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Teaching 9/11 as a Historical Event!

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I remember 9/11 like it was yesterday! Sitting in my 10th-grade government class and I remember watching the 2nd plane hit the tower on the TV. I distinctly remember the classroom phone ringing calling my classmates out of school because their parents worked in the World Trade Center. I still twitch when I hear the phone ring in my classroom today. We lost 10 people in my town on that day. Every year since that day, I swore to myself that I would teach 9/11 no matter what subject I was teaching. ​

Teaching 9/11/01

This year I am lucky that I have a 9/11 fire chief, inspirational speaker, and rescue worker as a guest speaker on September 9th. Chief Daly is an amazing, emotional, and powerful speaker who speaks about life lessons and what he took away from that day. His life lessons always resonate with my students. Chief Daly shares the true legacy of 9/11; a legacy of courage, compassion and the power of the indomitable human spirit. There were thousands of individual acts of leadership, commitment, and selflessness.  He also shares his unique life experiences and the lessons he has learned from them.

Interview Assignment

On the night of September 10th, I will assign my students an interview where they will interview an adult about 9/11. All of my students were born after 9/11. It’s crazy to be teaching about 9/11 as a historical event.

Teaching 9/11 Lesson

I first start the class with an amazingly powerful and sad video telling the story of 9/11/01. I then go into the history of events using a great timeline to tell the story of events. I am shocked that my kids often don’t know the history. The timeline traces the history of attacks on the World Trade Center, Al Qaeda attacks around the world, the Afghanistan and the Iraq War, as well as the death of Osama Bin Laden.

After the timeline, I have them do a gallery walk of different newspaper headlines from the week’s post 9/11. I knew I wanted to be a history teacher in high school. I asked every family member who lived around the country to get me their local and state newspaper. I have about 90 newspapers laminated, which makes for such a powerful lesson. As they walk around the room I have them write down a headline, new story, or image that tells a powerful story from that day. If you don’t have the physical newspapers you could certainly print the page covers. We then come together and discuss the news of the week and what stuck with them from the newspapers.

We then analyze political cartoons on 9/11. The cartoons are controversial and interesting about that day. My kids could always use political cartoon practice. To see the cartoons click on the assignment listed below. You might also like reading how I taught the Insurrection on January 6th, 2020!

Interview Reflections

I then conclude the class by having the kid’s pair share the interview assignment about 9/11. After they share with a group I then ask if anyone could share their interviews with the whole class. It’s usually an amazing powerful lesson because we live right on the train line to NYC so my students’ families were directly connected to that day.

If you would like a copy of this full lesson click here.

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Join the Not Another History Teacher Club today! Get exclusive offers, teaching support, free trainings, dozens of free lessons (including this one), tips and tricks for teaching social studies 7-12th grade!Join the club today ⬇️not-another-history-teacher.ck.page/a60023bd61 ... See MoreSee Less

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Teacher Organization for your SanityTeacher organization is an essential skill in education. I consider myself a highly organized person, possibly due to my mother, yet many students and teachers have never perfected this elusive talent.Incorporating technology into daily instruction is one way in which teachers can leverage more time, restructure learning activities so they become more meaningful and provide opportunities for more rigorous instruction. Digital tools can be seamlessly integrated into the curriculum to save teachers time and enhance learning time.What You Need to Knownotanotherhistoryteacher.com/teacher-organization-for-your-sanity/ ... See MoreSee Less

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The United States is a remarkable country. There are so many challenges, triumphs, and individuals to learn about. However, students may not realize how lucky they are to live in America. Instead, they often want to focus on other countries or wish they live in a different area. Thus, teachers work hard to ensure students realize how exceptional the United States is. One incredible way to do this involves the US History Timeline display for the classroom!notanotherhistoryteacher.com/us-history-timeline / ... See MoreSee Less

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wife, mother, & teacher, Obsessed with Integrating tech and social studies curriculum design to enhance instruction #sschat super fan & former co-leader she/her

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mseideman Melissa Seideman @mseideman ·
26 Mar

I am hosting a free AP Gov. webinar training to help you prepare your students for the exam. Get freebies, tips, and tricks from a 15 year veteran. After review, students will have the confidence to do their best after fun review activities.

https://notanotherhistoryteacher.com/ap-government-review/

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mseideman Melissa Seideman @mseideman ·
7 Feb 2021

Join the Not Another History Teacher Club today! Get exclusive offers, teaching support, free trainings, dozens of free lessons (including this one), tips and tricks for teaching social studies 7-12th grade!

Join the club today ⬇️
https://not-another-history-teacher.ck.page/a60023bd61

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24 Jan 2021

Increase Engagement during Distance Learning
We are all trying our best to increase engagement via distance learning I literally used the next day in my classroom! #sschat #edchat #edtech

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mseideman Melissa Seideman @mseideman ·
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Teacher Organization for your Sanity

Teacher organization is an essential skill in education. I consider myself a highly organized person, yet many students and teachers have never perfected this elusive talent.

What You Need to Know 💯
https://notanotherhistoryteacher.com/teacher-organization-for-your-sanity/

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mseideman Melissa Seideman @mseideman ·
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The United States is a remarkable country. There are so many challenges, triumphs, and individuals to learn about. One incredible way to do this involves the US History Timeline display for the classroom!

https://notanotherhistoryteacher.com/us-history-timeline

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