By Kathianne Boniello
The city Department of Education has made mountains of materials available on how educators should help students deal with the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The various studies and guidelines, available on the department’s Web site at www.nycenet.edu, include lesson plans, sample letters to send to parents, and information on how students of all ages might respond to the anniversary.
One study developed by the North Shore University- Long Island Jewish Health System focuses on lesson plans teachers could use to help students deal with the upcoming anniversary.
Lesson plans in the guide, titled “Hope, Healing and Remembrance — One Year Later,” are broken down by grade level and include information on what emotions educators could look for.
Nursery to first graders: Lessons do not include direct discussion of the Sept. 11 attacks but should allow youngsters “to learn how feelings can be connected with events and how feelings can change over time.” If students introduce the topic of the attacks, teachers should address it. Lesson plans encourage a discussion on feelings and responding to the emotions of others.
Second graders to sixth graders: Students of this age are presumed to have knowledge of the terrorist attacks and been exposed to media coverage of the event. Lesson plans focus on trying “to moderate the potential negative impact” of the anniversary by steering youngsters toward topics of hope and heroism. Art projects allow students to focus on those themes as well as discuss their personal goals.
Seventh graders to high schoolers: Lesson plans for this age group have a similar goal and theme to lessons for second graders to sixth graders: focusing on hope and heroism. Students will use hopeful quotations, examples from history or personal examples to deal with topics of hope and heroism in art projects, including making “a Hope Chest for the Future.”
