About This Lesson
On September 11, 2001, 19 men from the terrorist organization known as al-Qaeda would hijack four airplanes and use them as weapons to attack highly visible and symbolic United States landmarks. Two planes were deliberately crashed into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, one was crashed into the Pentagon, and the final plane would crash in an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.Nearly 3,000 people would be killed in this coordinated attack. Use this lesson plan to explore the question: Why were the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and U.S. Capitol targeted on 9/11?
In this lesson, students will:
- Identify the three attack sites on 9/11.
- Consider the symbolic value of each attack site.
- Understand why the World Trade Center, U.S. Capitol, and Pentagon were targeted.
Lesson plans include interactive images, videos, and links, that are best viewed directly from our website using the link in the resources tab.
This resource appears in Module 2 of our 9/11 Primer.
