September 11th

We started off the week by talking a little bit about 9/11. I figured, since it happened before my students were born, that it would be a short little overview of what happened, and we would move on. However, they seemed to know quite a lot more about it than I expected. They all wanted to talk about it, so I drew an ever-so-quick (and crude!) picture on the easel:

(obviously, I am NOT an artist!)

Then we had our first "Think-Pair-Share". The students were paired up with the person sitting next to them, and they were instructed to tell their neighbor what they know about 9/11. This gives everyone a chance to talk (which is what they love!), and promotes social skills.

After giving them time to talk to their partner, I asked a few students to share what their partner had told them. Some knew about the heroes - the police and firemen who tried to rescue people from the buildings, and the people who fought with the hijackers. They knew that the "bad guys" came from another country, and they didn't like Americans.

This activity led us into our week of safety lessons.