CROSBY TOWNSHIP — Ron Mangus began his economics lesson Wednesday by asking his fifth-grade students: “Who was afraid after terrorists crashed jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon?”

        More than half the 25 students raised their hands.

        It is that sort of reaction that prompted Junior Achievement to put together lesson plans designed to allow students to talk about the situation and put it in its proper economic context.

        JA provides Tristate schools with free economic lessons, usually presented by community members or teachers. JA officials formally unveiled the free program Wednesday at Crosby Elementary School.

        Thirteen schools in Hamilton County and Northern Kentucky are using the Liberty Unites program, said John Arnold, president of the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Junior Achievement. Lesson plans are grouped by grades — K-3, 4-6 and 7-12 — and can be downloaded from JA's Web site, www.ja.org.

        “We started developing this four days after the attack,” Mr. Arnold said.

        “We got with business leaders and educators to work on content. These lesson plans give teachers and adults the vehicle through which to discuss the issues and emotions.”

        After reading over the program, Mr. Mangus said he decided to use the lessons in his classroom to address his students' questions. Through the lessons, students take on different roles and perspectives and talk about the impact on their lives.

        The lesson Mr. Mangus used began with a discussion of fear and the famous quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

        From there the students did a role-playing exercise. Students talked about three groups and three roles:

        • As citizen.

        • As government worker.

        • As business owner.

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