Indiana Social Studies USH.7.4
The Standard
Explain the background and effects of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on U.S. foreign and domestic policy.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Students are expected to trace and analyze chronological periods and examine the significant themes and concepts in U.S. History. Students develop historical thinking and research skills using primary and secondary sources to explore topical issues to understand the cause for changes in the nation over time.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify al-Qaeda, its stated grievances about U.S. involvement in the Middle East, and its earlier attacks. They explain how the 2001 attacks changed U.S. actions abroad and security policies at home.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can connect the attacks to the invasion of Afghanistan and to the PATRIOT Act or creation of the TSA. They can explain that Iraq did not carry out the attacks, even though the attacks shaped later debate about Iraq.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume Iraq carried out the attacks or blame Muslims as a group. Some think airport screening and federal surveillance powers stayed the same after 2001.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Name one factor behind al-Qaeda’s attacks, one domestic policy change, and one foreign policy change. Explain each connection to September 11.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Groups arrange dated cards for the 1998 embassy bombings, 2001 attacks, Afghanistan invasion, PATRIOT Act, and TSA creation, then draw cause arrows.
Compare a Justice Department PATRIOT Act fact sheet with an ACLU critique; write one security claim and one privacy concern from the sources.
Sort cards labeled embassy bombings, TSA, surveillance, and Afghanistan into background, domestic policy, or foreign policy piles; defend each placement.
Show a TSA checkpoint photo; students write one way federal screening changed a trip through the airport after 2001.
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