Ground Zero

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Which major world event happened on September 11, 2001? What were some of the reasons that this catastrophe occurred?

Teaching Suggestion: This question orients students with the setting of Brandon’s portion of the novel. Gratz divides his story into two protagonists’ narratives, the first being Brandon’s eyewitness account of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (“9/11”). Some direct instruction may be useful in clarifying the historical context; alternatively, guiding questions might help students navigate the abundance of information online. The following information may help outline the main points of historical context.

As a result of lingering political tension of the US involvement in the 1990s Gulf War, Saudi Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization waged a religious war against the presence of Western countries in the Middle East. In the years following, al-Qaeda organized a multi-faced terrorist attack on four significant US landmarks: the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a fourth location in Washington, DC.