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Adverse Childhood Experiences Teacher Resources

Supporting children who have experienced trauma is so important, and there are strategies to help at every age. Helping your students feel connected, encouraging them to explore their own strengths, and providing tools for them to develop positive relationships are all key components. Browse our resources to help you feel prepared for Trauma-Informed social and emotional learning.  

Showing 109 resources
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Instructional Video12:29
Crash Course

Beasts of No Nation: Crash Course Film Criticism

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
Beasts of No Nation, a gripping tale of child soldiers, is the focus of an analysis that examines the techniques director Cary Joji Fukunaga uses to create his horrifying yet deeply compassionate film.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Abuse

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to the various forms of child abuse. Using the internet, they discover the proper ways to report abuse to adults and the warning signs of someone being abused. In groups, they complete a case study to end the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tempera Painting Poster: Art with a Message - Child Abuse Awareness Month

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study Keith Haring and his own unique style. They create a poster with a social message.
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Lesson Plan
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Student Achievement Partners

Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken" and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston's "Farewell to Manzanar"

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Passages from Unbroken and Farewell to Manzanar provide the context for a study of the historical themes of experiencing war, resilience during war, and understanding the lasting trauma of war. Appendices include extension activities,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

LOOKING DEEPER

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars study trauma, recognize episodes that can produce it, and behaviors it can elicit. They glean an example of a potentially traumatic event. They need to think who might be traumatized and why.
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Interactive4:44
PBS

The Symbolism of Sunflower Seeds in Ghost

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
Ghost by Jason Reynolds is a coming-of-age book that resonates with teenagers who have experienced childhood trauma. Explore the novel with an interactive resource that focuses on the author's use of symbolism, particularly with...
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Instructional Video0:10
Curated OER

How Does Your Memory Work? Part 3/3

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The BBC production on memory continues in part three. Picking up right after the connection between forming memories and ruminating on the future, we follow John and his inability to mentally "time travel." Memory gives you more than...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Dark Side of Family Life

For Students 11th - Higher Ed
In this family life learning exercise, students answer seventeen questions about problems such as domestic violence by constructing short and extended response answers.
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Professional Doc
US Department of Homeland Security

Psychological First Aide (PFA) for Students and Teachers

For Teachers K - 12th
Listen, protect, connect! Using the resource, teachers learn how psychological first aid helps scholars adjust after a crisis or school emergency. They discover how to observe changes in pupils' school performance, listen and offer...
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Lesson Plan
National Institute of Drug Abuse

Nurturing My Mental and Emotional Health

For Teachers 6th - 12th
One exercise does not necessarily work for all! A resource from the National Institutes of Health provides tweens and teens with exercises to help them cope with anxiety and stress. Participants note their stress levels before and after...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Full Bodied Romeo

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars put physical movement to the word of Romeo's ozymoronic speech in order to explain the trauma that he is experiencing.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pedestrian Safety

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study velocity and how to cross streets safely. They identify the ten most common causes of childhood trauma, watch movies on pedestrian safety and use the Internet to research the issue of pedestrian safety
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Fertilization to Birth

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
In this fertilization to birth process activity, students think about the changes a baby faces and complete the table on birthing trauma. They describe what type of trauma the baby might experience during the process of birth and what...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fighting the War in Your Head

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze the experiences of a fictional soldier in a war and create a mental health profile for that individual. They emulate psychiatrists and propose treatment strategies for their particular soldier's post-traumatic stress...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Things They Carried: KWHL

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Before beginning The Things They Carried, class members are asked to use a KWHL chart to record what they know about war, what they want to know, and where they might find answers to their questions. Groups then research to topics of...
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Lesson Plan
Civil War

Civil War Medicine: Fact or Fiction

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Young historians compare the presentation of medical care during the Civil War in passages from fictional and nonfictional texts. They examine passages from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen, and...
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Lesson Plan
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Penguin Books

An Educator's Guide to the Works of Laurie Halse Anderson

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Laurie Halse Anderson tackles challenging topics for teens. An educator's guide shares activities for many of her novels such as Prom, Shout, and Wintergirls. Questions, perfect to use as either discussion or as essay prompts, accompany...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Health: Seat Belt Safety

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discuss the importance of wearing seat belts and why it is one of the most common causes of traffic accident deaths. They also discover the importance of child restraints for younger children. Students examine the myths and...
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Handout
Iowa State University

Emergency & First Aid Orientation

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Here you'll find a presentation that covers a wide range of emergency and first aid topics, such as evacuation planning, what to do in the event of a fire or severe weather, and addressing a number of medical emergencies, such as...
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Organizer
Curated OER

Mirrors & Windows: Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”

For Students 8th - 10th
“Mirrors” or aspects from a story that reflect a personal text-to-self connection, and “windows,” an aspect that gives insight into a different way of being, are the focus of an activity designed for Alice Walker’s story. Readers select...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

James and the Giant Peach: Novel Study

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Everyone wants to feel like they belong. James, in James and the Giant Peach, finds a feeling of belonging in a very odd place—inside a peach! Scholars read the story of James and the Peach and work through vocabulary, language, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Domestic Violence

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are introduced to the magitude of domestic violence. In groups, they read articles of real accounts of abuse and answer comprehension quesitons. They develop a piece of art showing how they feel about the issue and organize it...
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PPT
Curated OER

Visible Speech: A Short Course in the Fundamentals of Writing/Lesson 3

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Focusing on writing an introduction, this presentation provides a variety of techniques for how to begin. Although the question marks on slide six obscure the writing, the other slides are clear and legible and display good examples for...
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Worksheet
Prestwick House

Touching Spirit Bear: Individual Learning Packet

For Students 6th - 8th
Whether using Touching Spirit Bear in the classroom, as an outside reading assignment, or in a homeschool situation, your readers will benefit from this eight-page packet of essay and discussion questions, vocabulary lists, and reading...

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Adverse Childhood Experiences