Trauma-Informed Teaching in Your Elementary Classroom

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.

• Meet the AuthorsIntroductionPart 1- The WhyChapter 1 – Understanding TraumaThe Human Nervous SystemSympathetic and Parasympathetic SystemsMemories: Regular and TraumaticPost Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn (FFFFs)Fight/FlightFreezeFawnChronic Stress and Changes to the BrainEpigeneticsBrain ConnectionsExposure to Stress HormonesWarAnswers to Brain BreaksReferencesChapter 2 – Intergenerational TraumaBack to ACEsPrenatalEpigeneticsFASDCigarettesMaternal NutritionPostnatalAttachment TheoryHistoric TraumaReservesResidential SchoolsFirst Nations and the CourtsSixties ScoopInuit Housing TodaySlavery and Its Legacy in the USAAnswers to Brain BreaksReferencesPart 2 – The HowChapter 3 – CultureBiasesUnconscious BiasResource BiasDeficit ThinkingEthnocentricismTrustCultural Humility and Cultural CompetenceCase Study: Forest Glen School (K-4) Moncton, New Brunswick, CanadaCulturally Responsive TeachingResourcesAnswers to Brain BreaksReferencesChapter 4 – Safety and PredictabilityAttachmentMirror NeuronsIdentifying and Removing TriggersAnswers to Brain BreaksReferencesChapter 5 – Cognitive-Behavioral TheoryWhat is Cognitive Behavior Theory?How Does CBT Work?CBT: Body➨BrainSocial Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources for You and Your StudentsFlowReflective ListeningReflective FeelingCBT: Brain➨BodyRecognizing and Challenging ThoughtsSocial Emotional Learning (SEL) For Your K-3 StudentsSocial Emotional Learning (SEL) For Your Grade 4-6 StudentsCBT for TeachersBrain Break AnswersResourcesReferencesConclusion

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 UniversityThis 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.