Map. Anyone who participates in the Flipgrid can create a pin on the map and link their video to the pin. Students can look at this map and look at the pins to see where each Flipgrid participant was at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Students should consider the location of the pins. How does someone in a different location experience the same event? How might someone from the midwest or another urban center have experienced the attacks differently than someone lived in a big city with high rises? How did the physical landscape impact the magnitude of the attacks?

 

Compare. Compare the events of September 11 to other surprise attacks such as the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  What first person accounts can you find, and how do they compare to those which were shared on the 9/11 Flipgrid? One resource that might be engaging for students is to listen/view first hand accounts from Veterans who fought in World War II called, Stories From the Veterans History Project: Pearl Harbor 70th Anniversary.

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Get Support. Topics that bring up emotional responses like this September 11, 2001 curriculum can be difficult for some students. Teachers who feel it is appropriate might invite in an adjustment/ guidance counselor to sit in on a class as the topics of discussion around 9/11 become more complex.

 

Materials Used in Lessons

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• Photographer Tom Franklin Remembers 9/11 Video

  • Learn how photographer Tom Franklin felt about having the job of documenting events in New York City as a photojournalist.

 

• Newseum Front Pages from 9/12

  • The Newseum in Washington D.C. collected front pages of newspapers from around the country and around the world for display on their website. Examine the powerful language and images used in these newspapers on 9/12/2001.

 

• Our City. Our Stories (9/11 Memorial)

  • Listen to audio recordings from people who were in New York City at the time of the terrorist attacks.

 

• Article from Edutopia on Asking Questions

  • This short article provides five simple ways to help students learn to ask questions.

 

• 9/11 Basic Facts Quizlet

  • 18 basic questions that provide background information on the attacks of September 11, 2001

 

• 9/11 Flipgrid

  • This is an app that can be accessed from a mobile device or desktop computer. It is being utilized in this unit to engage people in conversation about their experience on September 11, 2001. All that is needed is the camera and microphone that comes with a digital device in order to participate in this crowd-sourced conversation.