Trauma-Informed Teaching in Your Elementary Classroom Simple Strategies to Create Inclusive, Safe Spaces as the First Step to Learning

Meet the Authors

Introduction

Part 1- The Why

Chapter 1 – Understanding Trauma

            The Human Nervous System

                        Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Systems

            Memories: Regular and Traumatic

            Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

            Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn (FFFFs)

                        Fight/Flight

                        Freeze

                        Fawn

            Chronic Stress and Changes to the Brain

                        Epigenetics

                        Brain Connections

                        Exposure to Stress Hormones

                        War

            Answers to Brain Breaks

            References

Chapter 2 – Intergenerational Trauma

            Back to ACEs

            Prenatal

                        Epigenetics

                        FASD

                        Cigarettes

                        Maternal Nutrition

            Postnatal

                        Attachment Theory

                        Historic Trauma

           Reserves

           Residential Schools

           First Nations and the Courts

           Sixties Scoop

           Inuit Housing Today

           Slavery and Its Legacy in the USA

            Answers to Brain Breaks

            References

Part 2 – The How

Chapter 3 – Culture

            Biases

                        Unconscious Bias

                        Resource Bias

                        Deficit Thinking

                        Ethnocentricism

            Trust

            Cultural Humility and Cultural Competence

            Case Study: Forest Glen School (K-4) Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

            Culturally Responsive Teaching

  Resources

  Answers to Brain Breaks

            References

Chapter 4 – Safety and Predictability

            Attachment

            Mirror Neurons

            Identifying and Removing Triggers

            Answers to Brain Breaks

            References

Chapter 5 – Cognitive-Behavioral Theory

            What is Cognitive Behavior Theory?

            How Does CBT Work?

            CBT: Body➨Brain

                        Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources for You and Your Students

                        Flow

                        Reflective Listening

                        Reflective Feeling

             CBT: Brain➨Body

                        Recognizing and Challenging Thoughts

                        Social Emotional Learning (SEL) For Your K-3 Students

                        Social Emotional Learning (SEL) For Your Grade 4-6 Students

             CBT for Teachers

             Brain Break Answers

             Resources

   References

Conclusion

Biography

Lori Brown, Psy.D. has 28 years of experience working as a teacher, registrar, counselor, administrator, and consultant in the public school system.

Alison Bartlett, B.Ed. has worked in the Anglophone East School District since 1989 as a classroom teacher and had a Special Position of Responsibility (SPR) for her school’s Positive Learning Environment.

Lori Brown and Alison Bartlett have created a useable text that provides practical trauma-informed strategies that support both students and teachers in the creation of a trauma-informed school.  The authors have insightfully included a whole chapter not just on cultural competencies but also on cultural humility.  In an ever changing world, we must all be aware of our own cultural biases.  This is a must read for all teachers. 

-Coreen Collins, Manager Student Support, Department of Education, Government of Nunavut 

 

As our youngest students experience trauma around them, we as the adults who care for them and educate them, must be better prepared to understand the natural responses of children to the trauma in their lives.  Lori Brown, Psy.D is an authority on this topic and has written a very readable, research informed, guide to the steps a school community can take to ensure that the entire school community is prepared to support and work with all students.

-Rebecca Wardlow, EdD- Dean, College of Education, United States University

 

This book addresses important issues in education today, such as how trauma happens to individuals and cultures, as well as how to address it in your classrooms. Written for teachers by teachers, it is a thoroughly researched and user-friendly resource for education in 21st century. Well done!

-Armand Doucet C.M.