Terrorism + Security

Ten years on from 911 and Guantanamo Bay: Helping your students make sense of the world

September 2011 marked the ten year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Centre and other targets in America and this January saw the ten year anniversary of the establishment of Guantanamo Bay.

Amnesty has been working in partnership with the Association for Citizenship Teaching, the Three Faiths Forum and the PSHE Association to provide support and resources for teachers wanting to facilitate constructive dialogue and critical engagement on these and related issues. Topics include the use of torture, renditions, women's rights in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and terrorism.

The following resources were compiled for the teacher training event Ten years on from 9/11: What is your school doing?, in collaboration with the Association for Citizenship Teaching the Three Faiths Forum and the PSHE Association. 

The materials can be used both for CPD training, or in the classroom. They include films, activities, lesson plans and guidelines that will help you tackle these issues with your pupils:

General resources

Helping students to critically evaluate information

Dealing with sensitive, controversial and topical issues

Using experts and personal experiences in the classroom

Conspiracy theories and myth busting

Guantanamo: the right to a fair trial

General Resources                                          

The resources on this page were put together in partnership with the Three Faiths Forum, ACT and the PSHE Association.  They do not necessarily reflect the views of Amnesty International.

Helping students to critically evaluate information                                  

In today's world the volume of information that we have access to is constantly increasing.  Most young people now get the majority of the information they access over the internet.  But do young people know how to sort, filter and evaluate the content they receive?  This session, featuring the inspiring project Digital Disruption by Bold Creative, looks at building skills that equip young people to think critically about the content they interact with.

The resources on this page were put together in partnership with the Three Faiths Forum, ACT and the PSHE Association.  They do not necessarily reflect the views of Amnesty International.

Dealing with sensitive, controversial and topical issues

How do teachers prepare to explore a controversial, topical and sensitive issue like 9/11? What do they need to be able to think about, prepare for and make use of to really help students in Citizenship education lessons explore the difficult aspects of this turning point in history? Participants will be able to consider what best practice approaches there are to dealing with these matters in the classroom; to feel both confident and competent to help lead learning about 9/11.

The resources on this page were put together in partnership with the Three Faiths Forum, ACT and the PSHE Association.  They do not necessarily reflect the view of Amnesty International.

Using experts and personal experiences in the classroom

We've all been there - sometimes a student throws up a question so contentious that a simple answer is not an option. But what to say?! This is particularly relevant for Citizenship, PSHE and RE teachers. Three Faiths Forum trains speakers with different beliefs to be able to answer the trickiest questions from students in schools. Participants in the 'Ten Years Since 9/11' Training examine ways of handling difficult and controversial questions about 9/11 from young people, based on Three Faiths Forum's tried and tested methods. For this training, Three Faiths Forum speakers also present their understanding of the legacy of 9/11, and show how even the most tricky questions can be great opportunities for learning.

The resources on this page were put together in partnership with the Three Faiths Forum, ACT and the PSHE Association.  They do not necessarily reflect the views of Amnesty International.

Conspiracy theories and myth busting

These resources explore the myths and conspiracy theories that have arisen as a result of 9/11 and suggest how these issues can be addressed in the classroom.  Participants will discuss what young people know or think about 9/11 and increase their factual knowledge about the main issues through practicing teaching methods that can be used to facilitate discussion and clarify misconceptions.

The resources on this page were put together in partnership with the Three Faiths Forum, ACT and the PSHE Association.  They do not necessarily reflect the views of Amnesty International.