It’s the story of a man who was studying in New York City during the attacks. When he went home, he told his people all that had happened. They then decided to share 14 of their sacred cows with the American people. It shares the true character and kindness that so many people felt or gave during one of our country’s most difficult times. I believe it would work well for students grades 2 and up.

School Approved Video (But please watch it yourself first to make sure it will work for your students!!!)

I also plan to show a video showing some of what happened that day. Students do not need to see all of the gory details, but I do want them to get a feel for the sadness and loss that was felt. I feel this School Tube video does a good job capturing that.

Writing Component

We will also be showing our appreciation to our local police officers and firemen by writing them letters of appreciation. Events such as 9/11 can happen at any time and place, so I want students to understand how important these people are in our day to day lives.

Technology Integration

If time permits, I want to take my students to this website – Heroes of Ground Zero. It has a wonderful timeline and interviews from several firefighters. I will also include a link on my classroom blog and wiki so parents can go through this event in more detail with their child.

Book Suggestions

Understanding September 11 by Mitch Frank is great for answering basic questions about the attacks and why they happened. My upper elementary students, particularly those that like history, really enjoyed this one! September 11: A Testimony is a great book for the students who like pictures. It’s amazing what my students retained from those captions!

Other Ideas

While looking online for various activities to do with my students, I found a lot of great ideas! I don’t have time to incorporate all of them, but maybe they will be helpful to you:

If you're on the lookout for September 11 books for kids, this it the place. Help your own children or those in your classroom better understand what happened on that sad day in America - September 11, 2001. This blog post has various activities, videos, books, and more that you can do with children ages 8-12. It's great for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th grade classroom or home school.

Even More Book Ideas

Here are some books that you may find helpful reading to your students (or putting in your classroom library) on that day as well. 
How will you help your students understand September 11?
~HoJo~
Many of today's students were not even alive when September 11 took place! So how are elementary teachers supposed to teach about 9/11 in the classroom? This blog post has some great ideas - freebies, books, videos, and more!

Comments

  1. 1

    A HUGE thank you for this post! It must have been this post I saw a year ago, because I remember getting 14 Cows from the library and reading it to my class. I've been looking for the Reader's Theater script for weeks and couldn't find it. I am SO glad I came across this on Pinterest just now. THANK YOU for providing this wonderful information. I'm so glad to have the reader's theater to share with my class again!

    Reply
  2. 2

    Thank you so much for the book suggestions! KIDS get older, and each year it has been more and more difficult to teach about the events of this DAY…even some of their parents are so young! These resources are going to be a big help! I’m so glad I saw this post b/c it gives me time to gather the books. Yay! Much appreciated!

    Reply
    • 3

      You are welcome! I know I simply tried to teach them the seriously of the day in a non-threatening way to help them realize that many Americans have STRONG emotions related to the day. I’m glad this post could help. Best of luck!!

      Reply

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