Some Children Are Brave. Writing in the face of tragedy:

“Some People Are Brave” written by Dawn Imamoto’s 2001 2nd Grade Class
Contributed by Dawn Imamoto, Teacher Consultant, Area 3 Writing Project, UC Davis

Some of the hardest times for parents of young children are those times of tragedy when children sense that something is wrong, but they do not know how to handle their anxiety and uncertainty. September 11, 2001 was one of those times for all of us, but even more so for children. As an example of what parents can do to help their children read or write, CWP shares with you the book authored by the students in Dawn Imamoto’s second grade class during their classroom writing time after the events of 9/11.

Dear Reader,
September 11th is a day that none of us will forget. I’d like to share with you a book written by students in my second grade class about that day.

As a second grade teacher at Bryte Elementary in West Sacramento, I thought I could keep quiet and not have to explain to my students what had happened that day. But after hearing some of their comments and questions- “The pilots fell asleep.” “Will they attack us?” “What if they come to Bryte School?” “Why is this happening over and over?”- I knew I had to help them deal with their fears, clear up any misconceptions, and help them feel safe. I couldn’t stop thinking about how to comfort them.

At that time in our reading program, we had been working on a unit about bravery. We had read a half a dozen stories on the theme. I also had shared a book with my students called Some Things Are Scary, a humorous book that talks about things we are afraid of. The whole point of teaching the unit on bravery was for students to understand that in order for us to be brave, we had to overcome what we are afraid of.

Together, we made a list of all the people we thought were brave during the September 11th attack. We talked about what each person or group of people did that showed bravery. Each student was responsible for writing, illustrating, and painting a page about the person or people they thought were brave. Finally, I took all of the pages and put them together to make the book Some People Are Brave.

Writing this book has helped my students deal with this tragic time. What my students could not express orally, they were able to do in writing. Writing and publishing this book has brought my class closer and has given us hope.

I have shared this book with friends and colleagues, and over and over again I was told, “You’ve got to share this book with the world.” What follows are my second graders’ heartfelt feelings about what bravery really is.

Sincerely,

Dawn Imamoto

Click here to read Some People are Brave