The 20th Anniversary of 9/11

As I said at the start of my 9/11 post in 2019: "Today is September 11. Of course your calendar tells you that, but so too does your heart for anyone who was around on September 11, 2001. It's one of those dates you remember where you were and what you were doing. Life changed to where it's remembered "before 9/11" and "after 9/11." I said some similar things last year in my 2020 post as well--including the importance of September 12, 2001.

This year, with the final withdrawal of our troops in Afganistan a month ago and now here on the 20th anniversary of 2001, it certainly is felt in a stronger way than ever. 

The "Flight 93 National Memorial" Facebook page has been posting some resources to learn more about the history of 9/11. In addition, they are planning to do a live 20th Anniversary Observance at 9:30 on their site. 

Here are some of the resources they have posted as well as some additional ones I have found to help ensure that we certainly "never forget."

• The Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial website  has a virtual tour, education material, webcams and photo galleries. They also have hosted a Virtual Speaker Series and have archived material on that since 2017.

• The 9/11 Memorial and Museum website has multiple resources on education and commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the World Trade Center in New York City.

• The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial website has a wealth of educational resources. You can search by keywords, grade level bands (from PreK to adults), academic subject, and resource type. Additionally there is other information about the lives of those lost at the Pentagon, ways to explore the memorial virtually on the interactive map, information about the Visitor Education Center, and more. 

• The 9/11 Day's website's mission is to annually create the September 11 National Day of Service & Remembrance as a tribute to those who where hurt, helped, or those periled on 9/11/2001. They have a 20th Anniversary video entitled "Our State of Unitedness" as well as lesson plans for grades K-8. 

• PBS Newshour recently posted this article "The 9/11 Anniversary in the Classroom" along with accompanying lessons. In it they have detailed 9/11/2001 as well as the events from this past month.

• NEA's Resources posted last year on "Teaching About 9/11"

• Time Magazine has an interesting article from 2019 by Olivia B. Waxman entitled "9/11 Is History Now. Here's How American Kids Are Learning About It in Class.

• Scholastic.com's 2019 article "Teaching September 11: Powerful Resources About Hope and Understanding" has some great resources for students in Grades 3-12.

• Parents Magazine's article "How to Talk to Your Kids About 9/11" is great for parents and teachers alike.

• Looking for even more? We Are Teachers website has a recent article entitled "22 Websites and Books to Teach Kids About 9/11" by Jeanne Croteau and published on August 23, 2021. Included Is a BrainPop video which could be suitable for 5th grade (possibly 4th) and up. It does have a disclaimer at the start of it (and lists it as "sensitive subject"), which suggests to kids to watch and discuss with an adult.

Whether for yourself, your own children, or your classroom, may these sites help you unravel the history, meaning, heartache, sacrifice, perspective, and importance of this day, 2 decades ago. Long may we remember.

Photo from my camera, and my GTG 9-11-2019 and 9-12-2020 posts. This 9/11 monument was constructed from steel beams retrieved from the World Trade Center site from September 11th, 2001. https://www.greenteamgazette.com/2019/09/remembering-911.html