We remember...

Today is September 11, a day that America will never forget. Patriot's Day. A day that these fifth graders were not alive for, but a day that they desire to learn more about.

We started our morning by discussing what we already know about the attacks on September 11 and what lingering questions we still have about that day.

It was an amazing experience as a teacher, to hear all of the kids talking about that day and clearing up misconceptions. Some questions were answered by their teammates and some questions will always remain unanswered. The kids were so invested in this activity that they wanted to know what was going on in the minds of the hijackers, and what the passengers of the planes were feeling. 

After this discussion, we watched the CNN 10 video about September 11, 2001. It was incredible to see the students' reactions to the video. We had a deep discussion about heroism and the way that many average people stepped up in a time of turmoil to help their country. We talked about the obvious heroes, the firefighters and first-responders. But we dove deeper to talk about the passengers on the plane that crashed in the rural town in Pennsylvania, the citizens that carried people out of the rubble, and community members that donated clothes and water to those involved. 

In reading, we analyzed newspaper headlines from different states and talked about the reporters' different perspectives. Some headlines were more positive than others, focusing on the survivors more than the attack. It aligned so well to our reading unit which focused on analyzing the perspective of a story. 

              

             

In writing, we reflected on a quote from Sandy Dahl, "If we learn nothing from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate." With this quote, our discussion quickly turned from solemn to motivated. We talked about the acts of kindness that came out of this horrific tragedy, and how we can honor those who lost their lives. As a class, we have already committed to a year of random acts of kindness. This day has given us more of a reason to live out that mission. We have planned for our next act of kindness to be in honor of the victims of September 11. 

We recreated the twin towers using pictures and quotes to remember this day. It is our visual to remind us of the commitment we have made to serving our school and community through random acts of kindness. 

September 11, 2001 was a tragedy that America will never forget. It is important for these kids to learn about their country and see how we came together as a unified nation.