Main Points of this Section:

• There are so many helpful resources available.
• Lesson Plans that cover concerns and issues during a time of crisis can be helpful for students and teachers.
• Children are not only affected by a crisis the day it happens.  Remember to keep these tragedies in mind as time goes on and attention is no longer focused on helping victims recover. 
• Children can suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome too and there are ways to help deter this disorder.
  

Questions to Help Children Talk about a Disaster

• One technique teachers can use when helping children to cope is to assist them in expressing their experiences and feelings by talking about them. Here are some leading questions teachers may ask that will encourage children to open up through discussion.

When Talking Doesn't Help: Other Ways to Help Children Express Their Feelings Following a Disaster

• For some children, talking about difficult issues may not be enough. This website provides suggestions for other types of activities that may be completed in the classroom.

Marking Disaster Anniversaries in the Classroom

• This link provides ideas for activities and projects that students may do to commemorate the anniversary of a national disaster. Activities are broken down by level in school.

America Responds: PBS Classroom Resources

• Here are some lesson plans that educators can use to address issues raised by global events that affect America. These resources are designed to help educators teach students about peace, tolerance, war, patriotism, geography, and other related issues.

Coping with Crisis--Helping Children with Special Needs

• The National Association of School Psychologists provides tips for dealing specifically with children who may have special needs. Suggestions are given for helping students with autism, cognitive limitations, learning disabilities, visual, hearing or physical limitations, and severe emotional disturbance/behavior disorder.

Crisis Communications Guide and Toolkit

• This National Education Association toolkit offers approaches and activities for schools at the time of crisis, as well as in the aftermath ways to guide school communities toward hope, healing, and renewal.

PTSD in Children and Adolescents

• This site discusses Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Information is provided regarding the events that cause PTSD in children, how many children develop the disorder, risk factors associated with PTSD, what PTSD looks like in children, other effects of trauma on children, treatment for PTSD, etc.