October 15, 2001

TROUBLED TIMES
Helping Students Express Wartime Fears and Anxieties

Grades:  6-8,9-12

Subjects:  American History, Current Events, Global History, Language Arts, Social Studies

Related New York Times Article
"As Anxiety Grows, Bush Pledges U.S. Will Stay Vigilant", By R. W. APPLE Jr., October 15, 2001

Overview of Lesson Plan: In this lesson, students address their questions, anxieties and other feelings about the changes in American society since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and the subsequent reactions around the world.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:  45 minutes - 1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

  1. Articulate the questions they have for national leaders about the events of September 11, 2001 and the days that have followed.
  2. Explore some of the responses of the nation and its leaders through reading and discussing "As Anxiety Grows, Bush Pledges U.S. Will Stay Vigilant."
  3. Share their feelings, questions and anxieties in a roundtable discussion.
  4. Synthesize the opinions, feelings and information gathered in the roundtable discussion to inform answers to their own questions.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:

  1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Students respond to the following prompt in their journals, written on the board prior to class: "What questions would you like to ask President Bush or another national leader about the events of September 11, 2001 and the days following?" Allow students several minutes to respond to this question. Then, give each student an index card or another small slip of paper, and ask them to each write the question that is most important to him or her on it. Students need not include their names with their questions. Collect the papers and place them in a hat or bag for use later in the class period.
  2. As a class, read and discuss "As Anxiety Grows, Bush Pledges U.S. Will Stay Vigilant," focusing on the following questions:
    1. Why is anxiety about bioterrorism gripping large sections of the United States?
    2. What is bioterrorism?
    3. Why did Mr. Bush's weekly radio address fail to allay many Americans' fears?
    4. According to President Bush, what is the best defense against terrorism?
    5. According to the Pentagon, why did a 2,000-pound satellite-guided bomb hit a residential area of Kabul, Afghanistan? Do they believe there will be civilian casualties?
    6. What did Mr. Bush offer the Taliban in return for handing over Osama Bin Laden, and how did the Taliban react to this offer?
    7. In his radio address, Mr. Bush said that American military actions had "achieved the goals of the first phase of our campaign." What are those goals?
    8. The article refers to a series of events creating a "mood of fear and apprehension across the country." To what events does the article refer?
    9. What are the "mixed messages" about which people such as the mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, are complaining?
    10. According to Vice-President Cheney, why is it so difficult for many different government departments to send out one coherent message?
    11. What does Mr. Cheney mean by "...the terrorists would win if they managed to close down American society"?
    12. What aircraft carriers make up the "biggest concentration of naval power since the Persian Gulf War"?
    13. Why is Secretary of State Colin Powell visiting Pakistan and India next week?
    14. What implications does the new moon have for special forces attacks?
    15. Why might the United States hold off on bombing attacks during the holy month of Ramadan?
    16. At his press briefing, at what did the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard B. Myers, hint?
  3. In a roundtable discussion format, allow students to respond to their classmates' questions for national leaders. Arrange desks in a circle, and use the questions that students submitted in the initial classroom activity to foster discussion by drawing questions out of the hat or bag. Be conscious of guiding the discussion from specific, fact-based questions (e.g., "Will the draft be re-instated?") to more open-ended issue questions (e.g., "Should the draft be re-instated?") All students should have the opportunity to ask and offer opinions, facts or feelings about the questions.
    While roundtable discussion formats are excellent for issue-centered discussions, there are students who will be wary of sharing their feelings in such a large group. This activity can be modified for small groups or pairs. However, small groups and pairs will both lack the guiding focus of the teacher. If you opt to have students participate in small group or pair discussions, be consistent about moving from group to group to offer support.
  4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Each student selects one of the questions that arose in class, either from their initial journal activity or from the class discussion. Then, in a reflective essay, the student answers the question in the way that he or she hopes a national leader will answer it -- a way that will make them feel most comfortable and reassured. Students should take into account many of the complexities that leaders must deal with, such as balancing the needs of the nation and the views of the world. Students may wish to share their essays in a future class.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

VOCABULARY:
vigilant, bioterrorism, jittery, terrorist, offensive, casualties, verify, dominate, imminent, apprehension, besieging, depleting, concentration, infrared, lunar, Ramadan, unconventional

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

  1. Research Uzbekistan or Pakistan, focusing on education, family life, history and economics. Using your research as a base, write a letter to a young person in Uzbekistan or Pakistan. Discuss the ways that the current state of war might change both of your lives. Also discuss the similarities and differences in the way you live.
  2. In your journal, write a response to the events following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Evaluate or analyze the United States response, the response and changes in your own community, and the changes in your life.
  3. Research Ramadan. What are Muslims obligated to do during Ramadan? Create a visual presentation for your classmates explaining the holy month of Ramadan and its meaning.
  4. Often, children's literature addresses the fears and anxieties of small children. Authors use fantasy, fables, parables, analogies, and the like to address fear and anxiety. Write and illustrate a story for a young child to allay a fear that he or she may have about the attacks and the responses using fantasy, fable, parable or analogy. Do not mention the attacks on the United States or other current events in your story.
  5. Research the history of one of the aircraft carriers mentioned in the article: the Theodore Roosevelt, the Enterprise, the Carl Vinson and the Kitty Hawk. In a report or on a classroom poster, answer the following questions: From whom or what did the ship get its name? Where has it been stationed historically? What has been its function in other military exercises? Who is its commander? Does it have any specialized function?

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
Fine Arts - How has your community changed as a result of the attacks upon United States citizens? Document the changes visually and in writing. You may choose to create a photographic essay with photos and a narrative, a mural, a painting, a collage or a multi-media presentation. Be sure to document as many of the changes that you see as possible -- those which you feel to be positive and those which you feel to be negative.

Health - Create a brochure for students in your school to assuage fears about anthrax. Be sure to alert people to the symptoms, the precautions they may take (if any) and treatments.

Media Studies - Do you believe that the mass media, particularly television, has a responsibility to its consumers? Define what you believe to be the responsibility of the television networks to their consumers in times of national anxiety. Are there different responsibilities from program-type to program-type? For one week, keep a log of every television program that you watch. Be sure to include a minimum of a news program, a talk show or an excerpt from a talk show, a sitcom or drama, and a show geared toward young children. In your log, indicate whether each show has met the responsibilities that you defined. Compare and contrast your results. (For instance, is it a sitcom's responsibility to address the issues or to make you laugh?)

Science - How do antibiotics work? Create an illustrated "How It Works" poster focusing on what antibiotics do and how they function in the human body. Be sure to include the history of antibiotics on your poster.

Technology - Create an annotated list of Internet resources about helping children and young adults deal with fear and anxiety, either specifically in reference to the current state of the world or in general.

Copyright 2001
The New York Times Company

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