September 11th Videos for Kids
The events of September 11, 2001, are not easy to talk about for many reasons. And if you’re teaching elementary-age students, your audience wasn’t around when the attacks even happened.
However, the events of 9/11 are nonetheless important for students to know and think about. This list of videos about September 11, 2001, will help you! A short summary of each video is included below.
Due to the sensitive nature of the events, be sure to preview all videos before sharing them with your students.
The 9/11 Memorial in New York City’s "9/11 Fact Sheet for Early Childhood Students" and "Talking to Children about Terrorism" are great resources to reference when approaching conversations about September 11, 2001, with your students. You can also register to take your students on an interactive, age-appropriate virtual field trip through the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
BrainPop’s “September 11th”
“On September 11, 2001, the course of American history changed forever. In this BrainPOP movie, Tim and Moby will explain just what happened on that fateful day. You’ll first hear a basic timeline of major events that occurred that morning. Tim and Moby will also talk a little bit about terrorism and the underlying causes of this terrible tragedy. In particular, you’ll learn about a network called al Qaeda, and discover what a man named Osama bin Laden had to do with it all. You’ll also find out what happened in the aftermath of 9/11, and how people came together to start rebuilding. This is an important topic on a major event in American history that you should definitely understand. So, click the link to find out more.”
PEOPLE Magazine’s “The Children of 9/11”
“In this exclusive interview with the four 19 year-olds featured in the new Magnolia Network documentary, 'Rebuilding Hope: The Children of 9/11', Jamie Gartenberg Pila, Gabriel Jacobs Dick, Ronald Milam Jr., and Alexa Smagala open up about being born after losing their fathers during the September 11th terrorist attacks, how they’ve found inspiration in the fathers they never met, and how they’ve tried to honor them in their daily lives.”
PIX 11’s “An exclusive tour of the 9/11 Memorial Museum on this 15th Anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001”
“If you've never been to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, here is a special chance to take a guided tour. Join PIX11's James Ford and museum chief curator Jan Ramirez as we explore this hallowed space.”
BBC’s “9/11: George Bush Finds Out About the Attack on the South Tower “
“On September 11th 2001, the United States came under attack. The George Bush administration describes the morning that changed the world forever.”
The 9/11 Memorial’s “A Look at the 9/11 Memorial”
“The 9/11 Memorial is a national tribute to the nearly 3,000 men, women, and children killed in the 2001 terror attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The memorial architect talks about the beautiful design, and a 9/11 victim's daughter reveals what the memorial means to her.”
The 9/11 Memorial’s “Honoring Victim’s Birthdays”
“Every morning 9/11 Memorial staff honor the men, women, and children whose names are inscribed on the panels by placing a single white rose on each person’s name on their birthday. Visitor Services Supervisor Sean Evans describes this tradition and the meaning behind it.”
The 9/11 Memorial’s “Survivor Tree Timelapse”
“The charred trunk of this callery pear tree was rescued from the smoldering rubble of the World Trade Center site after the 2001 attacks and nursed back to life. Today, it lives on the 9/11 Memorial as a living reminder of resilience, survival and rebirth.”
The 9/11 Memorial’s “The Survivor Tree”
“The beloved children’s poem, The Survivor Tree tells the story of the lone pear tree that survived the collapse of the Twin Towers. Discovered in the rubble by recovery workers and nursed back to health, the Survivor Tree has become a metaphor for hope and the resilience of the human spirit.”
The 9/11 Memorial’s “A Survival Story: The Survivor Tree”
“The Survivor Tree, a callery pear tree, was pulled from the smoldering rubble of the World Trade Center site after the 2001 attacks and has grown to become a living reminder of the nation's shared strength and resiliency. Watch this story about its remarkable journey of survival and rebirth.”
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s “The Survivor Tree and the Glade at Ground Zero”
“For Earth Day, STEM in 30 visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum to talk to them about their Survivor Tree and the new Glade area under construction. The Glade is dedicated to those who lost their lives from toxins in the air caused by the 9/11 Attacks.”
The 9/11 Memorial’s “The 5th Annual 9/11 Memorial 5K Run/Walk”
This video highlights the annual 9/11 memorial 5K run/walk in which people “run to remember and represent the resilience of our city.”
The 9/11 Memorial’s “Caring for the Reflection Pools”
“Each weeknight, 9/11 Memorial staff climb inside the twin pools of the Memorial to give them a top-to-bottom cleaning. Watch as Chief Engineer Anthony LoCasto gives a behind-the-scenes tour of all the care that goes into keeping the Memorial a special place for reflection.”
Bark’s “Last 9/11 Search and Rescue Dog Bretagne Comes Back to NYC”
“Meet Bretagne: the last known living search and rescue dog who worked at Ground Zero. As members of Texas Task Force 1, Bretagne and her mom/handler Denise Corliss had an intense first deployment. They joined nearly 100 other search and rescue dogs to find and save people trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center after 9/11. They’ve had an unshakable bond ever since. After hearing Bretagne’s story and learning that her 16th birthday was coming up, there was no question in our minds that she deserved a Dog’s Best Day for the ages. To celebrate her birthday and thank her for her incredible service, we were honored to team up with the dog-lovers at 1 Hotels to bring this New York City hero and her mom back to the city for the ultimate Dog’s Best Day.”
Inside Edition’s “Philippe Petit Looks Back on Historic Twin Towers Walk 44 Years Later”
Have you shared The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein with your students? (You can check out more about that book and others related to September 11th here). If so, you’ll definitely want to share this interview with the infamous man himself!
“More than four decades may have gone by, but Philippe Petit is just as spry as ever, and he's not about to hang up his wires anytime soon. This week marks 44 years since Petit, then 24, orchestrated one of the most death-defying acts of all time - walking on a wire about as wide as a few Starbucks straws between the World Trade Center towers as daylight broke over lower Manhattan.”
