Ironworkers of the Sky, R. Kennedy, New York Times—- ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this article

Iron Workers having their lunch Manhattan, NY 1932.photo by Bettam:Corbisiff

American Flag Waves high at World Trade Center

The Powerful Symbols of America!

The sad and  infamous September 11 is accompanied by painful memories, heartbreak, and hope. Hope comes in many forms, in the case of 9/11 hope came in the form of the men and women who are responsible for rebuilding the Structure to take the place of the world Trade Center. Here’s an excerpt:

1.“To get to the top of One World Trade Center as it stands in mid-August, just shy of 1,000 feet above Lower Manhattan, higher than anything else on the island’s southern end, first you walk to the middle of the blast-resistant concrete cathedral that will become the building’s lobby. From there, a hoist takes you to the 39th floor, whose perimeter has already been glassed in. A sign spray-painted in screaming construction orange — “EXPRESS ALL DAY” — directs you to a second hoist, inside which Don McLean is singing, “Bye, bye, Miss American Pie . . .” and men in hard hats decoupaged with flag decals are bobbing their heads to the beat.

2. On the 70th floor, the end of the line for the hoist, you emerge and climb five more stories inside a cage staircase attached to the outside of the building’s south face before taking a final flight of stairs. At the top of these you see — disconcertingly, even though you have known where you were heading all along — brilliant sunshine.  Above you is blue sky and two floors of skeletal steel not yet covered in decking. The only other thing overhead, on the bare beams, is the remarkably small tripartite crew of workers doing jobs that have remained virtually unchanged since steel-frame construction began a little more than a century ago: guiding the steel into place as the cranes lift it up (the raising gang), securing it permanently (the bolting gang) and ensuring that all of it is vertically true (the plumb-up gang).

3. It is like arriving at one of Earth’s extremities — the Tibetan plateau, the Antipodes — except that you somehow feel as if you have been here before. And in a sense you have, because this scene is deeply embedded in the image bank of the 20th and 21st centuries….In July, The New York Times Magazine assigned Damon Winter, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer for the newspaper, to spend five days alongside workers like Kitzes, who was among the first wave of volunteers on Sept. 12, 2001, brought in to extract steel from the ruins of the twin towers and who has returned to the site as a member of the plumb-up gang.

4. Even among the elite class of ironworkers that specializes in raising high steel, the 40 or so men who perform the most dangerous work at One World Trade are a kind of Special Forces. There are veterans like Turhan Clause, a 46-year-old bolter-upper and an Algonquin Indian whose father and grandfather were also in the trade. And members of the next generation like Jim Brady, 29, an astonishingly agile connector who grabs the steel with gloved hands and sets it in place, shinnying beams without a harness. Brady’s broad face itself seems to sustain the immense weight of the Trade Center site’s past and express the perseverance that has powered the rise of a new tower — a structure whose symbolic importance is undisputed even if its cost and commercial justification remain dubious.

5. But Christopher Marron, a 39-year-old first-year apprentice ironworker who once worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (he was there the morning of 9/11), seems to speak plainly for them all: “I look forward to getting here. I look forward to working my ass off. I look forward to sweating. And I look forward to finishing this building. I plan on staying all the way to the top.”

Be sure to read the entire  article and spread the word about these amazing people!

Modern High Steel by Mike Cherry

Iron worker Kevin Sabbagh-photo D. winter/NYT

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this article.

Lesson: The Steel Workers

Level: Intermediate -advanced

Materials: article, handout about  Hijacked Jets Destroy Twin Towers and Hit Pentagon, Construction Workers.

Objectives: To remember  and help students  understand September 11, 2001, and to learn about (and give respect to) the men and women who risk their lives rebuilding the tall skyscrapers.

Procedure:

I Pre-Reading Tasks

1. have students read the title, survey the  photos and see if they can guess what the article is about.

2. Discuss the highlights from 9/11 using Hijacked Jets Destroy Twin Towers and Hit Pentagon.

3. Have students make a list of the men and women in the various professions who helped during the  9/11 attacks  (fire fighters, doctors, nurses, teachers, etc.)

4. Brainstorm and see what words students came come up for Iron workers.

4.  Discuss who the Iron Workers are and the role they played in 9/11, and why they are important now.  Use Construction Workers.

II While-Reading tasks

A.  Vocabulary: circle the word that is correct, reread the paragraph to check your work

Paragraph 1

1. …higher than anything else on the island’s / islands southern end,
2. first you walk to the middle of the blast-resistant concrete/ concreet
3. From there / their , a hoist takes you to the 39th floor…
4. …directs you to a second hoist, inside  which / witch Don McLean is singing…
5. men in hard hats decoupaged with flag decals are bobbing / bobing their heads to the beat

Paragraph 2

1. On the 70th floor, the end of the line for the hoist, you emerge / imerge
2. a cage staircase attached to the outside of the building’s south face before taking a final flight / fight
3. Above you is blue sky and two floors of skeletal / skeleton steel not yet covered in decking.

Paragraph 3

1. It is like arriving at one of Earth’s extremities / extremely — the Tibetan plateau, the Antipodes —

paragraph 4

1. Brady’s broad face itself seems to sustain the immense / immerse weight of the Trade Center site’s past and express the perseverance that has

B. Vocabulary: words in context.

Try to guess the meanings of the words in bold. Use a dictionary for help.

1. …first you walk to the middle of the blast-resistant concrete cathedral that will become the building’s lobby.
2. From there, a hoist takes you to the 39th floor…
3. …men in hard hats decoupaged with flag decals are bobbing their heads to the beat.
4. The only other thing overhead, on the bare beams, is the remarkably small tripartite crew of workers… virtually unchanged.
5. It is like arriving at one of Earth’s extremities — the Tibetan plateau.
6. Even among the elite class of ironworkers that specializes in raising high steel, the 40 or so
7. … men who perform the most dangerous work at One World Trade are a kind of Special Forces.
8. …express the perseverance that has powered the rise of a new tower
9. — a structure whose symbolic importance is undisputed even if its cost and commercial justification remain dubious.
10. There are veterans like Turhan Clause, a 46-year-old bolter-upper and an Algonquin Indian whose father and grandfather were also in the trade.

C. Reading for Comprehension

Answer the following statements from the reading with T (True) or F (False) if they are false, provide the correct answers.

1. “To get to the top of One World Trade Center… first you walk to the middle of the blast-resistant concrete cathedral that will become the building’s lobby.
2. From there, a hoist takes you to the 44^th floor whose perimeter has already been glassed in.
3. “EXPRESS ALL DAY” — directs you to a second hoist, inside which Don McLean is singing, “ God Bless America. “
4. On the 70th floor, the end of the line for the hoist, you emerge and climb five more stories…
5. It is like arriving at one of Earth’s extremities — the Tibetan plateau, the Antipodes — except that you somehow feel as if you have been here before.
6. The Wall Street Journal assigned Damon Winter, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer for the newspaper, to spend five days alongside workers..
7. …alongside workers like Kitzes, who was among the first wave of volunteers on Sept. 12, 2001, brought in to extract steel from the ruins of the twin towers and who has returned to the site as a member of the plumb-up gang.
8. There are veterans like Turhan Clause, a 46-year-old bolter-upper and an Maya Indian whose father and grandfather were also in the trade.
9. But Christopher Marron, a 39-year-old  first-year apprentice stock broker who once worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange…
10. Christopher Marron stated: “I look forward to getting here. I look forward to working my ass off. I look forward to sweating. And I look forward to finishing this building. I plan on staying all the way to the top.”

D. Questions for Reflection

1. Where were you when the attacks occurred?
2. How did people in your country respond to the attacks on America?
3. In your opinion, is the United States taking adequate  measures to prevent the country from another attack?  If not, what more should be done?
4. Can you think of another incident that occurred in the United States?
5. Do you feel safe in the U.S.?  Explain why or why not.

Post Reading Tasks

A. Listening Tasks (focused) Fill ins. Students will listen to the You Tube of 9/11 and fill in the blanks.

September 11, 2001 You Tube (beautiful to listen to)

1, When America suffers we as a___ and as a ___stand united.

2 Todays  despicable acts were an assault on___ and on___.

3 This is a vicious attack upon___  it’s an attack upon ___its an attack upon____ and our way of life.

4, And no one should doubt American’s___.

5The staff has been doing a___ in terms of ___to the patients.

6. They can destroy__ they can kill people, and we will be sadden by this tragedy, but they will never be allowed to_____.

B.  Essay Writing:

Either Choose one of the following to write an essay, or write about any aspect of the attacks you would like. See ESL Voices Essay Writing review.

1. Do you think 9/11 has changed America? Describe in what ways.

2. Where were you when you first heard the news about the Twin Towers? How did you feel after you heard the news?

3. How had 9/11 impacted your life? Do you live here in America, or are you a student? Do you feel safe in this country?

ANSWERS

I Pre-Reading Tasks

II While-Reading tasks

A.  Vocabulary

1 island’s  2-concrete   3 there  4 which 5 bobbing 6 emerge  7 flight  8. skeletal  9 extremities  10. immense

B. Vocabulary words in context

1. blast (noun) an explosion or explosive firing, esp. of bomb blast | a shotgun blast.
2. resistant- (adjective) offering resistance to something or someone,
3. resistance   (noun) the impeding, slowing, or stopping effect exerted by one material thing on another  air resistance would need to be reduced by streamlining.
4. hoist -verb-raise (something) by means of ropes and pulleys : high overhead great cranes hoisted girders.
5. decoupaged – decoupage -noun- the decoration of the surface of an object with paper cut-outs, which is then usu. varnished or lacquered.
6. decals-decal -noun-a design prepared on special paper for transfer onto another surface such as glass, porcelain, or metal.
7. beams-beam-noun- a long, sturdy piece of squared timber or metal spanning an opening or part of a building, usually to support the roof or floor above.
8. tripartite -adjective- shared by or involving three parties : a tripartite coalition government.. consisting of three parts : a tripartite classification.
9. extremities -extremity ( noun) 1 the furthest point or limit of something : the peninsula’s western extremity.
10. Tibetan plateau  is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia; Sometimes called “the roof of the world,” it is the highest and biggest plateau, with an area of 2.5 million km ^— or about four times the size of France) (wikipedia)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_Plateau
11. elite (noun) a group of people considered to be the best in a particular society or category, esp. because of their power, talent, or wealth
12. dangerous -adjective- something able or likely to cause harm or injury
13. perseverance -noun- steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
14. undisputed -adjective-not disputed or called into question; accepted.
15. veteran -noun-a person who has had long experience in a particular field.
16. Algonquin-noun-a member of a North American Indian people living in Canada along the Ottawa River and its tributaries and westward to the north of Lake Superior.

B.  Essay Writing:

Have students share each essay with the class.

C. Reading for Comprehension

1. T,

2. F ( 39th floor)

3. F “Bye, bye, Miss American Pie .

4. T

5 T

6. .F (New York Times Magazine)

7. T

8. F (Algonquin Indian)

9. F (first-year apprentice ironworker)

10. T

D. Questions for Reflection

Mostly students’ choice. The other event was the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the similarity was that in both cases there was the element of surprise.

ADDITIONAL SEPTEMBER 11 LESSON PLANS

Lesson plans for younger children

PBS: America Responds offers lesson plans for grades 2-6

PBS offers a variety of lesson plans for educators. Those plans include A World At Peace (for grades 2-6), Tolerance in Times of Trial (grades 6-12), Emergency Preparedness (grades 6-8), Taming Terrorism (grades 9-12), and more.

September 11 Through Children’s Eyes

A student-created Web site. The students visited New York P.S. 89, which is located a block from Ground Zero. The site shares their interviews with students and teachers and more.

Helping America Cope
This updated guide contains activities to help children cope with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The guide is designed for use with children six to 12 years of age; however, many of the activities have effectively been adapted for use with older children.

Lesson Plans About Terrorism
This list from links to lessons comes from KidsClick.org.

Education World  http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson244.shtml

Provides an extensive list of lessons for  children, older students and adults. The list is constantly being revised so please check it regularly,

Tags: 9/11/01, America, High Steel Workers