BLaST Intermediate Unit 17



*Top of Form

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for information on the Pennsylvania Curriculum Framework for Social Studies. You will find much of the information about PA Academic Standards, essential questions, vocabulary, assessments, etc. by navigating through the various components of the Curriculum Framework.

LESSON / UNIT TITLE: (U.S. Policy Changes Since 9/11/01

Teacher Name(s): Matthew Holmes

School District: Northeast Bradford School District

Building: Northeast Bradford Junior-Senior High School

Grade Level: 9-10

Subject: American History/Civics

Time Required: 4-6 class periods

Lesson/Unit Summary (2-3 sentence synopsis): This lesson will serve as an introduction to how the United States has changed since 9/11/2001. It will be a brief overview of ideological shifts in government structures and the ongoing change in the daily lives of the American people.

Essential Questions for Lesson/Unit

1) How did the United States government change after 9/11/2001?

2) How did the above changes impact the daily lives of the individuals affected?

3) How can civil liberties take a backseat to national security in a time of crisis?

Pennsylvania Academic Standards / Common Core Standards Addressed in Lesson/Unit

(Include standards numbers and standards statements.)

5.1. U.A. Apply examples of the rule of law as related to individual rights and the common good.

5.2. U.B. Analyze strategies used to resolve conflicts in society and government.

6.3. U.D. Analyze how conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations have impacted the growth and development of the US.

CC.8.5.9-10.C. Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

CC.8.6.9-10.E. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Lesson/Unit Objectives

1. The students will use collaborative pairs in order to make assumptions and inferences on the types of changes the United States had/has gone through since 9/11/2001.

2. The students will outline key events/changes that have happened within the United States both socially and politically since 9/11/2001.

3. The students will create an electronic research project outlining specific changes that have occurred within the United States since 9/11/2001.

4. Students will analyze the difference between civil liberties and the well-being of a nation through both debate class discussion/notes.

5. As a result of reading an article on patriotism/nationalism in the military following 9/11/2001, students will analyze these concepts from the viewpoint of those serving in the military.

Vocabulary/Key Terms for Lesson/Unit

Civil Liberties

Terrorism

Patriotism

Nationalism

Homeland security

Extremist group

al-Qaeda

Patriot Act

Historical Background for Teachers / Research Narrative

(Insert a 2-3 page abstract in this section that details your research on the lesson/unit topic. This is where you get to share your scholarship with your peers! You should provide enough information that a teacher could potentially teach the lesson/unit and answer general questions based on studying your narrative.

Post 9-11: A Long Road

September 11th 2001 was arguably one of the worst terrorist attacks in the history of the United States. Since the attacks the United States has undergone major changes from a governmental standpoint. These changes have majorly impacted the way U.S. citizens live their daily lives. Many restrictions have been put in place that limit some of the civil liberties that were enjoyed prior to the terrorist attack. These changes typically come from governmental regulations and/or government policies that impact the daily life of its residents.

Many New Yorkers and Pentagon officials claim that the morning of September 11th 2001 started as many others. These sites did not have any prior knowledge indicating that a major attack would take place. The people heading to work, and flying on the affected airliners, did not have any advance warning that at 8:46 AM, the United States would be attacked and that the events of that day would have cascading consequence for whole country. After the onset of the first attack, the pentagon and another World Trade center building were subsequently hit by a plane. This was in conjunction with a fourth plane crashing in Pennsylvania. At the end of the attacks headed by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, the United States would see a death toll towering over 3,000 people who included over 400 police and firefighters[1].

Since that day, the United States worked overtime in trying to come up with policies that would help to limit the chance of another attack occurring. One of the first major policies was enacted by congress shortly after the attacks. The Patriot Act would be put in place in order to free up some of the restrictions that many claimed prevented the United States from gaining inside knowledge of the attack. The Patriot Act would allow the government to use prior permissions granted to the prevention of mob type activities for the prevention of terrorism. It would allow such acts as roving wiretaps. This type of wiretap yields fewer restrictions and is not limited to one type of device being tapped. The wiretap instead virtually follows the person and taps multiple devices that may be used. The Patriot Act also allowed for the punishment of different types of attacks. Most of the changes outlined in the Patriot act would give the United States more leeway in punishment and investigations of suspected terrorists of which they did not have in the past.[2]

With the onset of new rules and regulations it was only natural for the United States to create a new division to handle the influx of intelligence. Within days of the attack President Bush authorized the development of the Department of Homeland Security. In 2002, the Department would officially be made part of the Cabinet and the Director would be in charge of multiple organizations that were previously under different jurisdictions. The initial purpose of the streamline was due to the lack of communication that existed prior to the 9/11 attacks. Some claim that this lack of communication helped lead to a communication breakdown that eventually caused the death of many. The current mission of the department is to protect the people of the United States and to prevent future attacks to our national security.[3]

The attacks on 9/11 affected not only the government but also the citizens of the United States. The efforts by the Bush administration to go after the perpetrators of the attacks created a need and a desire for military personnel. Recruiting offices all over the United States saw an uptake in people wanting to join the ranks of the different branches. Periodic increases in recruiting are to be expected. What was unique about this increase were the reasons why people were joining. Recruiters typically claim that most people join for the chance to either have a full time job or for money for college. For three years after 9/11 this was not the case. People were joining so they could fight and defend the nation that they care for.[4] The influx of joining for nationalistic or patriotic reasons was something that had not been seen in a while. This is not to say that those who joined prior were not motivated by the patriotism. The difference lies in the fact that for the new recruits, patriotism was the overriding factor.

Those joining the military and going to war were doing so to protect the freedoms that we have come to love. These liberties were granted to the citizens through the constitution and have been solidified over the years through enormous amounts of case law. The attacks on 9/11 brought about much needed change. The issues with changes in national security lie in the fact that they have the ability to threaten the long standing civil liberties of the people. Some of the biggest changes came within the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Given the fact that the terrorist used airliners for the attack, the TSA was put on the front line for national protection. This protection has caused major uproar and has had critics from all extremes. Some people think more needs to be done to protect our citizens while others feel that the TSA and other agencies have crossed a major line by infringing on the rights that make this country what it is today.

There is balance that needs to be maintained when dealing with government changes. National security and civil liberties need to be weighed against each other in order to maintain the democratic principles that we were founded on. Since 9/11 the government has had their work cut out for them in doing just that. The changes made to our policies and procedures have reduced some of the freedoms that we had enjoyed but in turn have gone to great lengths to keep up safe from terroristic attacks.

Instructional Prodedures and Activities

(List/describe the step-by-step sequence of procedures and learning activities.)

Day 1

1. Students will use the PowerPoint pictures on the second slide in order to access their prior knowledge on 9/11.

2. Students will take notes on the basics behind 9/11 and will discuss what they had learned in the past on the subject. They will then read and watch President Bush’s ground zero speech. This will be used as an introduction to nationalism/patriotism and governmental responses to a crisis.

3. Students will answer Discussion Prompt 1.* They will work with a partner in order to decide what types of changes the government could make to help prevent another attack such as the one that happened on 9/11.

Day 2

4. Students will take notes on the Patriot Act. Accelerated classes will read specific sections of the Patriot act in order to analyze its intentions. All students will then answer the second Discussion Prompt.

5. Students will take notes on the creation and function of the Department of Homeland Security. They will use their notes and prior knowledge to answer Discussion Prompt three. This will start a discussion on the lack of communication that existed prior to 9/11.

Day 3

6. Students will read the article of Patriotism. They will use this article to answer the prompts as assigned. They will discuss the concept of governmental changes influencing nationalism and patriotism.

Days 4-6

7. Students will discuss the ideas of civil liberties through Discussion Prompt 4. They will take notes on a few of the changes that limited the civil liberties of U.S. citizens following 9/11. They will also come up with other restrictions that have happened since the terrorist attacks. This will lead into Discussion prompt 5.

8. Students will complete a research presentation project. They will be asked to do research on other changes to the United States since 9/11. This will not focus solely on the part of the government. Instead they can look at it from multiple aspects in order to encourage originality. They will need to identify three changes and give details on how each change impacted the rights of the citizens involved.

*Note: Discussion prompts are included in the Power Point presentation referenced in step 1.

Suggested Strategies for Differentiating Instruction

| |  |

| |Discussion prompts for students who may have issues with the open ended questions. |

| |Guided reading for those with reading difficulties. |

| |Longer debates/discussions for students/classes who are showing a strong understanding to the material. |

| |Background reading on 9/11 for advanced students |

| | |

Assessment of Student Learning (Include both Formative and Summative Assessments)

Formative:

The students will be getting assessed throughout the whole lesson. The teacher will be gauging the effectiveness of the material throughout the predesigned discussion prompts.

Summative:

The students will also be assessed with their research project/presentation grade through the use of the rubric.

Materials and Resources*

*Refer to included resources (Attachments)

• PowerPoint presentation

• Student Graphic Organizer

• Research Presentation Rubric.

• Recruiting Article

• YouTube video (Bush Ground Zero ()

• Bush Ground Zero Speech (pdf document, , Unit 15, The New Globalization)

• U.S. Patriot Act (pdf document , Unit 15, The New Globalization)

Author(s) of Unit/Lesson Plan [Include name(s) and school district(s)

Matthew Holmes, Northeast Bradford School District, Rome PA

Bottom of Form

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[1] 9/11 Facts.

[2] The U.S. Patriot Act: Preserving Life and Liberty, U.S. Justice Department.

[3] Homeland Security,

[4] Daniel, Lisa. Department of Defense.

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