Title: I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001
Author: Lauren Tarshis
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fiction
# of pages: 112
Reading Level: 630L, 8-10 years
Summary: One of many in the I Survived series, I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001, tells the story of an eleven-year-old Lucas who ends up in New York on the day of the attacks. After his parents tell him he can no longer play football due to the concussions he has endured, he travels to New York to enlist his Uncle Benny in pleading his case. Lucas’ father and uncle are both firefighters, so when Lucas and his uncle see a plane hit one of the twin towers his family springs into action. As students read they will learn the harsh truth of that fateful day in September, a day most of them were not alive to know. They will see Lucas’ resilience and the bravery shown by his Dad and Uncle Benny. Although saddened and changed forever by that day Lucas’ reminder that “there will be minutes - like these - when he wasn't buried by sadness when he wasn't stuck in the terror of that day in September” (Roe, 2018).
Genre: I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001, is classified as a historical fiction novel. Although written about a real day in America, the story of Lucas and his family is fictional.
Reading the Novel: This would be a fantastic class read when discussing 9/11. I plan to get as many I Survived books as I can to keep a section of them in a school library as well for students who seek this series out.
Teaching the Novel: I was only a few months old when 9/11 happened, but I still know adults who remember exactly where they were when it happened. Our students may not truly understand the events of that day until they arrive in our classroom. As the legacy of 9/11 lives on new generations will come to understand that after that day, “It didn't matter how far they walked, or how much time went by. Nothing would ever be the same again.” (Roe, 2018). This book is an excellent way to walk middle schoolers through 9/11 because it is written from the perspective of someone their age. I remember doing activities when I was young where I had to ask a relative or adult about a certain event in history and conduct an interview with them. I think an activity like that could pair well with this book and allow the students to hear real-life accounts from people who were alive at this time.
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