News
Resources for Teaching 25 Years After 9/11

Today’s high school students (and even the youngest classroom teachers) weren’t even born when the 9/11 attacks happened in 2001. As the United States approaches the 25th anniversary of that day, the PBS LearningMedia team is offering this curated list of resources for educators who want to teach students about this milestone in U.S. history.
PBS LearningMedia’s U.S. History collection has new offerings for grades 6-12, featuring an interactive lesson and videos examining how the terrorist attacks changed the nation and the world:
- September 11, 2001: Tragedy, Courage, and Remembrance | Interactive Lesson: In this interactive lesson, students learn about the deadliest terror attacks in U.S. history, the bravery shown by people that day and how the day is remembered.
- September 11, 2001: How the World Changed: The United States experienced immediate disruption after the attacks, with economic losses and changes to everyday life. The War on Terror began one month after the attacks.
- September 11, 2001: Memorials and Remembrance: The United States now observes Sept.11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.
- What Happened on September 11, 2001: Learn how four airplanes were used as weapons to target iconic American buildings and how brave individuals tried to thwart the attacks.
Adjacent Resources for Grades PreK-5
Offer younger students an age-appropriate message of hope and resilience with a special video from Reading Rainbow. The program begins with a reading of The Tin Forest, the story of an old man who creates a forest from trash. Then LeVar Burton visits an elementary school just blocks away from Ground Zero and talks to students about that day. The Tin Forest | Reading Rainbow Stories.
Help children learn how to find aid and comfort by introducing them to “helpers” and explain the role they play in emergency situations. Meet the Helpers | Meet the Helpers | PBS LearningMedia
Teach children about what firefighters do with help from Daniel Tiger. What is a Firefighter? | Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood | PBS LearningMedia
More resources for Grades 6-12
Older students can learn more about the attacks that day, the aftermath, and how 9/11 changed domestic and foreign policy with these resources from PBS programs like Frontline.
- The Immediate U.S. Response to September 11, 2001 | FRONTLINE | PBS LearningMedia
- How 9/11 Changed the Course of the George W. Bush Presidency | George W. Bush | PBS LearningMedia
- The Second Plane | 9/11 Inside the Pentagon | PBS LearningMedia
- Escaping the Inferno | 9/11 Inside the Pentagon | PBS LearningMedia
- The White House Responds to 9/11 | FRONTLINE | PBS LearningMedia
- 9/11 Memorial Honors Lives Lost Aboard Flight 93 | PBS LearningMedia
- The Effects of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks on Major League Baseball | The Tenth Inning | PBS LearningMedia
Older students can also learn how to analyze news coverage and photos of the tragedy.
- Newspapers as Primary Sources: Immediate Coverage of 9/11 | Interactive Lesson | PBS LearningMedia: This lesson asks students to look at four newspaper front pages from Sept.11, 2001, to see the similarities and differences in how the terrorist attacks were immediately covered and to assess the value of newspapers as a historical primary source.
- The Real Story Behind This Iconic 9/11 Photo | The Bigger Picture | PBS LearningMedia: The famous photo of firefighters raising the U.S. flag at Ground Zero is examined to explore the constructed and intentional nature of media and reflect on the different meanings an image can have.