Reaching and Teaching Trauma-Impacted Students Transformative Practices, Strategies, and Activities for Building a Compassionate and Engaging Trauma-Invested Classroom

Trauma has become a cause of major health issues, as one in four students are exposed to some form of trauma by the time they enter kindergarten. Meeting the needs of individual students can be quite challenging especially when there are staff shortages, lack of resources, an increase in challenging behavior, and added pressure to keep up the pace with teaching curriculum content. As a result, elementary educators, special education teachers, support staff, school counselors and psychologists, and preservice and substitute teachers are seeking trauma-sensitive and responsive practices that best support and engage all learners in the classroom.
Written by an experienced urban educator of more than twenty years, "Reaching and Teaching Trauma-Impacted Students" provides all the essential tools to build a compassionate and engaging trauma-invested classroom, including:
• Practical strategies for building positive and trusting relationships with students
• Research-based, trauma-responsive practices
• Innovative techniques and activities for fostering social– emotional learning in students
• Classroom-tested ideas and activities for integrating brain-compatible instruction to improve student learning outcomes
• Techniques for classroom organization
• Ideas for implementing proactive classroom practices, which enhance student engagement
• Modifications, teacher tips, real-life examples, and much more!

Debra Burke has been an elementary educator for over twenty years in a mid-sized urban school district located in upstate New York. Debra is known in the educational field for helping trauma-impacted students go from surviving to thriving with her innovative strategies and techniques. Debra currently teaches in a first-grade classroom and is a presenter on the topic of trauma and student engagement. Her classroom has been featured in the following professional resources: Kindergarten Literacy-Matching Assessment and Instruction in Kindergarten, Kindergarten Day USA and China, and National Association for the Education of Young Children.