Patriot Day

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Poll

Poll

Do you know why September 11th is a significant date?

• Yes!

• No.

• Maybe

Today we’re going to talk about a very important event in American history — one that happened before you were born but still affects our lives today.

Imagine this: It’s a normal school day morning. Suddenly, the news says that two airplanes have crashed into two of the tallest buildings in America. People are watching live as it happens. The whole country stops what they’re doing.
This event is called September 11, or 9/11. It changed the United States forever. Today we’ll learn what happened, how people responded, and why we still remember it.

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Sept. 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked — that means taken over — by terrorists, people who wanted to cause harm.
Two planes hit the Twin Towers in New York City. Another hit the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. The last one crashed in Pennsylvania because passengers fought back.

​

​What Happened?

The Twin Towers were two very tall buildings in New York City, called the World Trade Center. Each tower was over 1,300 feet tall, which made them some of the tallest buildings in the world. They were built in the 1970s and were used for offices, where thousands of people worked. The people who worked in the Twin Towers did all kinds of office jobs. Some worked in banks, some in law firms, some in insurance companies, and some in other businesses.

The towers were called “twin” because they looked almost exactly the same. People from all over the world visited them because they were famous landmarks, and they had an observation deck at the top where you could see the whole city.

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What were the Towers?

Multiple Choice

What does it mean if something is hijacked?

• To legally acquire something through purchase.
• To enhance the security of a system.
• To improve the functionality of a device.
• To take control of something unlawfully or without permission.

Poll

Before a long road trip, what does the driver usually do to get the vehicle ready?

You may chose more than one answer.

• Get gas so the car can go farther without stopping

• Pack snacks and water

• Choose music or games for the ride

• All of the Above

On September 11, 2001, the hijackers chose planes that were just beginning long flights across the country. These planes had just been fueled up — kind of like getting gas before a road trip — which meant they carried a lot of fuel.

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The Day's Events

Here’s how the morning went. American Airlines Flight 11 takes off from Boston Logan International Airport in Massachusetts.  

The plane is headed for Los Angeles, California.  On board are 11 crew members, 76 passengers, and 5 hijackers.

Plus, over 76,000 pounds of fuel.

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The Day's Events

United Airlines Flight 175 takes off from Boston Logan International Airport.  It is bound for Los Angeles.

In addition to 5 hijackers, 9 crew members and 51 passengers are on board.  

The plane is carrying 76,000 pounds of fuel.

​

The Day's Events

United Airlines Flight 93 takes off from Newark International Airport in New Jersey.  The plane, which is filled with almost 49,000 pounds of fuel, is bound for San Francisco, California.

On board are 7 crew members, 33 passengers, and 4 hijackers.

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The Day's Events

American Airlines Flight 77 is headed for Los Angeles.  It takes off from Dulles International Airport, outside of Washington, D.C.

It’s carrying 6 crew members, 53 passengers, 5 hijackers, and 49,900 pounds of fuel.

​

The Day's Events

Multiple Choice

How many planes were hijacked on 9/11?

• 3
• 5
• 2
• 4

At 8:46 a.m., the hijackers deliberately crash American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower. No one on board the plane survives.
Hundreds inside the building become instant victims. Hundreds more are trapped inside.
Firefighters, paramedics, and police are sent to the scene immediately. By 9:02 a.m., people are being told to evacuate both towers.

​

​The Day's Events

At 9:03, the hijackers deliberately crash United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower. No one on board the plane survives. Hundreds inside the building are killed instantly. Hundreds more have no means of escape. Airspace over New York City is shut down.

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​The Day's Events

At least 200 people jumped to their deaths from the burning towers landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings hundreds of feet below

​

​The Day's Events

When President George W. Bush first heard about the attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, he was visiting an elementary school in Florida. His chief of staff quietly came up to him and said:

“A second plane has hit the second tower. America is under attack.”

This was the first time the president fully realized that the U.S. was being attacked in a major way, and he stayed calm in front of the children while he began getting briefed on what was happening.

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President Bush

When President Bush was told about the attacks, he stayed in the classroom with the children for about 7–8 more minutes. He did this because his team thought it was important to stay calm and not panic the students. Also, it gave time for security and staff to figure out what was happening and what to do next.

During that time, he listened to a reading lesson and tried to appear calm, even though he was being told the country was under attack. After leaving the classroom, he immediately started making decisions and getting updates about the situation.

It’s a good example of how leaders sometimes need to stay calm in front of others, even during very scary or confusing events.

​

President Bush

After the towers were hit, the
buildings collapsed about 1 and 1/2 hours later. WHY?
?

When the towers fell, many of the people who were still inside trapped. Rescue workers, firefighters, and police officers who were trying to save people were also inside or very close to the buildings.

Because of this, most of the victims of September 11 died when the towers collapsed.

​

The Collapse

At 9:37 am, hijackers flew a third plane into the Pentagon, killing 59 on board and 125 personnel inside the building.
The Pentagon is a very big building near Washington, D.C. where the U.S. military is run. It’s called the Pentagon because it has five sides, like a pentagon shape in math. Inside, there are offices for people who plan and make decisions about keeping the country safe.

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​The Pentagon

At 9:42 am, the FAA grounded all flights over or bound for the continental United States. The FAA stands for the Federal Aviation Administration. It’s the part of the U.S. government that makes sure airplanes and airports are safe. They make the rules for how planes fly, train air traffic controllers, and help keep passengers safe in the sky.More than 3,500 commercial and private planes were landed. This was the first time in American history that the FAA made that decision.

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​All Planes Grounded

Meanwhile, passengers on the 4th hijacked plane had used their cell phones and learned about the other plane crashes.  

Knowing the aircraft was going to crash somewhere, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection.

​

Flight 77

One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that “I know we’re all going to die. There’s three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey.” 

Another passenger—Todd Beamer—was heard saying “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll” over an open line.

Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were “Everyone’s running to first class. I’ve got to go. Bye.”

The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m.

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Flight 93

​Thomas Burnett, Jr.

We know what happened on Flight 93 because investigators looked at several kinds of evidence after the crash:

Phone calls: People on the plane used phones to call their families and tell them what was happening.

Cockpit voice recorder: This is like a "black box" that records what pilots say and hear in the cockpit. It survived the crash, so investigators could listen to the sounds from the last minutes of the flight.

Air traffic control recordings: Controllers on the ground recorded what they heard from the plane.

Debris and crash site investigation: Experts studied what was left at the crash site to learn more about how the plane went down.

All this information together helped us understand that the passengers tried to take back control of the plane from the hijackers, which is why it crashed in a field instead of hitting another building.

Flight 93

Hotspot

Mark the correct state in which the Twin Towers were located.

Multiple Choice

In addition to the World Trade Center, this important building which serves as the headquarters of the Department of Defense, was also struck on 9/11:

• The Pentagon
• The Empire State Building
• The Capitol Building
• The White House

Multiple Choice

A fourth hi-jacked aircraft crashed in a rural part of this state when passengers heroically fought back against the terrorists:

• Ohio
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Texas

After the towers collapsed, firefighters, police officers, and volunteers rushed to the site to look for survivors. This effort was called search and rescue.

For weeks, teams worked day and night, digging through the wreckage to find anyone who might still be alive. They used special tools, search dogs, and even stayed quiet to listen for voices.

Many rescuers were very brave, because the site was still dangerous — there was fire, smoke, and unstable debris. Even though fewer survivors were found after the first day, the rescuers kept going because every person mattered.

​

​Search and Rescue

The attacks on September 11 were the deadliest terrorist attacks in U.S. history.
2,977 people were killed that day — including people who worked in the buildings, passengers on the planes, and first responders who tried to save lives. That’s about the same as filling all the seats in a big high school football stadium.

Many thousands more were injured. Families across the country were affected. For months afterward, people searched for missing loved ones, rebuilt businesses, and supported each other.

This day changed airport security, how we travel, and even how Americans felt about safety.

​

The Aftermath

The group responsible for the attacks was called al-Qaeda
It was a terrorist organization made up of extremists — people with very extreme beliefs — who wanted to hurt the United States.

Their leader was Osama bin Laden. He believed that attacking America would scare Americans and hurt our country.

​The hi-jackers

Al-Qaeda was angry at the United States for being involved in the Middle East and supporting certain governments there.
They believed violence was the way to make their point.
They wanted to frighten Americans and make the country feel unsafe. This was the act of a small group of extremists. Most people around the world — including those from the same religion and countries — did not support this violence.

​​

Osama bin Laden

After the attacks on September 11, the United States wanted to make sure something like that would not happen again.

The group that carried out the attacks, al-Qaeda, was based in Afghanistan, a country in the Middle East. The Taliban, the government in Afghanistan at that time, was protecting al-Qaeda.

The U.S. and its allies went to Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power and try to stop al-Qaeda from planning more attacks. This started the War in Afghanistan, which lasted many years.

The goal was to make the country safer and prevent terrorism. Osama bin Laden was not found.

​

​War in Afhanistan

Osama bin Laden was hidden for many years after the attacks.

In 2011, the United States located him in Pakistan. A special U.S. military team carried out an operation to capture him. During the operation, Osama bin Laden was killed.

His death was an important moment because he could no longer plan or lead attacks against the United States. However, it did not end terrorism completely — many groups still work against peace in the world.

​

Operation Neptune Spear

Multiple Choice

Who was the leader of Al-Qaeda?

• Osama bin Laden
• Ayman al-Zawahiri
• Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
• Mohammed bin Salman

Multiple Choice

What country protected Osama bin Laden?

• Pakistan
• Saudi Arabia
• Afghanistan
• Iraq

Multiple Choice

What was the name of Osama bin Laden's terrorist organization?

• Boko Haram
• ISIS
• al-Qaeda
• Taliban

We remember September 11 every year to honor the people who were killed and the heroes who helped others.

In New York City, there is a memorial at the site where the Twin Towers stood. Two large fountains mark where the towers were, with the names of every person who died engraved around them.

Each year, on September 11, there are ceremonies. Bells ring at the exact times the planes hit, and people take moments of silence.

In schools, communities, and even on TV, we remember the bravery of firefighters, police officers, and everyday citizens who helped.

Remembering 9/11

Ground Zero Memorial - 2023 360 Panorama | 360Cities

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Multiple Choice

What was one of the effects of September 11th?

• Increased security measures in airports and public spaces.
• Reduction in military presence overseas.
• Increased global cooperation on security issues.
• Decreased international travel restrictions.

Multiple Choice

Afghanistan was harboring al Qaeda terrorists. In the preceding sentence, what does "to harbor" mean?

• To provide financial support.
• To provide shelter or refuge.
• To capture and imprison.
• To ignore or neglect.

Multiple Choice

Which phrase best describes al Qaeda?

• Criminal terrorist organization

• International peacekeeping force
• Political advocacy group
• Humanitarian aid organization

Poll

Lesson: Patriot Day: Remembering September 11th

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Poll

Do the events of September 11, 2001, still impact us today?

• Yes.

• No.

• I'm not sure.

Lesson: Patriot Day: Remembering September 11th

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