Lesson Plan: 9/11 Heroes – Teaching With Primary Sources (Scaffolded Writing Resources)

Subjects:

U.S. History, Civics/Government

Grade Level:

7-12

Lesson Duration:

• Two 40-55 minute class periods

Essential Questions:

• What happened on Sept. 11, 2001?

• What can the experiences of first responders and others who witnessed the 9/11 terrorist attacks tell us about the event from an historical perspective?

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

• Analyze the impact of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 on first responders.

• Develop a position and present a viewpoint based on historical evidence.

• Explain the challenges of being a first responder on September 11th, 20001 and in its aftermath by watching a video, answering questions, completing an outline and drafting a paragraph.

Materials:

• Retro Report video “9/11 Heroes: Surviving The Biggest Attack on American Soil” (Transcript; Transcripción en Español)

• Video Guide and Question Sheet

• Video Guide Key

• Paragraph Outlines

  • No scaffolds

  • Partial w/Topic and Concluding Sentence

  • Partial w/Evidence to Sort

  • Full Scaffolding – Sorted Evidence

• Primary Source Pack

• Primary Source Analysis Activity

Key Vocabulary:

• Commercial Aircraft: Airplanes that transport passengers and cargo in between airports.

• Terrorist: Someone who uses unlawful violence against civilians as a way to advance a political belief.

• Hijacked: To take control of a vehicle by force (or threat of force).

• Al Qaeda: A pan-Islamist militant terrorist group founded by Osama Bin-Laden in the 1980s.

• Engulfed: To sweep over/through something in a way that covers it completely.

Procedure:

1. Review: Begin the lesson by having students engage in a Think-Pair-Share as a warm-up: What do you know or what have you heard about the events of Sept. 11, 2001?

   1. After students have had a chance to share, briefly provide context and correct any misunderstandings or inaccuracies.

2. Guided Instruction: Have students watch Retro Report’s “9/11 Heroes: Surviving The Biggest Attack on American Soil” video.

   1. This can be done as a whole class, or individually on computers or using the EdPuzzle platform.

   2. The video guide and question sheet poses two guiding questions for the whole video, along with several sentence stems that students can complete as they watch.

   3. After reviewing responses, and highlighting exemplary answers, the teacher will distribute the scaffolded outlines to students.

3. Outline and Writing Prompt: Each version of the outline has the same writing prompt. For this activity, students will respond to the following prompt: In what ways did the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 affect the first responders who survived?

   1. Demonstrate how responses on the video guide and question sheet could be used to craft topic and concluding sentences.

   2. Guide students through creating categories and details on their version of the Outline form.

      1. Depending on time and classroom set-up, students can work together or independently to turn their categories and details into full sentences.

      2. Be sure to emphasize that each detail can be more than one sentence.

4. Primary Source Analysis: Have students complete one or more of the Primary Source Analysis activities provided for this lesson.

   1. Students are encouraged to draw upon one or more primary sources to support their answer and evidence while constructing their outline.

5. Outline Construction: Have students complete whichever scaffolded outline they were given.

6. Paragraph Construction: Using the outline that students completed, have them construct their full paragraph.

To learn more about the evidence-based instructional methodology used here for teaching writing, see: The Hochman Method | The Writing Revolution

About the Author:

Jenny Platow is a public high school school teacher in New York City.  She has been teaching for 20 years and has worked in both English and Special Education subject areas.  She is also a Retro Reports Ambassador.

Standards

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies

• D1.5.6-8. Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of views represented in the sources.
• D2.Civ.2.9-12. Analyze the role of citizens in the U.S. political system, with attention to various theories of democracy, changes in Americans’ participation over time, and alternative models from other countries, past and present.
• D2.Civ.5.9-12. Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
• D2.Civ.13.9-12. Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
• D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
• D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.
• D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.
• D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.
• D3.1.6-8. Gather relevant information from multiple sources while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.
• D3.3.6-8. Identify evidence that draws information from multiple sources to support claims, noting evidentiary limitations.
• D4.1.6-8. Construct arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging the strengths and limitations of the arguments.

Common Core Literacy Standards

• CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RI.11-12.3: Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequences of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact or develop over the course of a text.
• CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RH.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.