Were Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev foreign-backed terrorists, embittered immigrants or just plain crazy? And can the United States government do a better job of preventing these events from happening again? In this lesson, students grapple with the same questions Americans have been asking in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. Extension activities allow students to research issues raised in the story, from immigration and foreign policy to civil liberties, and propose their own policy solutions. Ask students to raise their hands if they think they have a good idea of what incident happened on April 15 at the Boston Marathon. Pause to count the number of hands, and quickly brainstorm student responses on the board under the heading: "Boston Marathon - what happened." Then ask: Did you immediately know all the facts that day? Or was there some confusion, and if so, what made it confusing? Write down student responses under the heading: "Sources of confusion." Next, ask students to raise their hands again if they know exactly why the two suspects - Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - may have set off those bombs. Pause to count the number of hands, and write down any comments that are offered under the heading: "Why?" Finally, tell students to raise their hands if they know exactly what should be done to prevent people from targeting large public gatherings in the future. Again, pause to count the number of hands, and write down student responses under the heading: "What should be done?" The poll can lead directly to a brief class discussion about the following question: Why is it relatively easy to eventually figure out what happened following a terrorist attack, but harder to know exactly why it happened or what to do next? He suggests that theories that portray the attacks as the simple result of America's immigration policies, wars abroad, security stance or attitudes toward Islam have missed the point. Such debates, he said, revealed a broader truth. Background Vocabulary: Read the entire article with your class. Before starting, remind them that it's an opinion piece based on Times reporting, and let them know they will also have a chance to research and offer opinions. You may wish to introduce students to the following words or concepts before reading: Quantico, hobbyhorses, radicalization, slough, nebulous, plaint, acquiescence, amulet. What does the term "drones coming home to roost" refer to? Does the author believe that "we must scale back our military campaigns," "take a humbler posture in the world" and "be more expansive in our embrace of Muslims"? Or are these strategies other people have offered that fall short? What does the author say is "the danger built into the American experiment"? Why does the author say the F.B.I. and intelligence agencies declined to investigate Tamerlan Tsarnaev more thoroughly after questions were raised about whether he posed a threat to America? What lessons does the author draw from the Boston Marathon attacks, and does he offer a strategy for protecting America from a recurring attack? Part I: First Reactions Ask students to write a draft "Lesson of Boston" essay - a personal hypothesis that explains what factors caused the Boston Marathon bombing. Alternatively, students may offer a broad argument on how America should respond to acts of domestic terrorism, or frame their essay as a direct response to Mr. Bruni's main points and conclusions. Each student's draft must pose at least three research questions - that is, three questions that they'll need to answer in order to develop a final draft that is based upon clear facts and evidence. You can find several questions below that students may want to consider for their research. Part II: Researching and Testing a Hypothesis Working together or in pairs, ask students to use the archives of The Times or the links below to answer their research questions. For each Times story they use, they should write down facts or quotations that support the argument they are trying to develop. They should also look for facts or quotations that might contradict their argument, and either respond to them or modify their argument as they learn new facts. Students may want to use a graphic organizer like our Fact/Question/Response chart (PDF) to gather and organize their evidence and ideas. Part III: Delivering an Argument Using the facts they have gathered, students should craft a final draft that offers a persuasive, stylish argument. Teachers may wish to encourage a round of peer editing, oral presentations or a structured discussion in order to help students polish their essays. People in Massachusetts who knew the suspect Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev shared their memories of him and his brother. Questions to Consider What inspired the Tsarnaev brothers to attack the Boston Marathon? Three years ago, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a boxing champion with dreams of a successful life in America. His brother, Dzhokhar, was described by classmates as a popular and respected high school student. Tamerlan then went on a trip to the war-torn Caucasus region of southern Russia to visit his parents, where investigators say he might have met with Islamist rebels and developed radical views. Read their stories and watch a video in which neighbors talk about how they felt when they learned that the brothers were terrorism suspects. Then look for clues that might explain their transformation. Is it fair to blame a large group, like immigrants or Muslims, for acts of terrorism by individuals, and will proposed new immigration laws make America safer or more vulnerable? Even before the Boston attack, Congress began debating proposals to overhaul America's immigration laws. The bombing prompted some officials to question whether such changes might be dangerous, while others said an immigration overhaul would make the country safer. Immigrants from Chechnya and other regions of southern Russia said they felt embarrassed and worried about being linked to the bombing. Child welfare advocates warned that immigrant children often struggle, and suggested that more support in adjusting to life in America might reduce the risk of becoming radicalized. American Muslims and their supporters said that radicals or terrorists have no place in their community. Does an immigration overhaul have a place in the debate over preventing terrorism, or is that an unreasonable approach that punishes whole groups for the acts of a radical few? Did the F.B.I., C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies act appropriately when they investigated Tamerlan Tsarnaev before the bombing? Investigators now say they had warnings from Russia that were based on intercepted phone messages between Tamerlan and his mother, and that they had placed him on a watch list. Some senators say the government mishandled such information, and intelligence officials say it's often hard to spot true threats amid myriad fragments of information and they're often forbidden by law from digging too deeply without solid evidence. Should intelligence agencies try harder or be given more legal authority to conduct surveillance, or are they doing an effective job of balancing security needs and privacy concerns? Should suspects" legal rights be suspended or modified when public safety is endangered? Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is an American citizen, but when he was arrested following the Boston Marathon attack, some people said he should be tried in court as an enemy combatant, which would give him fewer legal rights. Would this be a fair approach, or would it simply penalize him for having been born in a foreign country? And do you support the decision to question Dzhokhar without first telling him of his right to remain silent, on the grounds that public safety was at risk? Can new laws or guidelines help the media and bloggers to avoid making harmful errors? Major news outlets and social media made errors in the early hours of the Boston Marathon attack, publicizing false rumors and casting suspicion on innocent people. Is there a lesson to be learned in all of this, or a need for more restrictive laws on what people can say or write during an emergency? Or should we just get used to the fact that a free media and the Internet are chaotic news sources that must be evaluated with care? Is it possible the Tsarnaev brothers are innocent as their parents claim? The parents of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev say they couldn't possibly have committed the atrocities and suggest there's a conspiracy to falsely accuse them. Read the transcript of their news conference and decide whether their arguments seem persuasive. Can ordinary bystanders save lives following acts of terrorism? Are individual citizens helpless or our greatest asset during a crisis? Read these eyewitness accounts about what people did when the bombs went off in Boston and during the police operations in Watertown, Mass. Did ordinary people save lives or make a difference, and what lessons can we draw from that? Students can also read responses to this question about bystanders on the Room for Debate blog as well as our Student Opinion question. Extension Activities How should we remember the victims of Boston and other terrorist attacks? As with the 9/11 memorial efforts, the citizens of Boston have come together to honor the victims of their own local tragedy. There were memorial services and funerals, and makeshift memorials popped up in neighborhoods throughout the city. Should permanent statues or other monuments be created in Boston and other places where terrorism strikes? Or do you support Israel's approach of removing all traces of the incident in order to show resolve and deny terrorists publicity? Hold a class debate and contest to design the most effective memorial. What will happen to the more than 260 people who were injured in the bombing? How severely were they injured, and what are their prospects for recovery? Many of the victims will need multiple operations to address their physical injuries, including amputations, shrapnel wounds and hearing loss. But doctors and social workers say there are profound psychological wounds, too. Then there are the medical bills, which are already prompting tough decisions on how much taxpayer assistance should be provided to victims. Ryan McMahon, 33, broke her back and both arms in a fall from the viewing stand during the attack. She is one of dozens of victims seeking donations on a fund-raising page created for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Other private fund-raising projects include a donation of royalties from song "Sweet Caroline" by the singer Neil Diamond and community efforts in affected Boston neighborhoods. Read some of these stories and consider the ways in which people rally to help victims in a crisis. Are some types of aid more effective than others? Then hold a class meeting and develop your own plan to aid the Boston Marathon victims. What else can I do to help? In 1895, the British author Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem "If - " on the virtues of self-preparedness. How might you update this poem for the 21st century to include changes like women's rights, freedom of movement and the risk of terrorism? Write an updated version of the poem - your personal code of preparedness - and consider taking practical steps like enrolling in a first-aid course or learning CPR.