Early experiences of death and loss have a significant impact on children's coping and development across the lifespan, whether the deceased was a family member, friend, or even classmate. Given the sense of community and continuity that children often garner in schools, teachers are uniquely positioned to tailor and facilitate grief supports to…

The death of a student, especially to gun violence, is a life-changing experience that occurs with more and more frequency in America's schools. For each of these tragedies, there is a classroom and there is a teacher. Yet student death is often a forbidden subject, removed from teacher education and professional development classes where the…

COVID-19 offers a unique opportunity to transform the K-12 social studies curriculum, but history suggests that changes to the formal curriculum will not come easily or automatically. This book was conceived in the space between the dismantling of our old way of life and the anticipation of what comes next. The authors in this volume--leading…

As the school year begins, staff at the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) would like to offer all school personnel (including educators, administrators, counselors and support staff) the opportunity to use their many resources for schools! Their resources were created to highlight issues related to trauma, to explain how trauma can…

Reactions to the trauma of an earthquake are likely to show up in children's behavior at school, and teachers can play an important role in the recovery of their students. By better understanding students' reactions, teachers can be prepared to provide appropriate support within the school setting. By being informed about trauma, teachers and…

There are students in school who have experienced trauma. Generally, traumatic events evoke feelings of extreme fear and helplessness. Reactions to traumatic events are determined by the subjective experience of the child, which could be impacted by developmental and cultural factors. What is extremely traumatic for one student may be less so for…

A leader's manual and a participant's workbook for a bereavement support group program for children aged 5 to 15 are combined in this document. The leader's manual discusses the program's rationale and objectives; how to establish the group; facilities; leaders' responsibilities, characteristics, and time commitment; children's grief reactions and…

A question-and-answer format is used to help teachers understand how children react to and deal with death, including discussions about grief, the death of a classmate, and when to seek professional help. Several resources are included. (CB)

A teacher recounts her handling of the deaths of two junior high students, summarizes five stages of death, and reviews children's perceptions of death at different ages. Suggestions for teaching terminally ill students are offered along with ideas for helping parents, handling a class after a death, and helping a student after a death in the…

Adults often have a difficult time helping children deal realistically with death. Guidelines are offered for health educators and parents to follow when counseling children confronted with death and dying situations. (DF)

Terminally ill children need support from peers, teachers, and parents to cope with their disease. Suggestions for helping all parties deal with the problems that arise are discussed. (DF)

Argues that children need assistance in dealing with the fundamental questions concerning evil and God. Discusses kinds of evil and God's omnipotence. Urges that the relationship of God to evil be dealt with in religious education so that both children and adults can be adequately prepared to deal with suffering and death. (KO)

Information from a workshop on how to help preschool teachers discuss death with young children is presented. Limitations of young children's preoperational thought processes are noted, including children's confusion about the irreversibility of death and the loss of a sense of trust in their environment. Children have different ways of dealing…

This guidebook was written for school personnel who come in direct, daily contact with the grieving student. Included is a description of what staff should expect from the grief experience of students and staff. It provides information about how to support the grieving student, healthy ways to grieve, and how to be empathetic. A description is…

This article examines the psychological needs of a high school student whose best friend was murdered. After describing how one teacher handled the situation, the article offers a school counselor's view and a school psychologist's view of how to handle such a situation. (SM)