Current Event:

One World Trade Center was recently topped with a silver spire, bringing the height of the structure to 1,776 feet, a reference to the year of America’s declaration of independence from Great Britain. The skyscraper stands at the site of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. On that day, al-Qa`ida terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners. They flew two of the planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Below the new tower is a memorial honoring the nearly 3,000 victims of the terrorist attacks. When the interior of new Trade Center is finished, the skyscraper will house commercial office space, observation decks, restaurants and other public facilities. The spire will function as a broadcast antenna for the region’s media outlets.

Objective:

On the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al-Qa`ida terrorists hijacked four commercial jetliners. At about 8:45 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time), the hijackers crashed one of the planes into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Less than 20 minutes later, their comrades flew another plane into the south tower. As flames and smoke engulfed the towers, people raced to escape the buildings as police, fire, and medical personnel rushed to the site. About an hour after being struck, the south tower collapsed. The north tower collapsed about a half-hour later. Other buildings in the area were also destroyed or heavily damaged. At 9:37 a.m., a third plane crashed into the west side of the Pentagon Building, the nation’s military headquarters near Washington, D.C. A section of the building collapsed shortly afterward. A fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was also hijacked. However, the passengers learned of the other attacks and attempted to regain control of the plane. Afraid the passengers might succeed, the hijackers then crashed the plane into a field around 10:00 a.m. The attacks killed about 3,000 people, including the 19 hijackers. The Behind the Headlines news stories and related World Book articles explore the World Trade Center and the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Words to know:

• Osama bin Laden
• George Walker Bush
• Declaration of Independence
• Hijacking
• National September 11 Memorial and Museum
• New York City
• Pentagon Building
• Al-Qa`ida
• September 11 terrorist attacks
• Taliban
• Terrorism
• World Trade Center

Discussion Topics:

1. Ask your students what they know about New York City. (Students might say that it is the largest city in the United States; it is the home of the Empire State Building, the New York Stock Exchange, the Statue of Liberty, and the United Nations Headquarters; the city is divided into five boroughs–Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island.)

2. Have your students ask their parents where they were on 9/11. Then ask your students to report to the class what their parents said.

3. Ask your students to debate, “September 11 should be made a national holiday.”

4. Ask your students to use the World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of the history of the World Trade Center. (Students may wish to use World Book’s World Trade Center article for help.)