Teacher Lesson Helper: The 9/11 Report

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Teacher Tips
Late last summer, nearly three years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the bipartisan 9/11 Commission released its final report. The long-awaited report examined what went wrong leading up to the attacks and outlined steps that the U.S. can take to avoid terrorist attacks in the future. In this Special Report, we summarize the commission's recommendations and explore what they might mean for our nation's future. Use the online articles to teach students about the ongoing fight against terror and to reassure them that the U.S. government is working harder than ever to keep Americans safe.

Lesson 1:
Be a Dictionary Detective

Materials: dictionary, PDF reproducible "Dictionary Detective"

Curriculum Connections: language arts/understanding vocabulary in context, study skills

Objective: Students will use context clues to determine the meanings of unfamiliar vocabulary words from this online special report.

Getting Ready: Have dictionaries on hand for students to use, but do not distribute them until students have reached step 3 (described below). Point out to students that all readers occasionally encounter words that are unfamiliar to them. Sometimes the writer gives a full or partial definition for a hard word later in the same sentence. In other instances, students may find clues to the mystery word's meaning in the sentence or in the two or three sentences that follow. Students may also recognize the root, prefix, or suffix of the word. These parts often hint at the meaning of the larger word.

What to Do:
1. Distribute the PDF reproducible "Dictionary Detective" and have students read each sentence. All sentences are drawn from the stories in this Special Report. In some cases, students may wish to see the broader context in which a word appears. Students can use the reference that appears after each sentence to locate the story.
2. Ask students to infer, or guess, the meaning of each underlined word from the context. Students should write the inferred meaning on the lines provided.
3. After students have written their own word meanings, they should look up the underlined words in a good dictionary. Were their inferred definitions on target?

Extending the Lesson:
As students read the Special Report, encourage them to write unfamiliar words on index cards. Post these words on a "word wall," or vocabulary-themed bulletin board. Consider awarding extra credit to students who use words from the word wall in class discussions and written work.

 

Lesson 2: There Ought to Be a Law

Materials: PDF reproducible "There Ought to Be a Law"

Curriculum Connections: social studies, citizenship, problem solving, language arts/persuasive writing

Objective: Students will brainstorm an idea for a new law and use persuasive writing techniques to argue for passage of the law.

Getting Ready: Have students read and discuss the article describing how a bill becomes a law. Point out how a bill moves from subcommittee to committee to full House or Senate, ultimately being voted on by both halves of Congress and approved (or vetoed) by the President. Explain that the purpose of committees is to have a small group of lawmakers focusing on issues and bills related to one topic, such as the environment or the budget.

What to Do:
1. Distribute the PDF reproducible "There Ought to Be a Law" and read the list of congressional committees from which students can choose. Ask students to circle which committee(s) they might want to serve on if they were elected to Congress. Why?
2. Have students research online and in the library to identify one or more problems or issues in the field they have chosen. For example, a student on the national parks committee might write about the problems of wildfires or overcrowding in parks.
3. Invite students to draft a law that would address the issue discussed in step 2. Students should keep in mind that in real life, they would need to convince the rest of their committee—and ultimately the rest of Congress—that the law would be worthwhile. 4. Have students outline the arguments they would use to persuade others that their law makes sense. Ask students to volunteer to present their bills to the class, then have the class vote on whether or not to "pass" the bill. Play the role of the President (or assign a student to do so), and demonstrate how the President can sign a bill into law or veto it.

Extending the Lesson:
If you have access to C-SPAN in your classroom, have students watch for a few minutes to see the manner in which bills are debated and voted upon in Congress.

Lesson 3 Just the Facts

Materials: PDF reproducible "Just the Facts"

Curriculum Connections: understanding fact and opinion, current events

Objective: Students will distinguish between facts and opinions related to the 9/11 Commission.

Getting Ready: Offer students an example of both a fact and an opinion. For example:
FACT: Dan was 15 minutes late for school today. OPINION: Dan is lazy. Discuss the differences between the two statements.

What to Do:
1. Distribute the PDF reproducible "Just the Facts" and complete the first question together. 2. After students have completed the exercise, review the answers. Ask students to share how they were able to decide whether a statement was a fact or an opinion. Identify key words—including best, worst, should, should not, think, believe, etc.—that often signal statements of opinion. 3. Look back at the factual statements on the page. Ask students to brainstorm where they could go to verify the truth of each statement. Possible answers include newspapers, textbooks, almanacs, encyclopedias, public records, etc.

[Answers to PDF: 1. F; 2. O; 3. O; 4. O; 5. F; 6. F; 7. O; 8. F; 9. O; 10. F.]

Reproducibles:

• Dictionary Detective (PDF)
• There Ought to Be a Law (PDF)
• Just the Facts (PDF)

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