Mr. Petit & the Twin Towers

Philippe Petit resources

Philippe Petit is a tightrope walker and performance artist. He is famous for, among other things, running a tightrope between the Twin Towers in New York City just as they were nearly fully constructed.

This event was dramatized in the 2015 movie called "The Walk." Here's a computer-generated image from the movie with actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt:

Why Philippe Petit?

When one thinks of 9/11 and the Twin Towers, it's remembered as one of the saddest times in our country's history. We feel discussing the daring feat of Mr. Petit gives students a chance to remember a positive event tied in to these iconic New York City buildings. You might consider watching a more recent interview with Mr. Petit here. There are many photos of him walking the tightrope on this site.

The writing assignment

Students are to write a reflective essay on the character of Mr. Petit and why we should remember him and his tightrope walk, especially around the 9/11 anniversary. They'll watch a series of primary and secondary source videos.

4th graders have spent 2 hour-long lessons reviewing first-person interviews with Mr. Petit and others who witnessed his walk between the towers. We discussed character traits he possesses, and the impact his walk had on the history of the towers.

To meet 4th grade writing standards, each of the 4 paragraphs should be 4-6 sentences long.

The illustration should be fully colored and outlined in ultra-fine point Sharpie.

Here's an overhead view of the memorial with large waterfalls where the towers once stood. You can see the space between where Mr. Petit walked... but it was 1,362 feet--110 stories--higher.

The final draft: typed writing, hand-drawn art

Students should have finished their Philippe Petit notes in their spiral Social Studies notebook before moving on to the final draft. The final draft is due Friday, September 22nd.

Typed in Google Classroom

Students have a template waiting for them in Google Classroom called "Fall 2022 Philippe Petit and the Twin Towers."

Change "YourName" at the top.
Scroll down past the drawing box and start answering questions after "Answer here."
Once you start typing and finish the first paragraph, hitting ENTER or RETURN will start a new paragraph.
Parents proofreading at home and correcting small typos help your grade. Ask 3 friends to proofread as well.
There is no need to print the final draft at home; we'll print it at school.
Once you tell me it's done, I'll print it. Typos, errors and missing content affect the grade, so make sure it's as perfect as you can make it before asking me to print it.
You will be given a page with 2 boxes to draw your final illustration (see right).

Hand-drawn on paper

Students will draw a scene involving Mr. Petit: one of his performances for Paris or New York City in Central Park, running the cable between the towers, or walking the tightrope, or being interviewed. They'll receive a paper with 2 boxes to draw twice and choose the best drawing for their written assignment.

Sketch Mr. Petit in a historical scene of your choosing in both of the boxes. Pick the one you think is the best.
Outline your favorite in ultra-fine point Sharpie or a fine black felt tip marker or pen. Color with crayons, fine markers or colored pencils. Make sure the art is neat, fully colored, and outlined to make it "pop."
Cut it out and glue on printed report.