[mamahawk]

We're having a memorial service next Tuesday. I've got third graders who are too young to remember or know much about this day. Can someone suggest a book (picture book) that I could use to start a discussion and open a lesson (or two-three lessons)?

[3gradeteacher]

There is a book called September 12th We Knew Everything WOulld be Okay?? It was made by a group of students. It is short and tells how they may have been scared, but knew that things would be better. It can be very scary for them, these kids were only 1-2 years old. I feel that we have to address it in some way, I live in NJ and it is really close to home. But maybe making flags and decorating the hallways, singing God Bless America, and reading a short story.

God Bless America, our troops and all the families that lost a loved one from the terrible terrorists that attacked our country.

[gardenko]

I would love to read some ideas also. The other teachers on my grade level said they don't want to address it...basically they are all lazy and don't want to do anything that isn't required in the curriculum (most of them don't even want to do that). I'm rebelling and 9/11 is going to be a big deal. But what can we do? I just want to take the WHOLE DAY to honor our country...not take an hour to honor the hundreds place or an not even an hour to honor the richter scale.

[mamahawk]

A former student of mine who is now in Special Forces dropped in to see me today. He's leaving for duty in the Middle East in a couple of weeks. He spent some time with my class explaining that it's part of his job to help keep them safe. He told them how after the attacks on 9/11 he wanted to help his country stay strong. He was terrific. No scary stories just good solid words that rang of his personal strength. The kids told him they would write to him and pray for him and his friends.

BTW the kids asked him if he was always tall. He told them no he was really short in the third grade. He picked out my shortest boy and told him that he had been about his size. My little one's eyes got real big and he was standing tall all the rest of the day. He also explained that his job involved lots of report writing and he uses math to do his calculations for shooting weapons. He told them how important it was to study both math and English to be a good soldier. He's got the medals to prove it - riffle marksman and grenade launcher. Kids were VERY impressed.

Please pray for him and his unit. He told us his unit was one of the first units into Iraq and that they would probably be one of the last ones to leave. He's so young...

[3gradeteacher]

I hate the lazy teacher and when it comes to something like this it really ^(^$*($*#E ME OFF. I can't believe that there wouldn't be some mention of it.
I think you should really make it a patriotic day.

[WebJunkie]

I pose the essential question "Why must we take time to remember the unpleasant events from our history?"
We watch a short clip about 911 from unitedstreaming and then each student takes a minute to write the answer to the EQ on a star. We place the stars around a tall picture of the statue of liberty with our EQ outside too. We also have a few students write a poem or recite a poem about it. I might even play Alan jackson's song about 911.