9/11/2001
9/11/2001
History, Tragedy, & Legacy
History, Tragedy, & Legacy
A three-part lesson plan series created for the tenth anniversary of
the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Lessons based on Common Core State Standards, designed for grades 7-12
E/LA and social studies classes that stress literacy, critical thinking, identity,
social justice, and personal narrative.
The Holocaust Educator Network of Michigan
August, 2011
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www.holocausteducatorsnwpm.wikispaces.com
9/11/2001
History, Tragedy & Legacy
Introduction & Purpose
In August 2011, twenty teachers from across Michigan gathered in Kalamazoo for the first Holocaust
Educator Network of Michigan Summer Seminar, a program offered in a partnership between The
Memorial Library of New York City, and eleven Michigan universities which comprise The National
Writing Projects of Michigan state network. During the seminar teachers worked to understand
critical lessons of the Holocaust, to be able to take those lessons back to classrooms in our state and
make them relevant to diverse students and school communities, so that the atrocities of the past
become our lessons for the future.
During the seminar conversation often returned to the lessons of September 11, 2001. Participants felt
it would be worthwhile to work together to create a thoughtful series of lesson plans that would honor
and commemorate the tragedy of September 11, 2001, but to also think critically about that date in
history and the events that led up to it, and that then have transpired the past ten years.
Participants agreed the lessons should be standards-based, so used anchor standards of the Common
Core State Standards as a curriculum framework, should require that students think critically and use
critical literacy skills, should center around personal narrative as a main content experience, and
should contain an element of social justice, with the goal of helping students understand the concept
that follows:
we will impact, and not simply just inherit,
the legacy of 9/11/2001.
The lessons can be used independently of one another, and can be used in a series. They are of course
designed to be used in order.

Lesson Plan One: History focuses on identity, and asks students to think about the identity of
several authors, of themselves, and of an American Muslim woman who created an organization
called Muslims Against Terrorism.

Lesson Plan Two: Tragedy is designed to be delivered Friday, September 9, and allows a
teacher to create a quiet, solemn experience with the words and images of 9/11.

Lesson Plan Three: Legacy picks up the idea of identity again by exploring the real phone and
voice mail messages left on 9/11, and asks students to create original voice mail messages of their
own, both from the identity of an imagined person, and from themselves.
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History, Tragedy, & Legacy
Lesson Plan 2:
Designed to be taught on Friday, September 9, 2011
Intro & Lesson Goal/Concept: This lesson is designed to either stand alone, or to follow the first lesson plan in
this series of three. The first lesson plan, HISTORY, focused students on identity, both their own identities as individuals, and the identities of individuals connected to events of 9/11.
This second lesson plan in the three-part series is TRAGEDY, and it is designed to commemorate the tragic loss
of life on 9/11 by creating a purposefully quiet, reflective space in the classroom during a gallery walk of images
and words that come from directly from 9/11, or from its aftermath.
Teachers are encouraged to present the lesson as it’s designed, especially Activity 2, the Gallery Walk, which
should be done in absolute silence. The silence will create the kind of atmosphere that respects the tragic loss of
life on 9/11, but will also allow for reflection on the part of the students and they evaluate and respond to images
and words. NOTE: The Gallery Walk activity will require a way to copy or project visual images.
Target Audience: students in grades 7-12
Class: E/LA or Social Studies
Time Requirement: Approximately one (1) class period of fifty-five (55) minutes.
Content Standard Addressed: CCR Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7 Integrate and evaluate content
presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
Student Objectives: 1) To evaluate visual images and words from 9/11; 2) to respond to primary documents
from an historic event, to respond personally, in writing, and to evaluate and respond to the written responses of
other students in the class.
Activities and Materials:




Activity 1: Read poem “The Names” by Billy Collins
Activity 2: Gallery Walk of Images & Words
Activity 3: Written Reflection of Activity
Activity 4: Brief Closure Discussion
10 Minutes
35 Minutes Total
5 Minutes
5 Minutes
Student Copy-Ready Handout on Page 5; examples of images and quotes for Gallery Walk activity on
Pages 7-20. Please see notes about the use of images on pages 6, 7, & 22, including Fair Use statement
on Page 22.
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History, Tragedy & Legacy
Lesson Plan 2; Activity 1
Reading the poem “The Names” by Billy Collins
Begin this activity by telling students you are going to read a poem that was written by then United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins at the
request of the US Congress to be read to congress in September, 2002, to mark the first anniversary of 9/11. Collins uses actual names of
9/11 victims as he makes his way through a tragic alphabet of loss and remembrance. If your students participated in Lesson Plan One:
HISTORY, you should ask them to think about what the names themselves and other details in the poem tell us about the individual and
collective identities of the people killed on 9/11. Then ask what they noticed after the reading.
There is audio and video of the poet reading to congress here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec02/names_9-06.html
NOTE: A Copy-Ready version of this poem for student handouts can be found on page five of this lesson plan booklet.
The Names
Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name -Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner -Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds -Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.
Billy Collins
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History, Tragedy, & Legacy
Student Handout: “The Names” by Billy Collins
The Names
Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name -Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner -Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds -Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.
Billy Collins
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History, Tragedy & Legacy
Lesson Plan 2; Activity 2
Gallery Walk of Images and Words from 9/11
Before class begins you should prepare the necessary materials— you’ll need a way to copy images, and then you'll affix them to
large pieces of paper (i.e. butcher paper) with room around the edges for students to post or write notes. Suggested size for the
images is 8x10, minimum. You’ll then hang these displays in areas all around the room with space left for students to walk around
and spend a minute or two looking at each display. A display will look something like Image A when it is hung on the wall, (though
much larger, of course), and then as students begin to respond to the images on sticky notes, it will look like Image B.
IMAGE A
IMAGE B
The Rules/Procedures for the Gallery Walk:
1) When the activity begins, you are to remain ABSOLUTELY SILENT the entire time.
2) TAKE YOUR TIME! This activity is most powerful when a student goes through it deliberately and carefully.
3) Really carefully look at each image or think about each quote: study it, and ask questions about it. What do you see? What does it tell
you? What details really stick out when you think about it? Think about the identity of the person pictured or quoted. How do you feel
in response to it? What would you like to say. Also read the other quotes that were left by other students. See if anything strikes you
or stands out for you in what another student has said.
4) After thinking and evaluating the image or quote, respond to it using a sticky note (or by writing directly on the paper). Your response
should reflect the thoughts you had about it. You may also respond directly to a quote left by another student, so that you have a silent
conversation through your notes. If a student has a powerful response, it’s possible many students will respond to it.
5) After you have finished responding, you will move onto the next image. You will go in order until you’ve visited each image.
6) Once you’ve visited each image, sit down, and remain seated and absolutely silent until all the students are seated and you’ve been
given further instructions. Remember which image you visited first, but DO NOT go back to it until you have been instructed to do so.
7) Once all students have finished their first walk, walk back around the galleries and read the quotes left by other students. Start with
the same image, and go in the same order that you did last time. If something really stands out to you, you may respond with a note
again, but you should spend less time during this walk through than you did the first time, if possible.
8) Make a mental note of what others see and respond to that is the same as you, or totally different from you. Evaluate in your mind the
reasoning another student might have for his or her similar or different responses to the same images and quotes.
9/11/2001
History, Tragedy, & Legacy
Lesson Plan 2; Activity 2
Images for the Gallery Walk Activity
Each of the next several pages has examples of images and quotes that might be effective for this activity, plus then a list
of sites where you can find other examples of images. You should consider the age and needs of your students when you
choose the images and quotes to display. The images will appear in full color in the online PDF version available at the
website: http://holocausteducatorsnwpm.wikispaces.com, but how you choose to display your images is up to you.
9/11 Quote:
“Freedom itself was attacked
this morning by a faceless
coward, and freedom will be
defended."
President George W. Bush
Sept. 11, 2001
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History, Tragedy & Legacy
Lesson Plan 2; Activity 2
Images for the Gallery Walk Activity
9/11 Quote:
"Are you guys
ready? Let's roll!"
-- Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer,
apparently a signal to other passengers
to attack the hijackers, Sept. 11, 2001.
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History, Tragedy, & Legacy
Lesson Plan 2; Activity 2
Images for the Gallery Walk Activity
9/11 Quote:
“Hostility toward America is a
religious duty, and we hope to be
rewarded for it by God . . . . I am
confident that Muslims will be able to
end the legend of the so-called
superpower that is America. ”
-- Osama bin Laden,
in Time Magazine.
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History, Tragedy & Legacy
Lesson Plan 2; Activity 2
Images for the Gallery Walk Activity
9/11 Quote:
“The attacks of September 11 were
intended to break our spirit, instead
we have emerged stronger and more
unified. We feel renewed devotion to
the principles of political, economic
and religious freedom, the rule of law
and respect for human life. We are
more determined than every to live
our lives in freedom”
-- New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani,
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History, Tragedy, & Legacy
Lesson Plan 2; Activity 2
Images for the Gallery Walk Activity
9/11 Quote:
“Even now we dare not forget
that since the attack of Pearl
Harbor...we humans have
suffered
an
almost
uninterrupted sequence of
wars, none of which has
brought peace or made us
more peaceable.”
-- Writer Wendell Berry
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History, Tragedy & Legacy
SOURCE: http://www.google.com/imgres
=9+11+images&hl=en&client=safari&sa=X&rls=en&addh=36&tbm=isch&prmd=ivns&tbnid=QHjGYgLsn6IaVM:&imgrefurl=h
ttp://blogs.courant.com/susan_campbell/2011/09/after-911-divided-on-
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SOURCE: http://www.google.com/imgres?
q=9+11+images&start=34&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&addh=36&tbs=isz:lt,islt:vga&tbm=isch&tbnid=3gSlZfsBfeX8h
M:&imgrefurl=http://www.pahighlander.com/9-11.htm&docid=7hz5-
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SOURCE: http://www.globalsecurity.org/eye/html/wtc_010917-n-7479t-515.htm
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SOURCE: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/36/ss100210wtc03ssfull.jpg/
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SOURCE: http://www.blackfive.net/photos/uncategorized/25924.jpg
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SOURCE: http://afghanistan.wikia.com/wiki/Afghanistan_2001-2012
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SOURCE:
http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0903-SEP_FALLINGMAN
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SOURCE:
mknobil.jpg
http://www.bestpicturegallery.com/cc1-best-picture-gallery-Afghanistan-Kabul-war-children-
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SOURCE: http://www.factofarabs.net/ERA.aspx?Id=735&TId=58
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Lesson Plan 2; Activity 3
Written Reflection on Activity
After students have finished the Gallery Walk activity, have them sit down and write a quick
response to the following prompt. You should give students about five minutes to do this.
“After participating in this gallery walk in complete silence, what are you thinking? What
images and ideas, thoughts and feelings, are you experiencing after evaluating the powerful
images and words that are part of our country’s memory of 9/11? Is there any one image,
idea, or experience that you will take with you from this gallery walk? How did the silence of
the activity add to or take away from the experience? Any final thoughts?”
Lesson Plan 2; Activity 4
Quick Closure Discussion at the End of Class
After the writing time is over, take a moment to allow a student or two to share his or her
written reflections with the class. Then collect them. With approximately five minutes left in
class, lead a discussion that will put a closure on the activity, and then also get them ready to
think about the 9/11 commemorative events that will take place all weekend all over the
country.
Ask students whether they feel it’s right to have images or words from people hostile to
America, or affected by the ongoing war in the Middle East included in the collection they
looked at today? Ask them to explain.
Then ask them to be thoughtful as they encounter the many words and images they will see
over the weekend. Ask them to do what they did today: to commemorate 9/11 respectfully,
but to also think critically about what they are being asked to see, hear, think, and feel.
Please be sure to thank them for participating, and for the maturity they showed, or, it might
be better to comment on your observations about the level of engagement students had for
the activity. Keep in mind that the events of 9/11 are not their memories, but activities like
this are especially important for them because they will “inherit” the legacy of 9/11, and if
they are prepared to think about the lessons of 9/11 and act accordingly, they can impact
that legacy, for the better!
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Additional Links and Resources
The Holocaust Educator Network of Michigan Website: http://holocausteducatorsnwpm.wikispaces.com
Holocaust Educator Network/The Memorial Library of New York City: http://thememoriallibrary.org
National Writing Projects of Michigan: http://nwpmichigan.wikispaces.com/home
National Writing Project: http://www.writingproject.org
Facing History and Ourselves: http://facinghistory.org
Common Core State Standards: http://corestandards.org
http://www.sfpnn.com/America/Adam.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/11/magazine/reflect-word-on-the-street.html
http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-timeline
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricofterrorism.htm
Patriot Act http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?
dbname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ056.107.pdf
Video American Arab (ask HH)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7uBODRYkQY
Military response or video
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gwbush911addresstothenation.htm
ACLU Web site:
http://www.aclumich.org/USRising
Wendell Berry’s essay written in response to 9/11: http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/
article/214
Fair Use Statement:
All resources and materials have been gathered under the auspices of Fair Use Guidelines for teachers.
Materials portrayed here are only for demonstration purposes in face-to-face teacher interactions only in the
individual classrooms of participating teachers, and are not for distribution, reproduction, dissemination, or
sale.
9/11/2001
History, Tragedy, & Legacy
Lesson Plan Authors
Trisha Baker…………………Saginaw Public Schools…………………….Saginaw
Megan Black………………...PACE Academy…………………………….Southfield
Heather Brewer……………...Spring Lake Public Schools………………...Spring Lake
Erin Busch-Grabmeyer……...St. Louis Public Schools……………………St. Louis
Lisa Dolinski………………..Hope College PATH Program………………Holland
Chelly Eifert………………...Keystone Charter Academy…………………Belleville
Corey Harbaugh…………….Gobles Public Schools………………………Gobles
Heather Hollands……………Gwinn Public Schools………………………Gwinn
Rebecca Hubbard…………...Frankfort Public Schools…………………….Frankfort
Anne Lagrand ………………East Grand Rapids Public Schools…………..East Grand Rapids
Amy Laitinen……………….Gwinn Public Schools……………………….Gwinn
Heather Nayback…………...Munising Public Schools…………………….Munising
Beth Nelson………………...Greenville Public Schools…………………...Greenville
John Porth…………………..Detroit Public Schools………………………Detroit
Rita Reimbold………………Ottawa Area ISD……………………………Holland
Pam Rickli………………….Allegan AESA………………………………Allegan
Shannon Ruiz………………Gwinn Public Schools……………………….Gwinn
Peter Shaheen………………Seaholm Public Schools……………………..Birmingham
Michael Sommers…………..Delta College………………………………..University Center
Jennifer Walsh……………...Ann Arbor Public Schools…………………..Ann Arbor
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Holocaust Educator Network of Michigan
National Writing Projects of Michigan