NYC Schools Launch 9/11 Curriculum

Nation's largest city tells schools how to teach 9/11

With school set to start less than a week before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, New York City's Department of Education is making lesson plans available on how to teach and talk about the terror tragedy.

The curriculum was developed with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which has posted the lesson plans online.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott announced the curriculum in an email to teachers Thursday, according to GothamSchools.org.

“As educators and parents of children who grew up in the years before and after 9/11, we have a responsibility to help them learn that the attacks of 9/11 were an attack on all New Yorkers, our nation as a whole, our freedoms, and our way of life,” Walcott wrote.

The plans are divided into categories labeled "Community and Conflict," "Historical Impact" and "Heroes and Service."

There are lessons for kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth, sixth through eighth and high school.

The curriculum teaches youngsters about tolerance and why landmarks are important, for example. More advanced lessons in high school teach about religious extremism and airport security.

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