9/11 Education Materials

In this lesson, students will view Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica. They will explore the meaning of the colors, symbols and purpose of the painting. Following that discussion, students will view and discuss various paintings in The Day Our World Changed: Children’s Art of 9/11. This lesson is provided by the 9/11 National Day of Service and a partnership between My Good Deed and the 4 Action Initiative. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.

In this lesson, students will understand how vital communication and team work are in the time of a crisis. They will understand the importance of training and preparedness and how federal, state, and local agencies work together in response to disasters using ICS and NIMS. This lesson is provided by the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.  For additional information and for the resources, please visit their website. 

This is Unit 5 from the September 11th Personal Stories of Transformation toolkit. Susan Retik is a widow from Boston who lost her husband on American Airlines Flight 11. She and another September 11th widow started an organization to aid widows in Afghanistan. The full classroom resource kit contains 8 videos. Each story is accompanied by discussion questions that guide students to connect outcomes of the historic events of September 11th to the choices they make in their own lives. These materials are provided courtesy of The Tribute WTC Visitor Center. These classroom resources provide historic context, research links, and community service projects for each story.

Please click here to access the online version of the toolkit and choose Unit5 from the "Story Selection" menu which includes Susan's video.  Please visit their website for additional information and resources.

In this lesson, students will read Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey and then discuss 9/11 and its relationship to the story. Students will explore the meaning of the word hero and identify courageous traits, eventually evaluating why the fireboat’s adventures were heroic.  This lesson is provided by the 9/11 National Day of Service and a partnership between My Good Deed and the 4 Action Initiative. Please visit their website for additional information and resources.

In this activity, children and adults will learn about the outfit used by a firefighter on September 11, 2001. Children will then think about the ways they help in their own communities and imagine an outfit that would assist them with those jobs.

The lessons in this teaching guide from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum are meant to help students understand how historical records and authoritative history are written, and how they are formed from the careful and balanced combination of documentary accounts from many and varied primary sources; and that many perspectives come together to shape historical records. Please visit their website for additional information.

    Bruce Lawrence discusses the life and the messages of Osama bin Laden.  Lawrence is Professor of Religion and Director of the Islamic Study Center at Duke University, and editor of Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama Bin Laden. Please click here to view the webcast interview.  These materials are presented by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.  Please visit their website for additional information and resources.