Students can process their feelings about the terrorist attacks

Overview: On Thursday, New York City students began returning to school following the terrorist attacks. Efforts are underway to provide students with the resources necessary to cope with the emotional effects of the disaster as they transition back to school. Use these questions and the activity to help students process their feelings about the terrorist attacks and to foster a sense of community at your school.

Curriculum Connections: Health, Psychology, Communications, Fine Arts

After students read the CNNfyi.com story, "Thousands of New York City students won't return to class for days," ask the following questions:

1. What issues are the students and staff in New York City schools dealing with? How do you think these people are feeling at this point in time? What is being done to help these students cope with their feelings as they transition back into school?

2. Where were you when the terrorist attacks occurred in New York City and Washington, D.C.? How did you feel when you first heard the news? What was it like to return to school following the attacks? Were you able to concentrate? Explain. Did you worry about your safety? Why or why not? Have your feelings changed over time? If so, how? How is your school addressing this tragedy?

3. Many people will be feeling the emotional effects of the terrorist attacks for a long time. According to experts, "the amount of time it takes people to recover from a traumatic event, depends both on what happened to them and on what meaning they gave to those events." It is important to the recovery process that people have ways to express their emotions. The following activity is intended to help students process their feelings and to foster a sense of community at your school. Have your school's principal establish an ongoing exhibit at your school, in which, each week, different classes display creative work, such as poems, drawings, collages, essays, or letters, that express students' thoughts and feelings about the terrorist attacks. Have your students visit the exhibit each week and write journal entries that describe their reactions to the exhibit. Ask students to observe how their thoughts and feelings about the disaster evolve over time.

Teachers: Please note that students who have witnessed or who have been directly affected by the terrorist attacks are at risk for developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). If you would like additional information about the symptoms, effects, and treatment of PTSD in children and adolescents, please visit the following National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Web site