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September 17, 2001
NIE Lessons in the Aftermath of September 11, 2001
The challenge for educators is to help our children to be informed about current events and to feel safe. As Newspaper in Education professionals, it is our special privilege and responsibility to assist teachers in using newspapers to meet those goals. Here are lessons designed to do just that.
Tips for Teachers
As you progress through these activities, there are some things you can do enhance the educational experience. Some of those are:
Listen to your students and watch their behavior. Some may be quiet but frightened. Some may act out while others are fine but it is important to take some time to note any unusual behavior indicating a deeper emotion requiring some attention.
Reassure students that their homes and school are highly likely to be safe places. Point out to them that their schools and homes are functioning normally and the government is doing all it can to protect them.
 Lower Manhattan is like a city under seige Tuesday, September 18, 2001, as residents find National Guardsmen, police, ATF agents, and State Police on every corner for blocks around the devastated area where the World Trade Center twin towers used to stand. (Photo: News-Journal/Jim Tiller) |
Take time each day to discuss and review the facts of what is happening versus the fiction and/or rumor. The newspaper can be a great help determining between the two.
While we encourage you to participate in many of these activities, we also suggest that you maintain a balance of classroom activity unrelated to current events. It´s important for students to be comforted daily by the regular routine.
You may want to incorporate some patriotic activities into your lessons. Consider saying the Pledge of Allegiance or singing patriotic songs.
Read books about courage and triumph.
Activities
Before you begin any lesson, allow students 5-10 minutes to write freely about any aspect of the current events. They can write about what they´ve heard most recently and how that news makes them feel. Students should be given time to share their thoughts and feelings.
Lesson One: It´s helpful for students to feel that they are actively responding to the crisis. Throughout the newspaper, students will be reading about people who are responding heroically to what´s happening. From the police and fire rescue workers to the soldiers to the politicians and even to everyday people who are doing their part. Students can write notes to those people thanking them for their acts of courage or bravery. Also, along the way, students may read newspaper accounts of people who need help. Give them the opportunity to come up with ideas about how they can help those in need.
Lesson Two: Remind your students about the value of living in a country that respects individual liberty and the rule of law. Talk about the principles that led to the independence of our country, and why they are still important today. Have them skim the newspaper to find examples of our rights in action.
Lesson Three: Unfortunately, there have been some incidents since the tragedy of September 11, where people of Middle Eastern descent have been threatened, taunted or even killed. This is an excellent opportunity to foster students´ understanding of the value of diversity in our society. They should know that most individuals who are from other countries are fine and good people who live in and love the United States as much as they do. If stories of anti-Arab prejudice are in the newspaper, make it a point to read and discuss them with your class. Ask students to talk about the ways in which we can celebrate diversity. Invite an Arab American to speak in your class.
Lesson Four: Talk with your students about the role of the president during a national tragedy. Direct students to find a story about President Bush in the newspaper. Allow them time to find out what he is saying and doing and to decide if they agree with his choices.
Lesson Five: News accounts will continue to include many references to the local, state and federal government agencies that are responding to the New York City and Washington, D.C. attacks. Some of these agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Explain to students the difference between the terms local, state and federal and have them find news stories in each of those categories. Then have them find examples of local, state and federal agencies, where possible. Students can choose one agency and use multi-media resources to find out when the agency was created, its responsibilities, and how it has responded to the current crisis. They can create timelines showing the agency´s response. As the coverage continues, students can follow the newspaper accounts about their agency and continually add to the timeline of response.
Lesson Six: Many presidents have had to speak to the nation during time of tragedy. What do your students think goes through the president´s mind as he gets ready to do that? Students can use the newspaper for ideas and write journal entries as if they were the president getting ready to address the nation tonight.
Lesson Seven: Ask students to write about where they were when they first heard the news of the terrorist attacks. What information did they hear and from whom? This event will certainly be an historic marker in their lives. Have them ask their parents about the historic markers they remember. How do those events compare to this one? Have students write editorial columns comparing this event to one historic marker a parent remembered.
Lesson Eight: Some students are more comfortable expressing themselves through art than through words. Allow students an opportunity to create a collage of newspaper photographs and headlines illustrating the effects of these events around the world.
Lesson Nine: Ask students to skim the newspaper to find out how Americans are feeling about President Bush and his handling of these events.
Lesson Ten: Editorial cartoons are sophisticated expressions of opinion and are often quite compelling. One such recent cartoon, for example, simply showed the Statue of Liberty with a tear cascading down her cheek. As a class, review any editorial cartoons responding to these events and allow time for class discussion of the artist´s message. Students may want to express themselves in a similar manner.
Lesson Eleven: The news coverage may include photos of children in a war zone. Allow students time to discuss what it might be like to live inside such a zone and why it is important for people, especially children, outside the zone to know what is happening there. The newspaper may include first person descriptions of the events. Consider reading those articles aloud as students read along or listen with their eyes closed and to note your words carefully. They can then quickly write their reactions to the material. What events are most and least disturbing to them? What more do they want to know? How can they learn more? This activity allows students to personalize this new information swiftly and efficiently. Since some of the vocabulary might prove challenging, it may be helpful to keep a running list of new words on the board as they come up. For homework, students can define the new words using a dictionary.
Lesson Twelve: Students may want to write original poems using words from articles or headlines about these events.
Lesson Thirteen: If there is an interesting news article you´d like students to read, you may want to have them skim it first and locate the main points. They can outline those and then go back and read for more detail about the main points. After reading, ask them what else they now need to know about those main points.
Lesson Fourteen: As you progress through these lessons and current events, you may find that students are feeling powerless and frustrated. They may question the ability of people to be so mean and cruel. This is a good time to bring these worldly issues to a school or community level. Hatred stops with each individual. Talk about what you can do at school to promote kindness. Have them find people in the newspaper who are being kind. Focus on some positive news.
Lesson Fifteen: These events offer your students an excellent opportunity to compare different news media. They can choose a specific subject or story and compare the newspaper coverage to television, radio or Internet sources. Have them answer these questions comparing the coverage of one story by at least two different forms of media:
1. What is the subject of story?
2. What period is covered?
3. How many pages or minutes were devoted to this story?
4. What were the main points covered?
5. How many and what kinds of graphics were used?
6. Were there any first-person interviews or on-the scene coverage?
7. What were some of the strengths of this coverage?
8. What were some of the weaknesses of this coverage?
Lesson Sixteen: Finally, discuss why people commit acts of violence like the ones that occurred on September 11, 2001. What might make individuals, groups, or nations commit such violent acts? To have a world of peace, how can we prevent conflict--at home, at school, in our communities, and around the world? Brainstorm ideas and have students write letters to the editor with their ideas.
Here are some Web resources you may find helpful
On teaching about these events:
Education Planet offers excellent ideas for teachers. http://www.educationplanet.com/learninglinks/27463
The Department of Education has also put together information for teachers. http://www.ed.gov/
On terrorism:
Response to Terrorism (http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/) is a publication from the U.S. Department of State.
U.S. State Department Counterterrorism Office (http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/) includes issues in the news, Patterns of Global Terrorism annual reports, archives, and more.
Special Report: TERRORISM AND AMERICA |  |