As we remember the terrorist attacks on the United States 11 years ago today, there is a great article on the Good website about how teachers are using poetry to help students understand and commemorate 9/11.
The teachers had students do research on 9/11 using online resources, including those from the Times. Students’ responses to discussion questions were put together into a free-verse poem, which was then turned into the video you see above. It’s pretty inspiring to see the students’ thoughts about 9/11 and what it means to them along with the words and images on their hands and arms. Even though it’s no easy task to teach such an emotionally charged event, these teachers deserve plenty of praise for trying something new and facilitating their students’ understanding of and emotional connection to what happened. Let’s hope more teachers do the same so that what we say we’ll “never forget” truly isn’t forgotten.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7JNB3Z_y_A
