9/11 Education Materials

 On Wednesday, August 3 and Thursday, August 4, 2011, the National Museum of American History, National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Pentagon Memorial Fund, and Flight 93 National Memorial, offered a FREE online conference, September 11: Teaching Contemporary History, for K-12 teachers. Designed to provide educators with resources and strategies for addressing the September 11 terrorist attacks, the conference included roundtable discussions with content experts and six workshop sessions. These sessions — all of which were recorded and are now available — highlight resources available at each organization, provide background information on September 11, and encourage conversations on how to document, preserve, and interpret recent history and current events.

Elaine Donovan, Pentagon Memorial Fund Board Member, participated in the roundtable discussion, "Conducting Difficult Conversations with Young People." Ms. Donovan lost her husband, CDR William H. Donovan, at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and shares her experience of discussing the tragedy with her young children. Lasting 75 minutes, this roundtable also included panelists from Voices of September 11, Carlow University, and the Fred Rogers Company.  

Click here to watch the interactive webinar now!

These lesson plans and activities were developed by the PMF Educators' Leadership Group as a companion to the Pentagon Memorial Fund documentary entitled, “A Nation Remembers,” which tells the story of the construction of the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.  Please click here to view the “A Nation Remembers” documentary. 

These materials focus on the construction methods and symbolism found at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial as well as the family members impacted by the events on September 11, 2001 in an effort to  help students understand the idea of memorialization and the importance of remembering certain events.  This section of the guide best complements the documentary from 34 minutes, 59 seconds through 45 minutes, 18 seconds, with information about the architects, construction techniques, and symbolism to be found at 47 minutes, 35 seconds; 48 minutes, 40 seconds; and 49 minutes, 36 seconds respectively).  For the most comprehensive understanding, the documentary should be viewed from 34 minutes, 59 seconds through 53 minutes, 39 seconds.

   In this lesson, students will learn about the creation of the 9/11 Commission and review the Report’s Executive Summary and the legislation that implemented some of the recommendations. They will discuss and analyze the key findings in the report as well as the recommendations that were subsequently implemented. 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.

Discussion about the events of 9/11 has the potential to inspire strong emotions and trigger intense memories for some students and educators. The challenge is complicated by the diversity of students, their respective ages, and their various associations with, and prior knowledge of, 9/11. These guidelines are presented by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Please visit their website  for additional information.

The Little Chapel That Stood, by Curtiss, A. B.

St. Paul's Chapel, across the street from the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, survived the 9-11 blast and served as a service depot for rescuers. During this activity, you and your child will actively read The Little Chapel That Stood, using the suggested reading strategies.

This is Unit 6 from the September 11th Personal Stories of Transformation toolkit.After September 11th, many Arab, South Asian and Muslim communities in America felt under attack. This community organizer worked to help them. 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 Unit 6 from the "Story Selection" menu which includes Mohammad Razvi's video.  Please visit their website for additional information and resources.