Teaching about September 11 - Still Teaching, Still Learning

September 11, also called Patriot Day, is a somber day of remembrance and can be difficult to discuss with children.

Whenever I have a difficult topic to discuss, I always start with a picture book. I also remember Mr. Rogers’ wise advice:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
~ Fred Rogers

With all of the books and videos I share below, consider leading discussions about how ordinary people became heroes on that day.

Here are my favorite picture books to share with kids. I am also including video links, when available, in case you are teaching virtually and can’t locate a copy of the book to read aloud.

*14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy. I love this book and the story of an unusual gift from the Maasai people of Kenya. Here is a video version.

*Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman. This wonderful book shares the story of how a “retired” fireboat became a hero once again on that day. This book goes well with a video I am listing below. Here is the video version.

*September 11 Then and Now by Peter Benoit. This is an age-appropriate description of what happened, the causes and effects, and includes lots of resources for students who want to explore the topic further.

*September Roses by Jeanette Winter. This book tells the story of two South African sisters and the unique memorial they create in New York City. Here is a video version of the book.

*The Survivor Tree by Cheryl Somers Albin. This book is new to me but I love the story of a tree surviving against the odds. Here is a video version.

*Branches of Hope: the 9/11 Survivor Tree by Ann Magee is another great book about the tree and is written for a younger audience.

*This Very Tree by Sean Rubin is told from the tree’s point of view.

*The Man in the Red Bandanna by Honor Crowther Fagan. This is an amazing story of a man who saved many people from the towers and is quite inspirational. Here is the video version.

*A Place of Remembrance – the official book of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

*The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein is an amazing story of a daring tightrope walk in 1974. This book tells more about the towers when they were first built in New York. Here is the video version.

*The Little Chapel That Stood by A. B. Curtiss. This beautiful book is now out of print and very expensive, but it tells the story of an historic chapel near the towers that miraculously survived the destruction. Here is a read-aloud version on YouTube.

*30,000 Stitches – The Inspiring Story of the National 9/11 Flag by Amanda Davis tells the story of a flag that was tattered and torn by the attacks but was restored and eventually returned to the September 11 Museum.

If you’re interested in doing a chapter book read aloud (or adding books to your classroom library), here are some great titles:

*Eleven by Tom Rogers. This is a wonderful story about a boy named Alex who turns 11 on September 11. The story is told from both Alex’s perspective and the perspective of a grown man.

*I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 – from the very popular “I Survived” series.

*Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story by Nora Raleigh Baskin. This story follows four kids living in different parts of the country on that day.

*Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes. This book helps to capture the confusion that many children feel about the event and why it was so significant.

Resources for lesson plans:

*The 9/11 Memorial & Museum offers several high-quality lesson plans that are age appropriate for grades 3-12.

Here is a link to their lesson plan about local heroes and how people can show gratitude. And here is a link to their lesson plan about how people pay tribute to those killed in the attacks.

*Reading selections from NewsELA for all grades.

*PBS offers several different classroom resources.

*Scholastic always has useful resources.