09/11/2026
REMEMBERING 9/11: SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES ENGAGE WITH CURIOSITY, FAMILY STORIES AND QUESTIONS
On this 25th Anniversary of 9/11, Social Studies teachers Jacob Trimpe and Emily Lake engaged their 11th grade students in discussion by first asking them to write a response on a post it note to three different prompts:
1 - What do you know about it?
2 - Do you have a personal story about it?
3 - Ask a question.
Emily Lake shared some of her reflections after class:
"Although the students were not yet born, as New Yorkers, 9/11 touched the lives of their families. We wanted to open a forum for discussion by asking what they know through the context of what their parents and loved ones remembered and have shared with them. While many of the stories were quite different, there was one common question that was asked. "Why?"