Science ideas:
Additional ideas:
Talk about bravery.
Read a book like
Courage by Bernard
Waber. Talk about
brave things you’ve
heard about or done.
Health ideas:
Head to the gym and have
the kids try to walk on a
balance beam close to the
ground (if you have one at
your school). Practice
balancing holding
different objects in your
hands.
Drama ideas:
Retell the story with
puppets, students, or
something similar (also
literacy).
Social Studies ideas:
Patriotism
September 11, 2001
Geography (finding the
tallest buildings in the
world and putting them
on a map)
The Man Who
Walked
Between the
Towers
Math ideas:
The towers were 1340
feet high. Try
converting it to different
units. Compare them to
other tall buildings in
the world.
By Mordecai Gerstein
Literacy ideas:
Sequence the story.
Listen to the story and
talk about the elements
Art ideas:
Look through some
books/info about the
plans for the new
buildings for ground
zero. Draw one that you
would have
chosen/created.
Book Kit Template
Social studies concept being taught in this lesson: September 11, 2001
Book Kit Title: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
Book Author and Publication Date: Mordicai Gerstein; 2003
ISBN#: 978-0-312-36878-4
This Book Kit was planned by:
Katie Nichols
Grade Level this kit is intended for:
2nd Grade
________________
_____
________
Core Curriculum Standard and Objective OR NCSS Standard this lesson teaches: Time, Continuity, and Change_
Materials for the Lesson:
 The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein
Lesson Objective: The students will learn about the events of September 11th and some of the ways that it has impacted the people
of the United States.
Background Knowledge: none
Anticipatory Set/Invitation to Learn: How many of you have ever walked on a balance beam? What is it like? Has anybody any
seen anyone walk on a tightrope? Etc.
Listening Focus: How the pictures and story make them feel; the story itself
Method for sharing the book:
 I would introduce the story with the questions in the anticipatory set. Then, Once there was a man who walked on a
tightrope stretched between the tops of two buildings called the World Trade Center in New York City. What do you think
that would be like?
 Read the story. I would read it straight through, slowly, letting them get a good look at the illustrations.
 At the end, I would ask, “Does anyone know why the towers are gone now?” If someone knows or answers, I would
expound and move on to the next step. Otherwise, I would say that they fell down in 2001 and move on to explain.
Instructional Procedures:
 Continuing the discussion, I would tell the students some of the facts about September 11th: the planes were hijacked (talk
about what that means), crashed into the towers, and they fell. I would be careful about the way that I approached it, using
appropriate vocabulary and not going into too much detail about the crash. I would show a picture of the towers before
and Ground Zero (below). Then we would talk about the emergency responders that helped so many people. We would
talk about how the firemen went into the buildings to save people, how quickly they all responded, and how many of them
got sick from all the ash and smoke in the air, and how brave they were. We would also talk about how they raised a flag
on Ground Zero to honor the people who died (picture below). We would talk about what this even t meant to the people
of the United States – it brought us together as a country, we went to war to stop it from happening to other people, etc.

Closure: We would just finish up our discussion; I’d ask if there were any questions.
Evidence of Student Learning: Through class discussion. I would pay attention to the way students are responding and discussing.
If I felt that they didn’t really understand, we would take some class time another day before doing the activities.
Integrated Learning Activities Template
Activity 1: Listening Center (small group)
Knowledge
1. Listen to the story on tape.
2. Using the puppets, retell the story. Make sure to include all the characters, the problem and solution, and all
the events in order. If you need to look at the book, go ahead.
Make your own twin towers with gray construction
paper and your own tightrope with black. This gives
you 10 puppets to use.
Activity 2: Blueprint Exploration (small group)
Application and Synthesis
1. These pictures are of plans that architects submitted for rebuilding the World Trade Center.
2. Look at all of them and talk about what you like and don’t like about them.
3. Draw a picture of the way you would have designed the building. Include things that you liked from the
pictures.
Ground Zero construction:
Good website:
http://www.thecityreview.com/wtcnew2.html
http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/56792/
Freedom Tower, David Childs
2 and 3 World Trade Center Buildings, David Childs
THINK team:
Another plan
Meier, Eisenman, Gwathmey Siegel and Steven Holl
Foster and Partners
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
THINK team:
Daniel Libeskind
Activity 3: Tallest Buildings Challenge (small group)
Analysis
1. Go to
skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=203
2. Explore and compare the heights of the different buildings.
3. Answer the questions on the worksheet. You can answer the questions as a group or individually. Make sure
you put your name on it and leave it in the folder when you leave.
4. If you finish early, compare the architecture of the buildings you see. Talk with your group about which ones
you like the best and why.
Name_____________________________________ Date________________
1. What is the name of the tallest building in the world?
____________________________________________________
Where is it located?
__________________________________________________
2. Do you notice any patterns or trends about where the tallest buildings are located? Does any
country have more on the list? Less?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Activity 4: Bravery (whole class)
Comprehension
1. Read the book Courage by Bernard Waber.
2. Ask if anyone knows what the word “bravery” means.
3. Discuss courage and bravery. Ask the students if they’ve ever seen someone do something brave. Give some
examples.
4. Ask if they thought that Phillippe was brave. Why?
5. Have them fill out the worksheet at their desks or during a center.
Name________________________________ Date_____________
1. How do you think Phillippe felt when he was between the buildings? How would that make you
feel?______________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
______________
2. What are some brave things that you have done? That you have seen or heard someone do?
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Activity 5: Mapping the Buildings (whole class)
Comprehension
1.
2.
3.
4.
Write down the 10 buildings and their heights on the board.
Have the students help you order them from tallest to shortest.
Have volunteers come up and place a marker on the map where each building is located.
You can also give each child a blank map and have them mark it as we go along.
1. Burj Kalifa, UAE: 2717 ft.
2. Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan: 1667 ft
3. Shanghai Financial Center, Shanghai, China: 1614 ft.
4. Petronas towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 1482 ft.
5. Sears Tower, Chicago, IL: 1389 ft.
6. International Finance Centre, Hong Kong, China: 1364 ft.
7. WTC, New York City, NY: 1340 ft.
8. Empire State Building, NYC, NY: 1250 ft.
9. Q1 tower, Gold Coast, Australia: 1058 ft.
10. China WTC, Beijing, China: 1083 ft.
This small map would just be my cheat sheet. I would use the large pull down map in my classroom and put
stickers or post its or something to mark the places. You could still give each child their own map on a worksheet
and have them fill it in with you.
*Note: These are not the 10 tallest buildings in the world. They are ten that I picked out from different countries so
as to make the geography more interesting. (Burj Kalifa is the tallest, though)
Game Details and instructions:
Phillippe Petit Game
1. Choose a marker to use.
2. On your turn, choose a card and hand it to someone else. Have them read it to you.
3. If you get the right answer, move forward the number of spaces on the card.
4. If you get the wrong answer, stay where you are.
5. First one across the tightrope wins!
Cards:
True or False: The Twin Towers were attacked on September 11, 2001.
*True! Run forward 4 spaces*
How many stories did each tower have?
a. 100
b. 110
c. 200
*B! Walk forward 1 space*
True or False: The towers fell at a speed of nearly 120 miles per hour.
*True! Jump forward 3 spaces*
How many people died from the attack?
a. 1,000
b. 2,000
c. 3,000
*C! Run forward 4 spaces*
True or False: The attacks made Americans more suspicious and uninterested in each other.
*False! The tragedy brought us closer together. Walk forward 1 space*
The fires at Ground Zero burned for how many days?
a. 99 days
b. 99 hours
c. 99 years
*A! Jump forward 3 spaces*
True or False: The name of the first bomb-sniffing dog stationed at the World Trade Center was Sirius.
*True! Run forward 4 spaces*
How many major league baseball games were postponed in order to pay respects to this tragedy?
a. 10
b. 91
c. 50
*B! Walk forward 1 space*
True or False: The land where the World Trade Center fell is now called Ground Zero.
*True! Jump forward 3 spaces*
Where did the US first send troops (soldiers) after September 11?
a. Afghanistan
b. Iraq
c. Pakistan
*A! Run forward 4 spaces*
True or False: Saddam Hussein organized the 9-11 attacks.
*False! Osama bin Laden was in charge. Walk forward 1 space*
True or False: 9-11 is another name for the attacks on the World Trade Center.
*True! Jump forward 3 spaces*
Approximately how many people worked in the World Trade Center?
a. 100,000
b. 50,000
c. 1,000
*B! Run forward 4 spaces*
True or False: Architects have designed a 9-11 memorial that is to be built on Ground Zero.
*True! Walk forward 1 space*
True or False: The effects of September 11 only lasted until the next year.
*False! We are still experiencing effects from it today. Jump forward 3 spaces.
Where did the third plane crash on September 11?
a. Texas
b. Disneyland
c. The Pentagon
*C! The headquarters of many military operations, the Pentagon, was also targeted. Run forward 4 spaces*
True or False: About an hour and a half after the planes crashed, the White House, Disney World, the United Nations,
and other major buildings were evacuated.
*True! Walk forward 1 space*
True or False: It took the fire and police departments 30 minutes to get help to the World Trade Center.
*False! It only took 15 minutes. Jump forward 3 spaces*
How long did it take for the military to close down all airports in the country, as well as all bridges and roads into New
York City?
a. 30 minutes
b. 45 minutes
c. 2 hours
*A! Run forward 4 spaces*
There were about 17,400 people in the towers that morning. How many safely got out?
a. 17,400
b. 15,000
c. 0
*B! The majority were safely evacuated. Walk forward 1 space.*
True or False: More firefighters and police officers died on this day than on any other single day in US history.
*True! Jump forward 3 spaces*
True or False: The World Trade Center towers were once the tallest buildings in history.
*True! Run forward 4 spaces*
How many months did it take to clear out all the mess on Ground Zero?
a. 6 months
b. 6 weeks
c. 9 months
*C! Walk forward 1 space*
True or False: After the tragedy, only Americans had memorial services and prayers for the families of the people
involved.
*False! People all over the world mourned with us. Jump forward 3 spaces*
What was the name of the group that investigated the attacks?
a. The 9-11 Commission
b. The WTC Committee
c. The FBI
*A! Run forward 4 spaces*
True or False: Even now, September is a day of remembrance. We hang flags, talk about what happened, and unite as a
country.
*True! Walk forward 1 space*
True or False: In February, another plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
*True! Jump forward 3 spaces*
True or False: This event hasn’t changed the way we run our airports.
*False! There is a lot more security, and we are more careful about the objects people can bring into airports. Run
forward 4 spaces*
What airline were the planes a part of>
a. United Airlines
b. Southwest Airlines
c. American Airlines
*C! Walk forward 1 space*
What does the word “hijacked” mean?
a. Someone who wasn’t supposed to took over the plane.
b. The plane crashed.
c. The pilot fell asleep.
*A! Jump forward 3 spaces*
True or False: The attacks on September 11 were the largest terrorist attack to affect the United States in history.
*True! Run forward 4 spaces.
Book Kit Grading Rubric - please complete and hand in with assignment
Candidate Name
Course/Section __________
Highest Quality Indicator
Lesson Plan
Score:
An appropriate quality children’s literature book is
selected for the social studies lesson that clearly
supports the topic/standard of the lesson.
0
1
2
The lesson objective is appropriate and is clearly
stated. The objective is MET by what is
taught/done during the lesson.
0
1
2
0
1
2
Any necessary background knowledge for this
lesson is included .
The instructional procedures and activities are the
biggest section of your lesson plan: there is 15 – 20
min. of relevant instruction with activities, and/or
object lessons that specifically teach your objective.
This lesson plan stands alone without the station
activities and teaches the objective well.
0-25,
Activities included in the lesson are age/grade
appropriate and realistic.
All necessary worksheets, maps, activity pages,
games, pictures, music, or supplementary pages are
included or referenced.
The lesson includes how the teacher will assess
student learning and any materials needed for doing
this.
The lesson includes enough information for another
teacher to replicate the teaching experience.
Web
Organizer
Learning
Game
Integrated
Learning
Activities
your score: _______
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Overall, this lesson makes sense and is a good idea;
it could be used in a real classroom.
0
1
2
The web organizer includes at least 5 ideas for
integrating curriculum areas with the book; each
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1
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5
makes appropriate connections to the book, the
social studies lesson, and to other content subjects.
The game reinforces new learning about the concept
or trait OR provides necessary background or
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content knowledge.
Each integrated learning activity extends understanding and learning in relevant, meaningful ways. These activities
include different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy and implement a variety of learning styles (head, hand, heart). All
directions and necessary paperwork are included. Overall, each activity makes sense, is appropriate, and could be used in
a real classroom.
#1 Technology (something that couldn’t be
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done otherwise…)
#2 Integrated
#3
#4
#5
Hard Copy
Electronic
Copy
The hard copy of the Book Kit is completely
prepared and all elements are available for display
and review on the sharing day.
The entire book kit is neatly done and it is
appealing, professional, and easy to use. All
components are created on a computer rather than
handwritten
The electronic copy of the Book Kit is submitted;
complete, and received by the instructor on the date
and time it is due. Each kit is sent as a zip file and
is titled as follows:
booktitle(topictaught)_yourfirstnamelastname.zip
(i.e. TheWall(VietnamWall)_janaeoveson.zip)
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