Major Terrorist Attacks Affecting Americans, 1970—2001

Introduction
Students know a great deal about the attacks of September 11 from the media and their history books. However, in this activity they will see the attacks in the context of global terrorism. The map on the listed Web site displays terrorist attacks over the last thirty years.

Lesson Description
Students will study the terrorism map and read the information on terrorist attacks all over the world. The map is intended to provide students a more broad perspective on this particular violent aspect of recent American history. After viewing the Web site, students will answer five questions. Four of the questions test student comprehension of the material. The final question requires students to write a report.

Instructional Objectives:

1. Students will learn about terrorist attacks over the last thirty years.
2. Students will be able to grasp the context of global terrorism and where terrorism has occurred during this period.

1. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for more than a year beginning in 1979, in Iran.
2. The World Trade Center was previously attacked in 1993.
3. Answers should contain three of the following: 1970, terrorists hijack airplanes to Jordan; 1985, TWA flight 847 hijacked and 17 hostages held in Lebanon; 1988, Bomb on Pan Am flight 103 kills 270 in Lockerbie, Scotland; and 2001, hijacked airplanes crashed into World Trade Center and the Pentagon
4. The Middle East has been the site of the greatest number of terrorist attacks against Americans.
5. Students should discover that the terrorist organization al-Qaeda has been held responsible for the attacks of September 11. From there, students should discover that there is much evidence pointing to al-Qaeda as being responsible for the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993, the bombing in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, the embassy bombings in East Africa, and the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. Suggest to students that they include the sources for the information they have found. Remind students that it is often very difficult to prove responsibility for such attacks and that most of these cases have not been definitively solved.