The Day That Changed the World

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question: How and why does terrorism change a society?

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article (see below). Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• immortalized (p. 19)
• coordinated (p. 19)
• perceived (p. 19)
• apocalyptic (p. 20)
• harboring (p. 21)
• ideologies (p. 21)

3. Engage
Ask students to share what they know about 9/11.

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions::

• Based on the title of the article, what is a central idea of the text? Which sections of the text most strongly develop this idea? How? (Based on the title, a central idea is that the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on 9/11 changed the world. The sections “America Responds,” which tells about the wars the U.S. launched as a result of the attacks, and “From Terror to Healing,” which explains how security measures were heightened in the U.S., most strongly develop this central idea.) 

• What happened on 9/11? How many people were killed? What did survivors of the attacks experience? (On 9/11, terrorists hijacked four planes, flying one into the Pentagon and two into the World Trade Center. The fourth was brought down by the passengers. A total of 2,977 people lost their lives. Survivors later told how they were in a state of shock and confusion that day; were covered with ash; had to run to safety, which they felt they would never reach; had difficulty finding relatives; and suffered long-term health issues.)

• What is the connection between Al Qaeda and the attacks and between the Taliban and the attacks? (Al Qaeda is a terrorist group formed by Osama bin Laden, who planned the 9/11 attacks. Members follow an extreme form of Islam. The Taliban is an extreme religious group that controlled most of Afghanistan at the time of 9/11 and harbored bin Laden as he planned the attacks.)

• President George W. Bush launched a War on Terror after the 9/11 attacks. What did that involve? Do you think that war has been successful? Explain. (It involved invading Afghanistan and Iraq—which resulted in long U.S. involvement in those countries—and killing bin Laden in Pakistan. Responses to the opinion question will vary; students should cite supporting text evidence.)

5. Use the Primary Sources: Project or distribute the PDF Surviving 9/11 (or assign it in Google Classroom), which features an oral history from Bruno Dellinger, who survived the attack on the North Tower at the World Trade Center. Discuss what makes the speech a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpts and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of Dellinger’s oral history? (The tone can be described as reflective and somber. Dellinger’s purpose is to describe what he experienced on 9/11.)

• What three flows of people does Dellinger tell about? How does he describe their mood and behavior? (Dellinger tells about people from the lower floors who were unhurt, including himself, going down the stairwell; people from the upper floors going down, who were badly hurt; and first responders, who were going up the stairwell to try to rescue people. He describes the mood of everyone in the stairwell as calm. He says people likely behaved this way because they realized that staying calm would best help them escape what many realized was a very dangerous situation. He also says that the first responders were very focused on doing their jobs.)

• Why do you think Dellinger describes the people going up as “going to their death”? (He likely describes them this way because the tower collapsed soon after he saw them going up. It is unlikely that they—the first responders—came back down and got out of the building before the tower collapsed. Instead, they died in the collapse.)

• Dellinger says the “beautiful day became darker than night.” Why did it become darker than night? What else did Dellinger experience as the tower collapsed? (It became darker than night because ash and debris from the collapsing tower blocked out the sunlight. The collapse also created a huge, powerful noise. However, after the building collapsed, the air was so thick with ash and debris that sound no longer went through it, and Dellinger heard nothing but silence. He also couldn’t breathe.)

• Based on the Upfront article and Dellinger’s oral history, why do you think the attacks on 9/11 resulted in a strong period of unity for many Americans? (Students’ responses will vary, but students should support their responses with evidence from both texts.)

6. Writing Prompt
Research one topic in the timeline on pages 20-21. Then write a three- to four-paragraph essay explaining some of the history, causes, and effects of the topic you chose.

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension.

8. Classroom Debate
Will Americans ever return to a pre-9/11 sense of safety?

9. More Oral Histories
Have students read or listen to additional oral histories on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum site (www.911memorial.org). Ask: What are some common themes and experiences? What defines a hero? Why are primary sources important for understanding the past?