Area social studies classes deal with teaching the events of Sept. 11

Sept. 11, 2001, was a day that changed American history. Six years after the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., the date has become a touchstone comparable to the birth of the nation on July 4, 1776, or the Pearl

Harbor attacks of Dec. 7, 1941.

Teachers in social studies classes around the nation are faced with the task of putting this modern tragedy and its effects into historical perspective.

Brian Groth teaches U.S. history at Cibola High School. His class covers everything from the first European colonization of the New World to today. This is his first year at Cibola and he said he wants to integrate Sept. 11 into his curriculum. They will cover it at the end of the year, when they discuss global terrorism.

He said most students, whether they're from liberal or conservative families, bring some opinion about Sept. 11 to class based on their own experience of it. He tries to present something from both the right and left and let students see how other viewpoints affect theirs.

"Because it's a controversial issue, the most responsible way to to do it is not to let students know what your political viewpoints are," he said.

Groth said he tries to present historical context leading up to Sept. 11, such as the war between Iraq and Iran, the Soviet Union's push into Afghanistan in the 1980s and the first Gulf War in 1991.

"After we're done I have them write a personal essay. What have we learned? How has it reinforced or made me question my beliefs?" Groth said.

Sept. 11 has had such an impact on the way modern history has been shaped that it is now present in most textbooks and even in background of other lessons.

Melissa Carreno, 17, a student at Cibola, said that while they haven't gotten to Sept. 11 in her history classes, she did study it in physics. She said her teacher used the collapse of the Twin Towers to illustrate how the intense heat could have weakened the steel buildings.

"We were just reading about the structure of the buildings and how the theory was of how they collapsed and why they collapsed," Carreno said.

Gary Southworth, a world history teacher at Woodard Junior High School, said his students are studying Mesopotamia. The region has a history of warfare that goes from the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians to modern Iraq.

"My students and I were just talking about that in class right now. What I try to do is look at other battles and events of tragedy that have gone on throughout history and try to relate it to that," Southworth said.

The Arizona Department of Education put out a list of resources through its Web site, www.ade.az.gov, to help teachers talk about Sept. 11 in the classroom.

Activity plans are provided by sources including the National Council for Social Studies, the 9/11 as History project, the PBS "NewsHour" and the White House.

None of these lessons are required. ADE officials say they are just options teachers can use to put the day, and its effect on the country, in perspective.

"How each school district or charter honors Sept. 11 is entirely up to them," said Amy Rezzonico, spokeswoman for the ADE. "These are just resources they may use."

The activities for younger children focus on recognizing everyday heroes such as emergency response personnel, discussions on patriotism and tolerance and activities to get students to talk about their fears and personal safety.

Middle school and high school students get into more nuanced lessons on stereotypes, the military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the balance between civil liberties and national security.

Most textbooks published after 2001 address it in some way, according to Ken de Masi, past president of the Arizona Council for Social Studies. Some devote an entire section to the event, others address it as part of the larger war on terrorism, but it cannot be ignored.

De Masi teaches American history at Riverview High School in Mesa and has dealt with Sept. 11 on several levels. He also has touched on it in his own classes as a professor at Arizona State University, where he instructs future social studies teachers.

"They (young teachers) have a very fresh perspective on it. This was the thing in their life that was wholly monumental, whereas I come out of the 1960s and that in a sense informs my teaching, too," he said.

He added that one of his biggest challenges is that this part of history is still being written, much like Vietnam was back in his high school days.

"We're still right in the midst of it. It's not like World War II ... the war in Iraq and the war against terrorism is, in a sense, open-ended," de Masi said.

THE LESSON PLANS INCLUDE ...

One of several Web sites recommended by the Arizona Department of Education, "9/11 as History," offers 16 Web-based, age-appropriate lesson plans to help educators appropriately commemorate Sept. 11, from preschool to 12th grade. Lessons are tied to national education standards. Some examples of these lessons are:

-Helping Them Feel Safe: For preschool through second-grade students, this lesson gives young children two steps to help them feel safe. First, they identify and make stick puppets of the community professionals who are responsible for keeping people safe. Next, they identify feelings, such as sadness or happiness, and listen to a story that teaches them that the important thing about feelings is that they can change. This lesson uses elements of history, health and language arts.

-Heroes in Real Life: After defining the word "hero," students will list the essential qualities of a hero. Working in small groups, they will create posters showing the similarities and differences between superheroes and real-life heroes. Finally, they will identify and describe a personal hero by creating an essay and portrait. Designed for grades three to five. The lesson interfaces history, civics and language arts standards.

-Community Citizens, Community Banner: Participants will explore the history of flags (why they are created, their role in history, and what their designs represent, with particular focus on the American flag) and design a special community banner that reflects/captures the values and sentiments of their community as shaped by the events of Sept. 11. Participants will develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the values that shape themselves and their communities; they will explore what it means to be a “citizen” in the community in the wake of Sept. 11 and be able to share their ideas with the larger community. For students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, it uses elements of history, English/language arts, civics and social studies.

-Exploring 9/11 in Historical, Cultural and International Context - "Why Here, Why Us, Why Now?”: Like most international conflicts, the root causes of Sept. 11, 2001, go far back in history and are themselves a lesson in how actions taken in the past affect us today. The first part of this unit asks students to trace the similarities and differences among three major religious groups in Western history and connections to the events of Sept. 11. What is it about the United States that makes it and its people frequent targets for terrorism? This is a puzzle to many Americans.

In the second part of this unit, students will examine surveys of public opinion in other nations and identify reasons, factors, and events that shaped, and continue to shape, these attitudes.

For high school students, this lesson uses portions of history, civics, government, English/language arts and geography.

-Diversity - Our Strength/Our Challenge: On Sept. 11, all Americans were the target of hate. This highly interactive three-part lesson creates a supportive forum for students to explore both the dynamics of hateful behavior and the strength of unified action to counter it. Sharing personal backgrounds and experiences with name-calling and prejudice, students will develop an appreciation of their similarities and differences and build a sense of group unity. Through examining the roles that they each play in either interrupting or perpetuating bias in their schools and communities, students will develop a sense of personal responsibility for combating prejudice and will learn ways to create inclusive and respectful campus environments. Developed for high school students, aligned to civics, English, language arts, sociology and social studies standards.

Source: 9/11 as History, http://www.familiesandwork.org/911ah/ 911ashistory.html

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Sarah Reynolds can be reached at

sreynolds@yumasun.com or 539-6847.