How middle school students are learning about the September 11th terrorist attacks

An Owasso middle school teacher makes it a priority to teach students about the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The kids in her classroom weren't even alive back then.

Kyra Schmidt's class is built around early American history, leading up to the Civil War. When it comes to September 11th, the curriculum takes a big leap for the day.

"I'm going way outside our normal content area," said Schmidt.

The lesson is centered around the attacks that stunned the United States. It's an event the kids in Schmidt's class didn't witness because they weren't even born yet.

"It's just another historical event to them," she said. "It's no different from me talking about the American Revolution."

Schmidt herself was only six years old in 2001. Her lesson for the class is centered around accounts of fellow Owasso teachers and what they remember.

Those words stick with students like Sydney Guthrie.

"There's so many people who were there and are alive right now that I can learn from," said Guthrie, a current Owasso 8th grader.

Schmidt says this lesson is an important one for her students.

"There's a lot of great parts and fun parts of history, but there's a lot of hard parts, too," said Schmidt. "We've got to talk about those hard parts and recognize that and remember that so we can move forward and have a better future."

Students also talked about how the terrorist attacks changed things like airport security.