MidLink Magazine's Resources 
for Helping Students Deal with Tragedy


Minsk, Belarus, From Images Compiled by Ryan Garland

General Information

• AskEric List of Resources for all ages
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • FEMA for Kids:  Resources, activities, and games to help students deal with disaster
• National Association of School Psychologists
  • Helping Children Cope with Acts of Terrorism
    • Coping with a National Tragedy Resources and Suggestions
    • Coping with Terrorism Handout for Parents
    • Responding to a National Disaster
• National Mental Health Association
  • Helping Children Cope:  A Handout for Parents

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For Teachers: Lesson Plans and Teaching Guidelines

• About.Com - Classroom ideas for dealing with the aftermath of terrorism
  • Classroom Ideas
  • Dealing With Terrorism
• Clarke Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Contemporary Issues
  • Teaching 9-11
• Education Development Center (Requires Free Acrobat Reader)
  • Beyond Blame: Reacting to the Terrorist Attack - 25-page curriculum for middle and high school students focused on issues of justice and mislaid blame.
• Education World
  • Teaching About Tragedy 
• National Education Association: The First Day Back at School After a Crisis
  •  Crisis Guide and Tool Kit
• National Council of Social Studies
  • Teachable Moments: Teaching About Tragedy 
  • Teaching Tolerance: Lesson Plan About Pearl Harbor (Recently Published in Middle Level Learning)
• New York University
  • About Our Kids - How to Handle Class after Tragedy, Richard Gallagher, Ph.D.
• PBS Teaching Resources
  • Conscience and the Constitution - Background on Japanese-Americans during WWII
  • America Responds Lesson plans for elementary, middle, and upper
• Responsive Classroom
  • Talking with Children about Violence
• University of Michigan
  • How to have a class discussion about tragedy

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For Parents and Teachers

• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
  • Talking to Kids
• National Institute of Mental Health
  • Dealing with Violence and Disaster 
• NC State University - Dr. Karen DeBord, karen_debord@ncsu.edu
  • Supporting Children in Times of Disaster
  • Fact Sheets
    • Recognizing Stress in Children
    • Strategies to Assist Children Managing Stress
    • Benefits of Play (Age-Specific Interventions)
• USA Today
  • How to Talk to Kids About Violence
• US Department of Education
  • Helping Children Understand the Terrorist Attacks  
• Wake County Public Schools Resource  Page - (Distributed by: Judith A. Myers-Walls, Extension Specialist, Purdue University. Developed in the days following the shooting at Columbine High School and distributed via list serves, web pages, and handouts at programs.)
  • Talking with Children When in Tough Situations

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Helping Younger Children Deal with Tragedy (Compiled by Kim Hughes, former NC Teacher of the Year)

• Harvard Family Research Project
  • Advice to Parents 
• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  • Coping With Disaster 
• Wake County Public Schools, Project Enlightenment
  • Parent Tips 
• PowerPoint Book for young children, by Shu-Chen Jenny Yen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Studies, California State University, Fullerton
  • What Happened Today? PowerPoint "Book" for Young Children

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Created 9/12/01; Updated 03/31/05