Once you are attuded to your feelings and those of your students, model what you are learning. For example:

• When reading a story out loud to elementary students, pause and ask: How do you think the character feels? What do you think she is thinking? How are her feelings affecting how she acts?
• The teacher can share personal stories and talk about how they felt or are feeling.
• In The Heart of Learning and Feeling by Wolpow et al. page 97, (2009) they have a list of categories of affect. 

  (Wolpow et al., 2009)

• https://www.pacesconnection.com/g/aces-in-education/resource/the-heart-of-learning-and-teaching-handbook-pdf 

Routines begin from the moment a student walks through the threshold of the school. Every opportunity to build classroom culture should be used. The following routines have been adopted to suit many teacher's practices and the community context of their schools.

Circle Time Routines: 

1. Handshake greetings to promote health, touch, eye contact, and the positive saying and hearing of one's name.
2. A short 2-minute circle game (pass the clapping rhythm) to positively prime the room to participate, connect, and generate positive emotions. 
3. A statement of classroom (or school) values to anchor the meaning and purpose of coming together to learn.
4. A quick reminder of positive behavior expectations during the day's lesson.
5. Any positive announcements such as birthdays or special celebrations. 

Post Circle Time:

1. Lessons might begin with de-escalation activities before the introduction of new content.
2. The lesson might have a "hook" to interest students through positive emotions, a character strength that they can use to complete the lesson. 
3. Focus might be given to stamina- and strategies to help students stay with a challenging task and to address their mindset when learning something new.
4. Give students regular time for brain breaks. Brain breaks can include movement such as rhythm clapping, or they may include mindfulness and/or sensory tools. 
5. Focus on Character strengths for students who must have daily exposure to the language and practice of character strengths by highlighting both character strengths within the curriculum. 

Effectively practicing, classroom routines and nurturing classroom cultures effectively nurture students who have been affected by trauma. 

(Brunzell, 2021)

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-64537-3_8

"Metaphors, similes, and analogies are strong tools to teach any language including the language of emotions. Are you as happy as a kid in a candy store with a pocket full of money? Are you as angry as an exploding volcano? Confused as a cow on Astroturf? Does trying to get your father to stop drinking feel like you are spinning your wheels and burning the clutch?"(Wolpow et al.page 99, 2009).

"When talking with students about triggers, teachers can draw analogies to alarm systems Kinniburgh & Blaustien, 2005). For example where there is smoke, there can be fire. A smoke alarm rings because there are leaping flames. You will recognize the danger and your body will call for lots of energy. You have good reason to get out fast! The ringing alarm triggers your brain to tell your body to release a bunch of chemicals. They are like super fuel for a car" (Wolpow et al. page 99, 2009).

(Wolpow et al., 2009)

https://www.pacesconnection.com/g/aces-in-education/resource/the-heart-of-learning-and-teaching-handbook-pdf 

"Affect Modulation is the calming down or revving back up after an intense emotion and is a process that requires multiple skills. The ultimate goal is to help children "learn to maintain optimal levels of arousal"(Wolpow et al. page 99, 2009). 

You can describe emotions as having a volume control like the controls on a radio. Students need to understand that emotions can be turned up or down and that feelings come in all sizes. You can teach them activities that help the student build an understanding of the degrees of feelings (Wolpow et al. page 99, 2009). 

(Wolpow et al.page 99, 2009)

https://www.pacesconnection.com/g/aces-in-education/resource/the-heart-of-learning-and-teaching-handbook-pdf 

Co-regulation can refer to a developmental way of nurturing classroom relationships. It refers to an intentional way of approaching students when dysregulated in the classroom. Instead of talking down to the students while standing over them or lecturing students in front of peers for behavioral choices, the teacher could have a conversation privately with that student, side by side, shoulder to shoulder to maintain the student's self-concept and not embarrass them in front of others (Brunzell, 2021).

The teacher can help students co-regulate by practicing/modeling strategies of de-escalation (taking a breath, deep breathing) with the student (Brunzell, 2021).

Teachers can more effectively co-regulate students when they themselves feel well-regulated in the face of everyday classroom stressors. Teachers have reported that when mirroring their student's dysregulation, they were making classroom problems worse (Brunzell, 2021).

Brunzell, T. (2021)

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-64537-3_8

Application of positive education involves the explicit and implicit teaching of well-being through the deliberate use of strategies:

1. Can be integrated into academic instruction.
2. Inform student management in promoting positive student behaviors.
3. Contribute to a specific curriculum for social-emotional learning.
4. Strength-based approaches.
5. Fortify broader relationships within schools (parents, teachers, community supports). 

"Trauma-aware teachers benefit from looking to identify and replicate the environmental cues that make moments possible when students identify, understand, and employ their strengths, and have their own shining moments of learning. Brunzell & Norrish (2021) suggest teachers might:

• Prime the day and its lessons with activities that deliberately generate positive emotion and provide opportunities to practice a growth mindset, resilient self-talk, and the like.
• Structure lesson activities to deliberately allow the practice of student's character strengths.
• Provide students with opportunities to contribute to others, building a sense of connection and community. 
• Enable students to capitalize on and savor small wins and academic successes.
• Offer students multiple opportunities to identify and practice their character strengths including linking their use to successful pathways beyond formal education. 

(Brunzell, 2021)

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-64537-3_8

This is an exercise created by Wolpow et al. (2009) and can be located on page 103. 

The tell: 

1. Tell of an event from the past that invites you to feel happy, angry, sad, scared, or confused. What happened? How did you feel at the time? Most importantly, give the listener details about your feelings.
2. Tell me how you feel about this event now. Describe how the intensity of your feelings changed. How so? By how much? (Please don't use words stronger, medium, or mild. Let the listener figure that out)

Listener:

1.  Practice the five characteristics of being a good listener.
2. Listen to hear which emotion (or emotions) are being described.

When the teller is done, use words from the list to describe the intensity of emotions you heard. How intense were the teller's emotions when the event first happened? What are they like now?

Five Characteristics of a Good Listener

1.  Acknowledge that you are listening (I hear you [name]).
2. Show empathy (nod head, smile)
3. Face the person speaking and maintain good eye contact.
4. Maintain an open, available posture.
5. Acknowledge what you heard and/or ask clarifying questions (I heard you say... By that do you mean...?)

(Wolpow et al. page 103, 2009). 

https://www.pacesconnection.com/g/aces-in-education/resource/the-heart-of-learning-and-teaching-handbook-pdf 

Emotional Charades 

Students act out emotional expressions and reactions in this social skills activity. Students learn to read and recognize facial and body cues when others are expressing them. "By depicting and acting out emotional expressions and reactions in social skills activities, children learn emotion management, which plays an important role in creating positive relationships and communicating feelings". 

• Write different emotions on individual pieces of paper.
• Place emotion in a box /hat for students to pick from.
• Have students act out the emotion.
• Help student recognize their emotions using facial and body cues.

(Positive Action, 2013 a)

https://www.positiveaction.net/blog/social-skills-activities-and-games-for-kids

Expression Mimicking Games

Have students mimic your or other's expressions. This exercise helps students learn to identify expressions and understand what they mean. 

"When students with social challenges learn to read facial expressions, they become more comfortable in situations involving them". 

(Positive Action, 2013 a)

https://www.positiveaction.net/blog/social-skills-activities-and-games-for-kids

Give students tools to change their state of mind. The body and mind are connected. Students can use simple physical actions as tools to change their mindset; for example, a fun activity such as a 60-second dance party,

Not all activities will be helpful for every student. Experiment so students can find what works best for them. Allow students to determine if they feel different, better, calmer, etc., after the exercise.

(Maryland State Education Association, 2021)

https://firstbook.org/blog/2019/06/27/educator-resource-the-first-book-trauma-toolkit/

Make “Take 5” breathing a regular part of your classroom routine.

To practice,

• The teacher or group leader counts out loud to five.
• Everyone gently breathes in through their noses.
• Then count to five again while everyone breathes out through the nose.

To use with Pre-K and early elementary students use the same practice but with a shorter count, such as three. Their lungs are smaller and they cannot comfortably inhale and exhale for as long as older students.

This simple breath stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which activates the body’s relaxation response. It is often taught to children to help them calm down when they feel upset. By practicing this breath for a few minutes each day, students can become comfortable using it when facing a potentially triggering experience.

(Maryland State Education Association, page 12, 2021)

https://firstbook.org/blog/2019/06/27/educator-resource-the-first-book-trauma-toolkit/

Helping students understand some basic information about how the brain works helps them to understand their behavior and their peer's behavior.

Simple information:

Part of our brain (called the amygdala) is designed to keep us safe. It helps us do three important things: fight, flee, or freeze. When we are in danger, those things help us know what to do. 

When our amygdala is in control, other parts of our brain are not in control. The amygdala affects the part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. 

The prefrontal cortex is the part of our brain that helps us think, learn, and remember.

Sometimes the amygdala thinks we are in danger when we are not.

When this happens it triggers, feelings like we are in danger, and keeps us from being able to learn and remember new things.

Knowing calming techniques can help our brains work in a way that both keeps us safe when needed and helps us to learn and remember new things.

There are many calming techniques we can learn such as: 
breathing deeply, talking about our feelings, or imagining a calm and peaceful place.

Another resource that may be helpful is “Hand Model of the Brain for KIDS” by Jeanette Yoffe it is an online video that succinctly and entertainingly explains this information to young students. It can be found at https://youtu.be/H_dxnYhdyuY.

(Maryland State Education Association, page 22, 2021)

https://firstbook.org/blog/2019/06/27/educator-resource-the-first-book-trauma-toolkit/