Here is a sampling of resources available to educators as they prepare to teach lessons or provide programs pegged to the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
- The Clarke Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Contemporary Issues has posted lesson plans for K-12 classes and links other groups’ Sept. 11-related sites. The site also has a discussion board. The Clarke Center is based at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa.
- Families and Work Institute, a research group in New York City, has posted 16 lesson plans for students, ranging from kindergarten to grade 12. The site also includes links to other resources for parents and teachers, along with message boards that let students post their thoughts about the Sept. 11 anniversary.
- Education commentator Chester E. Finn Jr. has collected 23 short essays explaining how the attacks should change the way U.S. schools teach history and civics. Contributors include former U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett; Lynne V. Cheney, who formerly chaired the National Endowment for the Humanities and is the wife of the vice president; William Galston, a former domestic-policy adviser to President Clinton; as well as classroom teachers and curriculum directors. The essays are posted by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. Mr. Finn, an assistant U.S. secretary of education under President Reagan, is the foundation’s president.
- National Education Association has collected more than 100 lesson plans from teachers, and offers links to education experts’ advice.
- New York City board of education has posted the guidelines for its schools in marking the Sept. 11 anniversary. The site also has sample lesson plans and a preliminary report on the attack’s impact on the mental health of New York City students.
- Scholastic Inc., a New York City-based publisher, has crafted 9/11/2001: The Day That Changed America, which includes age-appropriate news and information about the attacks. It also includes guidance for parents and teachers about how to talk with children about the event.
