The Cross Generational Impact of 9/11

  • Grades 9 to 12
  • Lesson Duration: 1 Class Period
  • Theme: 25th Anniversary

Essential Question: What makes 9/11 an important, world-changing event?

Learning Goals

Students will consider the cross-generational impact of 9/11.

Students will  make connections between 9/11 and contemporary events. 

Vocabulary

Baby Boomers: The generation of Americans born between 1946 and 1964.

Generation X: The generation of Americans born between 1965 and 1980.

Hijack: To take control by force

Millennials: The generation of Americans born between 1981 and 1998. 

Pew Research Center: A non-partisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C.

Silent Generation: The generation of Americans born between 1928 and 1945. 

Note: 25th anniversary lesson plans focus on how the world continues to be impacted by 9/11 and ways different communities chose to respond. If you'd like to build foundational knowledge about what happened on 9/11, we suggest using this lesson plan to prepare your students.

Activity

  1. Pose this question to students, ‘What are the top 5 historic events that occurred in your lifetime that you think have had the greatest impact on the country?’. This could be one specific event, or a series of related events (i.e., ‘the tech revolution’) that had an important impact on the nation.  
  1. Give students a few minutes to make their lists and compare with peers before discussing responses as a larger group.
  1. Ask students, “Are there any common themes in your responses? What do you notice?”   
  1. Tell students that they will now examine the results of a 2016 study done by Pew Research Center entitled “Americans Name the 10 Most Significant Historic Events of Their Lifetimes”. This study asked four generations of Americans (Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials) to make a list just like students did.   
  1. Display the graphic showing the top five responses from each generation. Ask students to look closely both within and between generations. Ask them what they notice. 
Blue and purple infographic
Orange and green infographic
  1. As you discuss, highlight the following trends with students:
    • Generations that are closest to each other often have more overlap in their lists (for example, Silent Generation & Boomers cite JFK assassination and Vietnam War frequently while Gen X & Millennials cite the Obama election and the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars)   
    • The only event that spans every generation regardless of age is 9/11. It was the most cited event across all four generations.  
  1. Ask students to return to the #1 event on their list and do a silent reflection activity where they jot down answers to the following questions:
    • Where were you when you heard about it?  
    • What did you feel?  
    • What did you see or hear around you?  
    • Why do you think you remember it so vividly?  
  1. Once they’ve finished, ask students, “What makes certain days unforgettable?” Share that just like students remembered their event, people who lived through 9/11 can often describe exactly where they were and how they felt that day even many years later. 
     
  2. Extension Activity: To continue exploring the impact of 9/11 through personal narratives, proceed to What Happened on 9/11?, Part II
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