B.A. Social Studies
As most schools do, here at Forsyth we have an annual district-wide remembrance ceremony on September 11th. When I look around at the students during that ceremony, I wonder how long we are going to continue doing it as it seems to have lost its impact on our students who simply not have a memory of the events of that day. As a result, our students often struggle to grasp the consequences of the attack on the United States so I really focus on putting together meaningful activities to make it more real for my students. One of the challenges for me is to help students understand the enormity of the situation that took place on 9/11. After brainstorming on the topic for this year’s activity and project for my classes, I decided that it would be valuable for students to participate in an activity that really brought home the human costs at both the individual and societal levels. To start, I provided students with 1”x1” grid paper and asked them, without an explanation, to draw a circle in each of the boxes (each circle had to touch all four sides, and had to be neat to receive credit). This took way more time than I expected, and although students questioned why we were doing this, they went along with it. The next step after completion was to color each circle individually using random colors throughout their pages. At this point, I released the purpose of the activity and assigned students with a set of names to add to each circle from the National 9/11 Museum and Memorial website, using the initials of each life lost in the terror attacks. Finally, students cut out the circles then designed a memorial mural to place in the hallway for all to see.
After releasing the intent of the activity, students bought into the assignment, and I think, really began to grasp and understand the sheer number of lives lost as a result of the decisions to carry out the attacks. The time and effort that went into each individual circle sunk in and students took away, especially after developing the mural, how large the impact was on individuals, families, and the country as a whole. |
AuthorBrian Anton currently serves the Purdy R-II (Missouri) School District as the 7-12 Principal after working in the PK-12 Assistant Principal and Athletic Director roles for two years. In the 12 years prior to moving into administration, he served as an award-winning high school social studies teacher. Archives
September 2018
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